Killing each other over sports tragic, senseless, extreme
The Middle East is already chaotic. After an Egyptian soccer riot left 79 people dead, the region is just mayhem.
The fans of Port Said’s Al-Masry soccer club rushed onto the field after their team defeated Cairo’s Al-Ahly club 3-1 on Feb. 1.
The rival fans attacked each other with chairs and rocks and witnesses said many of the Al-Masry fans carried knives and sticks.
Soccer fans around the world need to settle down when it comes to their favorite teams losing. After all, it is just a game that, in the end, means little. The team might fall back a game in the conference standings, but it is nothing to kill somebody about.
To have enough anger and frustration left over from a soccer game to want to kill another human being is mind boggling.
I think it is time for Egyptian soccer fans to get their priorities straight. I understand that soccer is a much bigger game overseas than it is in the United States. In fact, soccer probably ranks up there with religion to some fans, but I know that football is fairly popular in this country of ours.
I don’t think that I’ve woken up one Monday morning, picked up a newspaper and read about a riot that claimed more than 70 lives because some angry fans didn’t like the outcome of a football game.
Think about the NFL’s Detroit Lions. That team did not win a single game in 2008 and their fans did not turn their anger into a violent rampage.
Not only did this violence claim innocent lives, I would not be surprised if the event put an end to each team’s season. I know that if I lived in Cairo or Port Said, I would not be interested in attending any soccer games in the immediate future.
Plus, the condition of that particular Port Said stadium has probably seen better days and is not ready to host another soccer game anytime soon.
I do not think the 2014 World Cup looks bright for the Egyptian national soccer team either. The team has the opportunity to qualify for a berth in the World Cup, but after a disaster like this one, I wouldn’t be surprised if the committee disqualified the team immediately. Brazil, the location of the 2014 World Cup, doesn’t want hostile Egyptian fans making trouble in their beautiful country.
The most tragic part about this riot is that the riot did not end in that Port Said stadium. Egyptian citizens protested the lack of security at the soccer game that turned into the riot. Egyptian police and protesters fought in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria in the following days after the initial fighting at the stadium, resulting in more deaths and injuries.
What are these Egyptian protesters thinking? Security should have done a better job containing the situation like preventing the Al-Masry fans from charging the Al-Ahly fans’ stands. But destroying cities and dragging the violence out is not the answer.
Protesters should mourn peacefully and put these tragic set of events behind them. After all, it’s just a game that started this mess.
Opinions expressed in editorial and opinion articles are the views of individual NIC students. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Sentinel, North Idaho College, or any other organizations or groups there-in. North Idaho College is not responsible for the accuracy of statements or opinions shared.
