A picture of what will soon be my former office.
Yesterday was the semi final match for the Asia Cup. I guess it is some type of soccer thing. To the Iraqis, it's huge. There are 11 guys on the squad--Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Not only do they represent all of Iraq, but these guys have overcome huge odds to come this far. There are no leagues anymore, training facilities are in total disrepair and, until recently, Uday Hussein had a bad habit of killing athletes that didn’t perform. Yet these guys have excelled. I soccer were a real spot, the closest comparison would be Rocky Balboa fighting Apollo Creed.
I admit it, I’m not a fan of soccer, but I’ll be watching and rooting for them when they go to the championship next week. After overcoming the odds they have, they will be winners no matter what the outcome.
Iraqis everywhere went nuts when their team won. People were shooting in the air (every 12 year old has an AK-47 around here) , honking horns and waiving Iraqi flags to celebrate. It was as if they all put aside their differences for a few moments and were one people at peace.
It was the one thing the terrorists couldn’t allow. 2 car bombs drove into crowds for joyous fans and detonated—killing 50. A soccer stadium in Mosul was blown up. Innocent people murdered because they choose to put aside hate for a few minutes to celebrate a simple game.
This is who we are fighting over here
Yesterday was the semi final match for the Asia Cup. I guess it is some type of soccer thing. To the Iraqis, it's huge. There are 11 guys on the squad--Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Not only do they represent all of Iraq, but these guys have overcome huge odds to come this far. There are no leagues anymore, training facilities are in total disrepair and, until recently, Uday Hussein had a bad habit of killing athletes that didn’t perform. Yet these guys have excelled. I soccer were a real spot, the closest comparison would be Rocky Balboa fighting Apollo Creed.
I admit it, I’m not a fan of soccer, but I’ll be watching and rooting for them when they go to the championship next week. After overcoming the odds they have, they will be winners no matter what the outcome.
Iraqis everywhere went nuts when their team won. People were shooting in the air (every 12 year old has an AK-47 around here) , honking horns and waiving Iraqi flags to celebrate. It was as if they all put aside their differences for a few moments and were one people at peace.
It was the one thing the terrorists couldn’t allow. 2 car bombs drove into crowds for joyous fans and detonated—killing 50. A soccer stadium in Mosul was blown up. Innocent people murdered because they choose to put aside hate for a few minutes to celebrate a simple game.
This is who we are fighting over here
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