Jazeera Sports 9 Plus or 10 Plus, which are exclusively broadcasting the World Cup finals in South Africa, I decided to watch the US clash against Algeria on June 23 at a baladi café in my old district in southern Cairo. Before I left my home, I phoned some of my old classmates and neighbours, who also don't subscribe to Al-Jazeera, to come by so we could watch the match together. Although Egypt didn't qualify for this year's global tournament, the place was packed with people of different ages. Many schoolchildren, sitting their Thanawiya Amma (General Secondary School Certificate) exams, had abandoned their textbooks and study aids and manufactured funny excuses to sneak out of their homes without provoking their parents' wrath, in order to watch the game. We had to wait for a few minutes until the café's owner and his assistant organised us seats in the back row. It seemed that we were punished for our late arrival. Many of the customers seated in front of us were rather large gentlemen and we had to constantly manoeuvre to command a reasonable view of the faraway television screen. We kept begging them to lower their heads. As soon as the match began, I was struck by many curious things. First of all, I was surprised that the commentator was speaking in Hebrew. In other words, we were watching the match on an Israeli Television channel. The café owner pleasantly explained to us that Israeli Television was broadcasting the World Cup finals and that he had no other choice, in order to circumvent Al-Jazeera's greedy officials. "Although they are very rich people, Al- Jazeera's Qatari officials refuse to appreciate that most Egyptians cannot afford the expensive subscription fees to watch the World Cup," he said. "There's no alternative as Egyptian Television is only broadcasting 22 World Cup matches." Although the commentator's voice was understandably incomprehensible, it didn't matter, as we were all rooting for the US, because of the shocking way the Algerian team played against Egypt in the Sudanese city of Omdurman last November. To be honest, I was surprised at the extent of the crowd's support for the US. "We should have been there instead of Algeria," yelled one of the young men sitting in front of us, who kept jumping to their feet and yelling hysterically every time the US penetrated the Algerian half. "We want the US to beat Algeria because their fans beat up Egypt's supporters in Omdurman," said a schoolboy. "We want Algeria to be given the dose of their own medicine," added a student. Any pro-Algeria voices, reminding us pro-US Egyptians that Washington is the biggest ally of Israel, were drowned in the din. If anyone of these pro Algeria voices had tried to explain that Algeria is an Arab country and that Arab unity (in the face of Israel and the US) is more important, they would have failed, as the anti-US psyche in Egypt was suspended ��" at least during this all-important match. If you think about it, it was a bitterly ironic situation: Egyptians were watching a World Cup game on Israeli Television, supporting the US, which is widely regarded as an enemy of Arabs and Muslims, while everyone was thoroughly condemning Algeria, an Arab country. There was another surprise when the US' Landon Donovan snatched a vital winner in the second minute of injury time, just as it seemed that US were about to go out of the tournament. The café literally erupted. Just three days later, on June 26, Egyptians turned against the US during their game against the African country of Ghana. I was watching the match at the same café, with the same group of friends. But perhaps some of the other faces there were new. Everybody was cheering for Ghana, hoping they would humiliate the Americans. "It would be tragic if the US win this match," said an 18-year-old boy smoking shisha near me. "The US control the world and are the sole superpower, but they shouldn't control global football too." Then a man in his fifties, nodding his approval, commented: "The US have seized everything in the world by force or excessive force. If they win the World Cup, that would be another seizure, adding to Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine." My curiosity increased when this middle- aged man added that Ghana were Africans like Egyptians, who should be duty bound to support their African brothers. Yet this man proudly confessed that he had supported the US against Algeria three days earlier. "Our boys [players] and spectators were beaten and insulted by the Algerians in Omdurman," he continued. "They did not deserve our sympathy because they played dirty to qualify for the World Cup." The Egyptians' dream of witnessing a US defeat ��" albeit only on a football pitch ��" came true when Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan scored the winning goal in the third minute of extra time, after shrugging off Carlos Bocanegra and lashing a half-volley over Tim Howard into the American goal. [email protected]
