She was occasionally crying out of cold, and may be hunger as well, and whispering something with a rhythm. You might think this five-year-old girl is saying something about the reason for her crying or at least singing a childish song. No. She was chanting 'ana masri w aboya masri' (I'm Egyptian and my father is Egyptian too), which is a popular song about Egypt nowadays. Despite the surprise felt by audience about discerning what the child girl was saying, it was quite normal, in view of where this child was. She was in the Cairo International Stadium late on Friday, attending the "big ceremony", as the Egyptians, who packed the place to capacity, described it. Covering the spacious stadium with the three distinct colours of the Egyptian flag red, white and black; hundreds of thousands of Egyptians showered praise on their national football team for their record win of the African Cup of Nations (ACN) for a third consecutive time. Egyptian pop super star Amr Diab whipped up the enthusiasm of the audience, who braved the biting cold. "I came here directly after al-Gomaa prayers (Friday's noon prayers)," Alaa Ismail, 43, told The Gazette. "I'm here with my family. We want to see Amr Diab and our heroes of the national team. It's quite cold tonight, but the happiness we see here is worth it." Ismail had his three children with him from around 2pm inside the stadium, while the ceremony actually started at 7pm. Still, neither he nor any of the enthusiastic audience, who went that early, felt bad about their time. The ceremony, which was organised by Egypt's National Sports Council, was a real public one. On the one hand, the organisers managed to bring Diab; whose concerts' tickets usually hover between hundreds and thousands of Egyptian pounds ; with a unified LE10 ticket. Therefore, Egyptians from different classes showed up to greet their national team. On the other hand, proceeds from this ceremony are allocated for the victims of the floods that hit Upper Egypt and Sinai last month. "I'm a big fan of Amr and have attended a couple of concerts before, but this one is entirely different," Doha Awaad, a 21-year-old student in a private university, said. "This time we aren't celebrating him. We are celebrating with him a much bigger value; being Egyptians is what all of that is about." This young woman's enthusiasm was clear as her face, clothes and even her bag carried the Egyptian national flag. It wasn't just the national team's historic victory, but mainly the "deep sense of 'Egyptianity' that has been pronounced across this nation since the national team won the ACN title for the record seventh time. At this very Egyptian ceremony, which was attended by the sons of the Egyptian President, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, and some Ministers and MPs, joy was all-encompassing. Cheers, chanting Egyptian slogans, laughter and even jokes were the reasons why none felt the biting cold. "All my dreams came true tonight," Amira Mamdouh said with a weak voice and a broad smile, after losing hers shouting with the crowds. "I saw Amr Diab, Hassan Shihata (Egypt's coach) and my favourite player Abu-Treika. Moreover, I'm helping others. Could it ever be better?" Although numerous iconic celebrities were present in this celebration, the real protagonist was the spirit and happiness that united hundreds of thousands of Egyptians. "I want to thank our team sincerely. You made us really happy," Amr, the celebrated pop singer, told the elated audience.
