Egypt's Soccer Ultras: Revolution Gone Wrong
Today, February 4th, is the anniversary of the so-called ‘Battle of the Camel’, the decisive turning point of the Revolution of January 25th, when the peaceful democracy protesters in Tahrir were able to beat back a vicious onslaught by pro-Mubarak thugs who attacked them on horseback. A week later, Mubarak resigned. Part of the credit for the push-back against the Mubarak forces went to the ‘ultras’, as the most extreme soccer fanatics are called in Egypt, akin to England’s infamous ‘football hooligans.’
Today, a year later, the soccer ultras are being blamed for a massacre on a football field in the town of Port Said on the Suez Canal; but the real question is, who put them up to inciting a riot? And the even greater outrage now debated in the extraordinary session of Parliament and everywhere in Egypt is this: why did the security forces stand by while Egyptians killed Egyptians? Why the lapses in security from the beginning, not only in the case of this soccer match, but in several suspicious incidents over the past week, and indeed the past month?
In the minds of even the least conspiracy-minded of Egyptians, one answer is inevitable: at the very moment when there is the most pressure to abrogate the loathed ‘emergency laws’ under which Mubarak ruled for thirty years, and now the SCAF rules with complete unaccountability- at that very moment, the incidents of suspicious random violence are multiplying. It is hard to escape the conclusion that the climate is being created in which the SCAF can claim that the people are fed up with the insecurity in the country and are calling for a return to the heavy-handed tactics of the police and the military.
Writing about the Nasser era in my first novel a decade ago, I had said that in Egypt, soccer rivalries replaced party politics in a country with a monolithic single-party regime that prohibited any expression of political opinion. In today’s post-revolutionary Egypt, the airwaves buzz with political debate and party politics are hotly contested at the ballot box and in the media. But at what price freedom? How do you explain the spectacle of Egyptians killing each other on a soccer field for no apparent reason? One year from the day when outrage against the thuggish tactics of the Mubarak loyalists united Egyptians behind the protesters in Tahrir Square, united them young and old, Muslim and Copt, secular and religious, ultras and ulamas; one year from that hope-filled day, Egypt’s Revolution seems to have gone terribly wrong.
Today, a year later, the soccer ultras are being blamed for a massacre on a football field in the town of Port Said on the Suez Canal; but the real question is, who put them up to inciting a riot? And the even greater outrage now debated in the extraordinary session of Parliament and everywhere in Egypt is this: why did the security forces stand by while Egyptians killed Egyptians? Why the lapses in security from the beginning, not only in the case of this soccer match, but in several suspicious incidents over the past week, and indeed the past month?
In the minds of even the least conspiracy-minded of Egyptians, one answer is inevitable: at the very moment when there is the most pressure to abrogate the loathed ‘emergency laws’ under which Mubarak ruled for thirty years, and now the SCAF rules with complete unaccountability- at that very moment, the incidents of suspicious random violence are multiplying. It is hard to escape the conclusion that the climate is being created in which the SCAF can claim that the people are fed up with the insecurity in the country and are calling for a return to the heavy-handed tactics of the police and the military.
Writing about the Nasser era in my first novel a decade ago, I had said that in Egypt, soccer rivalries replaced party politics in a country with a monolithic single-party regime that prohibited any expression of political opinion. In today’s post-revolutionary Egypt, the airwaves buzz with political debate and party politics are hotly contested at the ballot box and in the media. But at what price freedom? How do you explain the spectacle of Egyptians killing each other on a soccer field for no apparent reason? One year from the day when outrage against the thuggish tactics of the Mubarak loyalists united Egyptians behind the protesters in Tahrir Square, united them young and old, Muslim and Copt, secular and religious, ultras and ulamas; one year from that hope-filled day, Egypt’s Revolution seems to have gone terribly wrong.
In Defense of Soccer Moms
Recently, I was watching a morning sports talk show. A female sports reporter was talking about returning to work after the birth of her child. The male hosts were complimenting her on her new hairdo, and the reporter said yes, she needed a new exciting look so she wouldn’t become just another soccer mom. .
It seems that soccer moms are (unfairly) labeled as these bland cookie cutter creatures that are of no interest to the denizens of the cutting edge.
Even hosts of soccer talk shows (yes, there are soccer talk shows in the USA) bash soccer moms as the reason why soccer atmosphere is so poor at MLS matches. They claim that the moms are too busy talking about play dates and not getting involved in the action. To that I say, at least soccer moms get their sons and daughters to MLS matches – where are the soccer dads?
I’m tired of this bashing. I’m married to a beautiful vibrant intelligent woman who happens to be among other things, a soccer mom. .
I’ve been coaching soccer for 18 years. The first six years were in AYSO, the group so easily mocked as the land where everybody’s a winner and juice boxes are all that matter. The past dozen years, I’ve coached club soccer. Youth club soccer is often seen as the cut throat world where parents attack referees, coaches and other parents. Over all these years, the people I could most depend upon, have been soccer moms.
Sure, they look after their children’s best interests but they also look after the rest of the team too. They support the coaches and even the referees with a cool towel or an extra bottle of water. However, they still have time to do their other jobs: teachers, lawyers, nurses, financial executives, musicians, accountants, sales reps, photographers and chefs. They do charity work, fundraising, and environmental work. Some (my wife for sure) may actually have crafted a deeper appreciation of music than VH1’s approved playlists. Yes, they do all this and they get my players to practices and matches on time.
I’m not an expert on hairstyles but I can tell you these women are not cookie cutter clones. They are not Stepford Wives. They are women who nurture their families in modest middle class homes on Chicago’s northwest side and they’ve done a wonderful job of raising some outstanding young men and women.
So the next time you hear somebody go for that tired cliché (soccer mom), kindly point out to them that mothers of young soccer players are a varied mix of women who span numerous ethnic, racial, economic, religious and social groups. They are not predisposed to be “out of the loop”, uninteresting, or irrelevant. In other words, lay off the soccer moms buster!
It seems that soccer moms are (unfairly) labeled as these bland cookie cutter creatures that are of no interest to the denizens of the cutting edge.
Even hosts of soccer talk shows (yes, there are soccer talk shows in the USA) bash soccer moms as the reason why soccer atmosphere is so poor at MLS matches. They claim that the moms are too busy talking about play dates and not getting involved in the action. To that I say, at least soccer moms get their sons and daughters to MLS matches – where are the soccer dads?
I’m tired of this bashing. I’m married to a beautiful vibrant intelligent woman who happens to be among other things, a soccer mom. .
I’ve been coaching soccer for 18 years. The first six years were in AYSO, the group so easily mocked as the land where everybody’s a winner and juice boxes are all that matter. The past dozen years, I’ve coached club soccer. Youth club soccer is often seen as the cut throat world where parents attack referees, coaches and other parents. Over all these years, the people I could most depend upon, have been soccer moms.
Sure, they look after their children’s best interests but they also look after the rest of the team too. They support the coaches and even the referees with a cool towel or an extra bottle of water. However, they still have time to do their other jobs: teachers, lawyers, nurses, financial executives, musicians, accountants, sales reps, photographers and chefs. They do charity work, fundraising, and environmental work. Some (my wife for sure) may actually have crafted a deeper appreciation of music than VH1’s approved playlists. Yes, they do all this and they get my players to practices and matches on time.
I’m not an expert on hairstyles but I can tell you these women are not cookie cutter clones. They are not Stepford Wives. They are women who nurture their families in modest middle class homes on Chicago’s northwest side and they’ve done a wonderful job of raising some outstanding young men and women.
So the next time you hear somebody go for that tired cliché (soccer mom), kindly point out to them that mothers of young soccer players are a varied mix of women who span numerous ethnic, racial, economic, religious and social groups. They are not predisposed to be “out of the loop”, uninteresting, or irrelevant. In other words, lay off the soccer moms buster!
There is an old saying to the effect of "you are unable to understand another until you have walked a mile in their shoes" and it is a very true statement. Another truth is that we do not spend nearly enough time as a society discussing the effects of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (R) aims to change that through a program called "Put yourself in her shoes (TM)." Around the world men are putting on high heels (red come f*ck me pumps as a matter of fact) and walking a mile in support of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
This past weekend, a very good friend of mine (and an occasional OS poster)DM Yogi put on a tuxedo and a pair of bright red CFM pumps somewhere in the Toronto area and walked a mile in them... for me, & for my kids.
It is no secret that the twins and I survived, what the prosecuting attorney called "the worst known case of domestic violence in the history of the state"... What IS a secret (by choice) is just how much it cost me for us to survive. Ed, not knowing the cost to me and my kids decided he was willing to walk a mile in high heels to assist in raising money for sexual assault and domestic violence programs which primarily benefit women and children. Then, when he did find out... he dedicated his walk to me. I have to tell you, I'm still crying about that but they are GOOD tears.
How many men do all of you know who would put on a pair of "CFM pumps" because a woman they know has been sexually assaulted or has been the victim of domestic violence?
*Smiles*
I know at least one... who did. And frankly he, and every other man who puts on a pair of high heels at one of these walks, deserves the title of "HERO"
Ed... THANK YOU. You will never know what it means to me on THIS side of abuse to know there ARE men out there willing to step outside of their comfort zone to take a stand. Babe you stepped WAY outside of your comfort zone... and you weren't even wearing a Jets logo. (*Snicker*) I, the gruesome twosome and every woman or child who has survived being assaulted thanks you. From the bottom of our collective hearts.
Ladies - this one is single & looking... Easy on the eyes with a wicked sense of humor and a loving heart.
Gentlemen - a challenge for you... Find a "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" walk in YOUR area and WALK a mile... in heels... for the women in your lives. As Ed can tell you, you don't always KNOW who you know who has been abused... but it's a pretty good bet you DO know someone personally.
If there isn't one in your area... get together a group of friends and organize one. If men in Africa can don red come f*ck me pumps and walk a mile in them... you guys should have no problem putting on a pair of heels and going for a stroll.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (R) aims to change that through a program called "Put yourself in her shoes (TM)." Around the world men are putting on high heels (red come f*ck me pumps as a matter of fact) and walking a mile in support of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
This past weekend, a very good friend of mine (and an occasional OS poster)DM Yogi put on a tuxedo and a pair of bright red CFM pumps somewhere in the Toronto area and walked a mile in them... for me, & for my kids.
It is no secret that the twins and I survived, what the prosecuting attorney called "the worst known case of domestic violence in the history of the state"... What IS a secret (by choice) is just how much it cost me for us to survive. Ed, not knowing the cost to me and my kids decided he was willing to walk a mile in high heels to assist in raising money for sexual assault and domestic violence programs which primarily benefit women and children. Then, when he did find out... he dedicated his walk to me. I have to tell you, I'm still crying about that but they are GOOD tears.
How many men do all of you know who would put on a pair of "CFM pumps" because a woman they know has been sexually assaulted or has been the victim of domestic violence?
*Smiles*
I know at least one... who did. And frankly he, and every other man who puts on a pair of high heels at one of these walks, deserves the title of "HERO"
Ed... THANK YOU. You will never know what it means to me on THIS side of abuse to know there ARE men out there willing to step outside of their comfort zone to take a stand. Babe you stepped WAY outside of your comfort zone... and you weren't even wearing a Jets logo. (*Snicker*) I, the gruesome twosome and every woman or child who has survived being assaulted thanks you. From the bottom of our collective hearts.
Ladies - this one is single & looking... Easy on the eyes with a wicked sense of humor and a loving heart.
Gentlemen - a challenge for you... Find a "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" walk in YOUR area and WALK a mile... in heels... for the women in your lives. As Ed can tell you, you don't always KNOW who you know who has been abused... but it's a pretty good bet you DO know someone personally.
If there isn't one in your area... get together a group of friends and organize one. If men in Africa can don red come f*ck me pumps and walk a mile in them... you guys should have no problem putting on a pair of heels and going for a stroll.
What makes a marriage?
This is something I have thought a lot about recently
Is it the permission slip obtained from the government?
Is it found in the permissions to have sex granted through religious rites which are conducted?
Is it the people involved?
Is it all of those things?
When I got married we did not wander into the nearest government office and obtain a permission slip to do so - which I suppose means we are not "legally married." Not being "legally married" does not prevent us from being married... it merely prevents us from taking advantage of the governmental benefits one acquires when one is "legally married."
We did not go searching for the nearest Jewish-Catholic-Buddhist-Protestant-Muslim-Shaman-High Priestess either... We were united "Between Mother Earth and Father Sky" in the way our people have gotten married since before the arrival of the first European on the continent.
Before "Christians" arrived to "civilize" us we were united between Mother Earth and Father Sky in the eyes of Wakan Tanka. That is the way my husband and I chose to get married and we are just as married as someone who possesses a permission slip from the government. You see, we know that marriage is much more than a piece of paper. Marriage is much more than sex, much more than children, much more than feelings.
Marriage is what happens when we remember there is more to "US" than there is to "ME"...
Is it the permission slip obtained from the government?
Is it found in the permissions to have sex granted through religious rites which are conducted?
Is it the people involved?
Is it all of those things?
When I got married we did not wander into the nearest government office and obtain a permission slip to do so - which I suppose means we are not "legally married." Not being "legally married" does not prevent us from being married... it merely prevents us from taking advantage of the governmental benefits one acquires when one is "legally married."
We did not go searching for the nearest Jewish-Catholic-Buddhist-Protestant-Muslim-Shaman-High Priestess either... We were united "Between Mother Earth and Father Sky" in the way our people have gotten married since before the arrival of the first European on the continent.
Before "Christians" arrived to "civilize" us we were united between Mother Earth and Father Sky in the eyes of Wakan Tanka. That is the way my husband and I chose to get married and we are just as married as someone who possesses a permission slip from the government. You see, we know that marriage is much more than a piece of paper. Marriage is much more than sex, much more than children, much more than feelings.
Marriage is what happens when we remember there is more to "US" than there is to "ME"...