People watch a live soccer game at the Italian Cultural Center in Jakarta. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Soccer fans go to public viewings, locally known as nobar or nonton bareng, to show not only their adherence to their favorite team, but their strong bond among themselves.

The last time I went to the Diva café to watch a live Liverpool game I ended up disappointed to find that the two-story café in Depok had closed down for good.

Dim light could be seen on the first floor while there was complete darkness on the second floor, where Liverpool fans used to be glued to a big screen as they deafeningly screamed and shouted.

Diva was one of the Reds’ fan base cafés with club anthems “Liverpool” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” sporadically chanted by the visitors.

In another corner of town, the Zoe café entertains Manchester United fans, yet the café hosts live viewings of big matches even if they do not feature the Red Devils, as it did last month.

The match was between Chelsea and Liverpool. I learned later the invitations to the event that evening were exclusively reserved for Chelsea fans and I duly felt isolated by being the only red-shirted guy among the blues.

The café looks to optimize its potential as an entertainment outlet by not depending solely on United’s fans.

The management did not invite fans of the opposing team for fear of sentiments being expressed in an uncontrolled manner. United and Liverpool fans are known for their notorious rivalry. United fans may begrudge the prospect of Reds fans celebrating a victory at their base.

The fans of the two clubs really have acrimonious emotions. I still remember how Diva café visitors taunted and scolded players of the opposing side.

Amir Ben Porat, in his work entitled Football Fandom: A Bounded Identification, says soccer fans express overt, uncompromising love for their teams.

“Football fandom” is the term used to describe an individual’s affiliation to a specific soccer club.

“For them, loyalty is of the utmost importance. The role of a fan entails keeping up to date with the games that the football club participates in and regularly attending matches or at least spectating from a distance [for example, in a pub, or at home],” he says.

“Studies using sport supporters have indicated that they do not like to be associated with stimuli and symbols representing other rival groups,” he adds.

Public viewing programs are common in Indonesia, which has strong fan bases for several top clubs of Europe’s top leagues, including those from the English Premier League.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have faithful followers here, with their respective fan organizations.

As one of the bases of United Indonesia, Zoe café has special offers for United fans. They get discounts on the entry fee, which normally ranges between Rp 15,000 (US$1.08) and Rp 20,000.

The prices can be higher for a big match like the Chelsea-Liverpool fixture, for which visitors had to pay Rp 28,000.

Another place has no entry fee at all, but the Sport Stube café in Jakarta requires visitors to spend a minimum of Rp 200,000 on food and drinks, which they have to pay in advance.

“Watching a football game takes almost two hours. What if they come here only to have ice tea?” café manager Elisabeth Darmawan quips.

The café, which specializes in German food, looks cozy located next to a driving range. Visitors do not have to adjust their seats as 12 TV sets and three projectors have been installed in the lounge, while another four TV sets and a projector are ready to allow comfortable viewing outside.

“Many of our regular guests bring their friends here for a match and they become regular vistors themselves," Elisabeth says.

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