Head Butt

Tagged as: Iran: World Cup

Like every other football crazed nation, Iranians are talking about the World Cup and Zidane’s head butt. In fact, this has been the primary topic of conversation for two days now. I just read a couple of my Iranian friends Materazzi’s description of the incident translating it into approximate Farsi. The lines:

'I did not call him a terrorist. I am not a cultured person and I don't even know what as Islamist terrorist is.'

He added: 'For me the mother is sacred, you know that.'

…Got a big laugh from my friends. “How Iranian of him,” Niloofar laughed. By this, she meant the way that Materazzi admits to insulting Zidane but does not rule out an insult to Zidane’s family, just one to his mother.

ESPNsoccernet - World Cup - Materazzi admits to insulting Zidane: "Materazzi, 32, told Gazetta dello Sport: 'I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned to me and talked to me, jeering.

'He looked at me with a huge arrogance and said, `If you really want my shirt I'll give it to you afterwards'. I replied with an insult, that's true.'

Materazzi has not elaborated on what he did say, but one report suggested he responded with: `I'd rather take the shirt off your wife'.

He has denied, however, some of the more vile insults referring to his wife or sister or calling him a terrorist.

'It was one of those insults you're told dozens of times and that you often let fall on a pitch,' Materazzi said.

'I did not call him a terrorist. I am not a cultured person and I don't even know what as Islamist terrorist is.'

He added: 'For me the mother is sacred, you know that.'"

Closing Time

All over Iran, businesses are closing early again today for a chance to say farewell to the world cup team. Keivan predicts a 3-0 loss for Iran. “Don’t say that,” Mohamad protests. “Everything you’ve said has come true.”

“It’s all Keivan’s fault,” I respond.

---

Was in a meeting with some Iranian businessmen. One was telling us that he went to Dubai to buy some hardware for his business. “They didn’t sell it to me. They won’t sell to Iranians.”

“Sanctions?”

“No, it’s not sanctions. They just won’t sell to Iran. The Arabs do not want to sell to Iran.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t sanctions?”

“I’m sure. They said to me: we won’t sell to Jews. I said, hey, I’m a muslim. My name is Mohamad, how can I be Jewish? They kept telling me they don’t sell to Jews.”

All of the men laughed. That was the end of that.

I was left thinking of the Brooklyn Mullah. He appears on Iranian tv every once in awhile and lectures on scripture. He has a really thick Brooklyn accent that shifts into what sounds to me like perfect Arabic when he needs to quote something. Last time I saw him he was speaking of the sheitan (devil) and identifying his works. It’s all so disorienting for me: the accent, the sermon, the black turban: I keep thinking he is a rabbi, but then what’s all this about hadith?

I think it was Lenny Bruce who said that all New Yorkers are Jewish. I guess the Brooklyn Mullah is no exception.

Rumor of the week

Tagged as: Iran: World Cup

Under Construction has a description of post-game “celebrations” on Vali Asr Street.

Keivan’s doctor elaborated on the rumor I heard from the taxi driver that the mullahocracy specifically prohibited victory in Iran’s game with Mexico “Ali Daei works for intelligence,” the doctor told him while checking his blood pressure. “Did you see the way he was just running up and down the field? He wasn’t really part of the game. He was just moving.”

Many others have repeated the rumor which is at once funny and pathetic. This rumor is traveling through the over 40 age group. Young people are not passing this one on and laugh when they hear it. What it presumes is that Iran is such a great team that a couple of people can make a decision to win or lose. This rumor feeds right into Iranians combined sense of superiority and inferiority.

The World Cup is a great way to take your mind off nukes, sanctions, and despair. Hurray world cup!

Sourakh, sourakhesh mikonand…

Tagged as: Iran: World Cup
 


Well, not exactly. “The mullahs did not want us to win. They told the players: ‘make sure you lose.’”

“No way.”

“You didn’t grow up here. You don’t know the lengths they would go to to keep us off the streets and to keep us from celebrating. We are a rich country with a great culture, but they have ruined us.”

When I got to my destination, I asked the people there what they think of the driver’s comments. “He’s crazy. The Iranian team played well; they just did not win.”

I have never been more invested in a game. You might think this is strange, but I really wanted Iran to win. Friends of ours took us to a football party in a young couple’s apartment in Tehran. The Iranian flag was draped over the door. We were welcomed into the couple’s home with sincere warmth.

The apartment was draped with flags. Faces were painted green and white; young women wore team t-shirts; horns were blaring; the music was loud. Within minutes a tray filled with vodka was passed around the room. The stereo was blaring Arash’s “Iran… Iran…” It was repeated so often that night, that I learned the words. It goes something like We are Iranian until we die; we speak in one voice: Iran, Iran…

It rhymes in Persian.

The room was crowded. The game started. Iran attacked and attacked and attacked. Each attack was met with wild cheers, “Imagine what the stadium must be like,” Keivan said. “This place is so loud.” They looked good, but it was Mexico that scored the first goal.

The Iranians first booed then cheered the Mexican goal. “This is good for Iran, now they will play better.”

They did play better and scored a goal to tie the game 1-1. The room went wild! There were fireworks in the streets.

Halftime arrived. I went outside for a bit of fresh air. “I was just in Europe,” a young man told me. “Every time I said I was Iranian, they said Ahmadinejad. I said we did not elect him. They don’t understand how we Iranians can love our country and hate our government.”

“My Iran is here,” the face-painted man said to me as he pointing to the apartment. “It is not there.” He pointed outside. “I love my Iran. My people are happy inside and sad outside.” He was practicing his English with me. I think most Iranians would be surprised to hear themselves called “my people” by a young medical student, but I might be wrong.

“Pray for my team,” a young woman said to me. “It moves me that you care about us.”

“God willing, we will win,” another added.

“They might even win,” Keivan said.

“Tying would be a victory.”

There was so much good humor and hope that when at 9:10 Iranian time, the Mexicans scored their second goal, no one despaired. When they scored their third goal within minutes, the room went quiet. All of Tehran went quiet.

A young man with green and white face paint, wrapped in an Iranian flag went into the bathroom to sulk. He sat on the ground with his head in his hands.

I wanted to cry.

A few minutes after the game, we were dancing to Arash songs. The sulking young man told me, “We are good losers. That is our problem. When we win we say it is from God; when we lose we say it is from God. That is why we are always losers. We are victims.” 

World Cup

Tagged as: Iran: World Cup

While the west may be worrying about AN’s nasty appeal to neo-Nazis worldwide and how that will be played out in Iran’s first game tonight: Iranians are just eager to celebrate a victory and have some public fun. (See Michael Slackman’s article: World Cup Tests Iranians' Ability to Have Fun in Public)

You would be hard-pressed to meet an Iranian in Iran who even knows what a nazi is (unless it’s a girl’s name, and then it is pronounced with a buzzing z rather than a ts z), let alone a neo-nazi.

For a great insight into Iran AND Iran’s sympathy with Germany, read: My Uncle Napoleon. The story takes place in a family compound in Tehran during world war 2. Nothing else provides more insight into Iran than this book. There is no analysis of Iran that even comes close to Iraj Pizishkzad’s rendition of Iranian society and culture.

Predictions: This morning’s taxi driver predicts a tie; Keivan predicts a 3-1 loss; Mohamad a 2-1 win; Niloofar thinks that it will be a 2-1 loss or a tie. "She's become Mexican," Mohamad complains. "She's not Iranian anymore." Everyone here believes that Mexico is a strong team. Iranians, however, need at least one victory in the World Cup. There is an eagerness to return to the streets for a bit of celebration.

Watching from Shariati Street

Our friend thinks that there was a revolution two nights ago. She was out on Shariati Street where the crowd was tearing down election posters and young women were burning their headscarves.
Anyone else see anything like this?

Our crowd was celebratory and peaceful. I cannot imagine a more mellow group of football celebrants. They had fun without getting into fights.

"Imagine what this would be like if these guys had a few beers in them," K commented.

"They'd probably toppling cars and setting them on fire like sports fans everywhere else."

Iran qualifies to 2006 World Cup

Iran qualifies to 2006 World Cup
Originally uploaded by Mahdi Ayat's iRAN Project.

1-0
Iran has qualified for the World Cup and, on top of that, has qualified undefeated.

I was talking on the telephone when the final second ticked off. There were whoops and the sound of firecrackers. "It sounds like Iran won." (Hey, I saw the rerun of the game at midnight… I'm new to soccer: remember, I'm an American.)

K came to get me off the phone. "Let's go out," he said. "Let's celebrate!" I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. We went out. All of our neighbors were out. Some of them had boxes of pastries and were passing them out passersby. We turned the corner and went on to the main street. Rafsanjani supporters were out with giant SUVs blaring electronica and trays filled with fruit drinks. Moeen supporters were handing out pastries to people in cars stopped at the light.

We made it to Valiasr right before the major traffic started. We arrived just in time to see thousands of celebrants running down the street with faces painted and flags waving in the wind.

Drivers honked their horns and young men blew these noisemakers. There were firecrackers galore. Some of the flags were simply green, white, and red. Most were the current Iranian flag.

Young men danced in the street. Iranian men are really sexy dancers. (Although I hear that Iranian women don't find their dancing sexy. Well, foreign women do. Trust me.) We came across a group singing and dancing. A woman in her late 60s was encouraging people to clap. "What's your problem!" she would yell to passive onlookers. "Clap! Sing!"

Rafsanjani's campaign was out in force. Young people were covered with his stickers. They were dancing and yelling.

The Qalibaf campaign handed out zero alcohol beer from an Efes truck. I can't remember the exact slogan printed on the truck. I think it translated to something like "Life goes better with Qalibaf." So many people were running after the truck that you would have thought they were receiving 2.5% beer.

We saw a small, solemn group of Moeen supporters who held his poster up over their heads and walked quietly up and down the streets.

Later we saw a yellow hummer driving through the crowd. "Is Schwarzenegger in town?" I asked.

Groups of celebrants seemed to wander in and wander out from all directions. People were happy and relaxed and somewhat anticipatory. Did anything more dramatic happen? I do not know.

The Big Game
K's nephew predicts that tonight the Iranian national soccer team will beat the Bahrain team Doh-heech (2-0). A tie would make them one of the first teams to qualify for the World Cup. ( Read the story )

But more importantly, this big game is happening just 9 days short of the election. 12,000 police will be on the street. Their mandate is to use as little force as possible because the government does not want a forceful confrontation with crowds of young Iranians at this time.

Rafsanjani is ready to claim the team's victory for himself. His campaign plans to keep a high profile tonight. Rumor has it that there are already Rafsanjani soccer victory campaign posters ready.

Despite all the shiny, happy campaign images around, I have not met a single person who plans to vote. Friends tell us that even the fashionable youth sporting Rafsanjani headbands do not plan to vote. It's just fashion and money and little bit of guerilla marketing.

Yesterday I saw a group of teen-aged girls tearing down campaign posters on fashionable Valiasr Street. It was 3:00 in the afternoon. The girls were not making any effort to be secretive about their actions.

Posters come up, posters go down.

That said, Iranian agencies are already planning their world cup tours. Iranians have the greatest confidence in their team. Go Iran!

TV…
The only thing entertaining right now is football. There was a serial that ended a few weeks ago that featured a trio of do-gooding Iranians driving a truck filled with medicine to Iraq. On crossing the border, they get arrested by the Americans (many of whom are played by black Iranians) who claim that they are terrorists who are transporting guns. There are some funny scenes, but the basic message is: Americans are stupid and mean and culturally insensitive.

In conversations with the man playing the Iraqi translator, the translator asserts that the Americans are responsible for the violence between Sunnis and Shiites and that they are all brothers.


Iraq Chief Says a Mass Killing, Under Dispute, Did Take Place