Goaaaaannnn!
January 29, 2006
So for those of you who don�t know�which I think would be all but maybe two of you�the African Cup of Nations is currently on in Egypt. In fact, some of you may recall that I was propositioned by a participant in this very Cup.
So anyway, Egypt is the host country, right? But going into this I don�t think anyone thought we would do very well. The past couple weeks have been about meeting up with friends in cafes at night, and watching as Egypt�s football team does much better than anyone expected.
Last night, Egypt played against the Ivory Coast, which was favored to win the match. But guess what? In an unexpected twist, Egypt BEAT THE IVORY COAST 3-1. I have always enjoyed watching football, second only to basketball, but last night watching as Egypt not only beat the team favored to win, but also played one of its best games so far, I felt an odd new twinge. Or rather, two odd new twinges�the first was the combinations of adrenaline and anxiety that I imagine true sports fans experience, and the second was�national pride. Really, I was so moved. Mini sat on my left, and we hugged each other whenever Egypt scored. My friend Nady was on my right, and I had to really resist from clutching his arm in fear anytime the Ivory Coast approached the goal. All my friends commented last night that they�d never seen me that way�never seen me care so much about a game, as I�m usually the one commenting cynically, �Yeah, we�re doing well now, but we�re going to choke. You�ll see.�
But last night, I was rooting hard for my team, with my heart beating a mile a minute, and my team did not let me down. We�ve made it with strong standing to the quarter finals, and my sister, Di, and I plan to be in the stadium on Friday when Egypt takes on either Togo or Angola.
I can�t wait.