I've had sideburns since I was twenty and as you might know, I am a singer. These two facts made a neighbour of mine, who was a professional soccer player, call me "Elvis". At first I took it lightly, but when he kept using that name I reminded him that I'd much rather be Elvis than run after a piece of rubber for 90 minutes and consider this my job! Moreover, having fellow team players help me to kick that rubber thing in a net will only make things look worse. I'm not saying that I disrespect soccer players, but what I told him was just an act of retaliation after he called me Elvis. By the way, I am a huge Elvis fan but I'd much rather be myself than anyone else, even the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Whatever my name is and despite not being a soccer fan at all, I strongly support our National Team. You might have guessed by now that I'm going to talk about soccer and you are right. What? I'm so happy… correction – WE are so happy and by ‘we' I don't mean only Egyptians, but also loads of foreigners who were quite supportive. Minutes after Egypt won I received what could be the sweetest congratulations SMS anyone ever sent me –my good friend Corinne Miller wrote "Alf mabrouk ya Masr," which means "we will book you the satellite space on AB1". I was really happy to know this but she forgot to give me the parameters. Anyway, I was even happier to know that her SMS actually meant "My sincere congratulations Egypt". Excuse me but my Arabic is not very good… or is it? Things have been a little confusing since Corinne started saying that she's from ‘Shobra' in Cairo and not England! Then I must be from the Ukraine and that's why my Arabic is not as good as you would expect it to be. I watched the game at home and there were countless cheers from many neighbours throughout. Minutes after scoring the fourth and final goal I went down to see happy people everywhere. As expected, the streets were totally blocked with cars, motorcycles, microbuses and even pedestrians carrying the Egyptian flag and chanting loudly. I decided to enjoy the moment and took a short walk to the usually very crowded supermarket, which was almost empty at the time. On my way there a little boy was hanging out from a car window and looked at me with a very big smile all over his face so naturally I smiled back – See? Even monsters are moved by a child's smile. Then this wonderful boy kissed the palm of his hand and threw that kiss to me. That was amazing. He was adorable of course, but being four or five he probably knows nothing about soccer, still he knew that Egypt won the game and he was happy. Something as simple as winning a soccer match thrills Egyptians. But in this case it wasn't just winning; it was also a matter of pride. After our National Team, its fans and many other unsuspecting Egyptians were attacked by Algerians in numerous countries, winning was the one thing we needed to get over that horrible phase and to tell everyone that Egypt rules. Now I would like to mention something that my wonderful friend Ambassador Ezz El-Din Scharaff, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, told me – it is what our great Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) said, which somehow means that we should be kind to those who were unfair to us – maybe someday they will learn the lesson and be kind in return. No matter how I try to explain, words will never be enough. Everyone was so excited about the match and some people were selling the Egyptian flag in shops and in the streets. Some took things to a higher level – on the following day of the match I saw a car which was painted as the Egyptian flag and I don't mean just the colours, but also the huge eagle was painted on the hood! Whoever did that, simply loves his country. It's high time for us to honour our flag. Before I spare you the agony of having to read more of my words, I have to say that what moved me the most in that match was the look I saw on our player Hosny Abd-Rubbou right before scoring the first goal, from a penalty spot. The man was extremely worried and I can't blame him. All Egyptians were praying to win and he couldn't afford missing. It must have been a very terrifying experience. I really sympathised with him. But in the end, this man and the rest of the team proved to us that they are heroes. We are so proud of our National Team. Abd-Rubbou's situation inspired me to write the following song.
Rise I've seen his face as he was about to take an action And If I were in his shoes I would've been terrified It's a make or break step amid all that distraction When millions anticipate your moves Losing would never be justified It's hard to carry their dream in your hand And much harder to make it come true The load is unbearable where you stand But when things go right you'll be their hero This is what you've worked hard for Go for it with all what you've got It's time for you to rise and score Come on now give it your best shot Right now it seems that time is standing still And every moment lasts forever With nothing but pressure But you've got the power and you've got the will No man can do it better So get you act together Pretty soon the hard times will be ending And you'll make our dream come true On solid grounds you will be landing And the memory will forever be a part of you This is what you've worked hard for Go for it with all what you've got It's time for you to rise and score Come on now give it your best shot I started writing this article right after my country won and I will probably finish after you finish reading it… Egypt proved again that it is THE most influential country in the region so let me brag a little about that. There's so much to be said about this amazing country and its wonderful people but to sum it all up I'll just say one word – EGYPT. Send me photos of our National Team to: [email protected]
