Sports Fever Spreads Among Indonesian Millennials

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

.

The joyful days of the Asian Games are behind us. However, the spirit of sports should never fade. The spirit is like a fever that has spread among Indonesia’s younger generation – where our future hopes lie.

The 2018 Games showed that Indonesian youths can hold the responsibility of national sports development. Their enthusiastic engagement in this year’s Games, from the opening ceremony all the way to the closing ceremony, became a major factor in the Games’ huge success.

The closing ceremony at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Jakarta on Sunday (2/9/2018) was attended by around 41,000 people. As seen at the entrance gates, a majority of the attendees were youths.

The presence of South Korean vocal groups Super Junior and iKon as the closing show’s main magnets proved that Korean Pop (or K-Pop) remains the most popular music genre among Asian youths.

“I am a Super Junior fan. I came here specifically to watch them perform,” said K-Pop fan Anisya, a Jakarta student who watched the closing ceremony with her mother.

Anisya and all the spectators in the stadium went into a frenzy when the South Korean groups emerged on the stage. They screamed hysterically, sang along with their idols and shouted their names.

It was the Games’ opening and closing ceremony creative director, Wishnutama, who had the idea of inviting Super Junior and iKon to perform in order to attract youths.

Unexpectedly, these youths were also highly familiar with Indonesian athletes and were screaming their hearts out when Indonesian athletes emerged in the athletes’ parade.

Spectators were also enthusiastic when the giant screens inside the stadium displayed a short video of the athletes’ struggle in the Games’ competitions. They clapped and cheered when Indonesia’s first gold medalist, Defia Rosmaniar, and badminton gold medalist Jonathan Christie came up on the screen. “I am also a huge fan of Kak Jojo,” Anisya said, referring to Christie by his nickname.

The Games have changed how Anisya views sports. She said she did not like sports before the Games. However, starting from the Games this year, she began watching all badminton matches.

Meanwhile, Rani, 18, said the Games had made her more familiar with national sports achievements, especially in non-popular sports.

She said the Games introduced her to bridge and sepak takraw. “I just found out yesterday that bridge was contested in the Asian Games. I also watched the [sepak] takraw final when Indonesia won gold the other day,” she said.

Rani was so enthusiastic about the Games that she bought a closing ceremony ticket, which costs Rp 2 million (US$135.55), despite her not being familiar with the K-Pop scene.

“However, because of our achievements [in the Asian Games], I want to watch the closing show. The opening show was just so awesome, it made me want to watch the closing show even more,” Rani said.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

.

Huge prospects

The Games’ success is inseparable from Indonesians’ high enthusiasm – especially among the youths. Local youths were seen practically in every Games event, including the opening show, most matches, the closing show, and supporting activities.

On social media timelines, the Games were consistently among the world’s top trending topics. For instance, the hashtag #asiangames2018 was tweeted 1 million times. The opening ceremony was also number one in global trending topics for a time.

The millennials also rocked on YouTube. The Games official song “Meraih Bintang” (Reach for the Stars), has been viewed 49 million times, far more than the 2014 Games official song with only 3.3 million views.

The Asian Fest at GBK, with its festivals of food and music, also mainly involved youths. The Indonesian 2018 Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) said that the festival attracted up to 150,000 visitors every day.

Among the visitors were Angga, 33, and Lia, 32, who came with their kid. They wanted to introduce their child to the Games euphoria, in the hope that the little one would grow up loving sports. “This rare moment can be used to raise children’s interest in sports,” Lia said.

Another visitor, Doddy, said he wished to introduce his son Denzel to sportsmanship by taking him to a basketball game between China and Iran on Saturday. Apart from learning proper techniques, thanks to the presence of three NBA players in the game, Doddy wanted Denzel to learn healthy competition and cooperation through sports.

The Games have spread sports fever among Indonesian youths. This is important capital that should be managed to ensure a bright future for sports in the country. Youth and sports that go hand-in-hand will be fertile soil for the nurturing of elite athletes and the development of the sports industry.

(KELVIN HIANUSA/E19/E16)