0-0

Thirty minutes ago, I was by pure coincidence sitting infront of a large TV screen, watching - as they call it - the summit match. Thanks to Allah, it ended in a tie!

I consider myself a fan of Ahly. Just by name, am I one. I rarely watch a match or get excited about watching one. For the last ten years my enthusiasm for following Egyptian and Arab football has been fading. Not because I don't like the games or because I'm following other leagues. It's just that I have developed this resentment towards cheering football.

It's owned everyone's mind in the region. You'd find the poorest leaving their work and their families to Cairo to attend a match for Al-Ahly or Al-Zamalek. People never get upset enough to express it, when it comes to the level of education, the quality of media, the freedom of speech or their financial status. Yet when it comes to football, you hear statements like, the red divels and the white knights. Every other wall in Egypt has a spray of graffiti about the Ahly Ultras or Zamalek Ultras, praising a team or calling the other names. A stupid match can ruin the mood of half the population, while a disaster barely does half that effect. A few months ago, a lot of people were questioning their ties to Algeria and our common history because of a football match. How stupid is that!

I have decided to personally react against all of this. I will just ignore every summit match. I will praise a football game only if it's associated with fair play and good spirits. Whenever someone asks me if I'm Ahlawy to make a point I will say I'm not into football. I will not go out just to sit and watch a game. I will use every opportunity to say that we don't need to qualify to the world finals as much as we need to hit the top 100 universities list. And about tonight's match, I'll say I liked it so much because it ended with a nil-nil, expresses exactly what we gain from football madness.