was watching the 2005 IBF World Championships on ESPN just now and the finals was fought between the Americans and the Indonesians. For you badminton buffs out there, you would probably be just as surpirsed as I am to hear and see an American Men's Doubles team reach the finals of a world championship series.
forgive me if i sound intruding, but hey- what's democracy and the freedom of speech?
by the time I tuned to the channel, the match was already at its climax- the final match. the game was tied at 1-1, with the Americans taking the first set 15-11 and the Indonesians 15-10. so everything boiled down to the dying moments of the 60something minute.
well then, onto the match itself. i felt it was not really to the Indonesian's advantage to start with for the simple fact that while the game was in action the crowd was cheering whenever the Americans had a chance to smash or whack the shuttlecock. I shall leave you to guess what was the dominant race of the spectators then. but won't you feel discouraged? i've never seen such a rowdy crowd like this even in the National Schools Badminton Championships back home let alone in a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. think about it- have you even heard noise during an Olympic match, not even a final. cheat would really be a very very strong word, don't you think?
secondly, i started to notice the names of the players. while the Indonesian players donned Indonesian names, the Americans didn't. some may then argue that it doens't matter what your background is, all that matters in a match is which side you're playing for and who wins, period. in response to that, i myself have seen many foreigners playing for my homeland in international competitions. and i've also seen many reports of questioning the right of my homeland to call that medal rightfully ours. so is it wrong then to have foreigners play for us? here comes the issue of nationalism.
forgive me if i sound intruding, but hey- what's democracy and the freedom of speech?
by the time I tuned to the channel, the match was already at its climax- the final match. the game was tied at 1-1, with the Americans taking the first set 15-11 and the Indonesians 15-10. so everything boiled down to the dying moments of the 60something minute.
well then, onto the match itself. i felt it was not really to the Indonesian's advantage to start with for the simple fact that while the game was in action the crowd was cheering whenever the Americans had a chance to smash or whack the shuttlecock. I shall leave you to guess what was the dominant race of the spectators then. but won't you feel discouraged? i've never seen such a rowdy crowd like this even in the National Schools Badminton Championships back home let alone in a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. think about it- have you even heard noise during an Olympic match, not even a final. cheat would really be a very very strong word, don't you think?
secondly, i started to notice the names of the players. while the Indonesian players donned Indonesian names, the Americans didn't. some may then argue that it doens't matter what your background is, all that matters in a match is which side you're playing for and who wins, period. in response to that, i myself have seen many foreigners playing for my homeland in international competitions. and i've also seen many reports of questioning the right of my homeland to call that medal rightfully ours. so is it wrong then to have foreigners play for us? here comes the issue of nationalism.
i personally feel if i were to ever change my nationality and were to one day meet my ex-compatriots in a competition, my heart will be in a mess. an issue of country loyalty? maybe. but if you were loyal to already, why change right? hmmm. cash incentives, the prestige of being from a developed country, higher standards of living, the list of reasons would just go on and on and on and on and on *rambles on*
after all that's being said, to me in this game, the Indonesians have rightfully won.
