Amazing Soccer Match on Lombok

While in Gili Meno, I made friends with a few of the locals and found out that in the evening of the first night there was a huge soccer match back on Lombok, something that obviously piqued my interest. Abbi, my new friend, told me all about the championship match, a face-off between his small town and Mataram, the capital of Lombok, for the title of the best team on the island for the year. He explained that despite being a small town on the large island of Lombok, everyone in the village were fanatics, and they were well known for producing good teams. So, that afternoon, Abbi and I, along with a few of the other locals from Gili Meno took the 20 minute ride in a small, covered wooden boat over to Bangsal, where we hopped into one of the horse drawn carts, fortunately bypassing the pestering touts and scam artists for which the port is known, as many tourists arrive their from the Gili islands, having to make their way half a mile inland to the main road and the more reputable bus companies, though many are unable to make it that far before being lied to and sold overpriced packages, transport or anything else. Cramming into the small trailer, head ducked and legs intertwined with the two other passengers, I felt bad for the skinny horse, though the ride didn't last long, and we soon found one of Abbi's friends with a waiting scooter. On the scooter, we headed along the main road and passed down an alley/sidewalk through some small, basic concrete houses before stopping at Abbi's house for a quick change of clothes, and then we were off again. The road was crowded with fans, walking, in trucks, motorcycles or even a few horses, everyone in town making their way to the game.

We parked in the sea of motorcycles and scooters, bought our 30 cent tickets at the makeshift ticket booth and went in. Abbi explained to me that this was the best field in Lombok, though it didn't have any bleaches, so when we entered, I saw a few thousand fans, sitting, standing, perched on fences or anywhere in between, packed in and cheering on the teams as they took the field. Abbi also mentioned that one of the big reasons why people enjoy the matches is the gambling, so he left me for a while to go find some willing participants for his wagers. Smiling, I surveyed the scene, a green field backed by distant mountains, full of noise and excitement as the locals clamored for the start of the match, and as I looked around, I realized that I was probably the only foreigner among the three to five thousand fans, which typically means that you're in for a good, authentic experience. Fortunately I was also taller than just about every other person in the crowd, so I got a nice view of the game, standing just a few feet back from midfield, being pushed back and forth by the masses of people sitting and standing around me. I also always find it funny that the Indonesians (and some Malaysians) sometimes don't find it necessary to take off their motorcycle helmets, ranging from typical, full head helmets to construction worker sort of hats, so much of the crowd was actually protected in case of some sort of asteroid attack.

Though it was almost a home game for the small-town team, the crowd was definitely in favor of the larger club, Matarma, evident from the opening whistle. We also found out that Abbi's brother and a few other good players had to miss the game due to some university exams, so we feared the game might not be as close as it could have been. Mataram quickly scored their first goal, and the field was then subsequently flooded with exuberant fans, rushing onto the field like at the end of an epic football match, singing, dancing and essentially taunting the fans of the home team. This is something that never really happens in soccer matches, and this wasn't just one random drunk guy, this was hundreds of fans charging the field and overwhelming the one or two security guards in army fatigues. Most entertaining of all, a few of the local men apparently celebrate by dropping their pants and running/dancing naked around for a few seconds, having a great time. Eventually, the revelry stops and the game continues, though I was eagerly anticipating the next goals, as I had never seen anything like this at a soccer match. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long, as the game ended up 5-4 in favor of Mataram, though the local team actually got two goals in the end off of some questionable penalty calls, but I guess it didn't matter...well, it didn't matter to me. After one of the calls in question and resulting penalty kick and goal, one of the crazy, drunk fans that had been screaming, chanting and dancing around my section rushed the field and punched the referee in the back of the head before being detained by his slightly sober friends. The referee sprinted off the field holding his head, fearing for his safety. In most every match, the game would usually be suspended after something like this, but the referee took a minute or two to recover and came back on the field, restarting the game, as the guilty fan sat in the corner with his friends as they tried to calm him down.

So, the game didn't turn out as we had hoped, but it was an amazing experience. I exchanged a few words with curious locals in a mix of broken English and broken Indonesian about why I was there watching the game, how I knew about it, etc, but I mostly just enjoyed watching everything transpire, from the crazy, nudity-riddled goal celebrations to the chants and gambling going on throughout the game. Packing three of us onto a tiny scooter, we uncomfortably headed back to the harbor, having to hold my legs at an awkward angle to keep from scraping the ground as we went. Soon, we were back at the harbor, just in time for a pink sunset and an easy ride back to relaxing Gili Meno and a few days of tranquility. I thanked Abbi for inviting me, as this is another event that I certainly couldn't have found out about (or attended) on my own, and these tend to be some of the most interesting, rewarding parts of my travel, when I can get away from the packaged destinations and truly see the local life.

(Thanks to an invitation from Abbi, one of the locals that I met on Gili Meno, I made my way back to Lombok with him and a few others for a huge soccer match one afternoon with the local small town team playing the team from Mataram (the capital) for the championship of the island. There were no bleachers, but thousands of people packed their way around the field, leaving little room for the players.)

(One of the most entertaining parts of the game were the goal celebrations - not by the players but by the supporting fans. After each goal, hundreds of people rushed onto the field, did a few dances and songs, taunted the other fans and eventually were herded back off the field, allowing the game to resume. A few of the men also thought it would be a good idea to drop their pants and run around naked during this time, though I don't think I caught any of them in this picture.)

(The mountains provided a nice backdrop for the exciting game. And to make it more interesting, many of the locals gathered in the corners, placing bets on the game.)

(Coming back to the harbor after the match, we had to squeeze three of us onto a tiny scooter, luckily for only about 10 minutes, as my legs were going numb, but we were greeted by this colorful sunset as we headed back to the islands for the night. What a great experience.)