Top 8 Cultural Comparisons Found in Sports

A group of us went to a soccer game (football) this week at Cairo Stadium (which holds 60,000 people, though maybe only 5-8,000 were there). The teams playing were club teams from the city, the best players of which are in Egypt’s national team. We had a lot of fun, even though they weren't playing their best. Personally, I enjoyed noticing the things would probably not be found at an American sporting event (though my experience in that is extremely limited). Here's our list

1. The women of our group were thoroughly searched in a separate room, while our guys were just allowed into the stadium

2. There were perhaps only 10 women in the entire stadium, other than us

3. Us foreigners received a more enthusiastic greeting from the fans than the players themselves (everyone turned to cheer for us and take our pictures)

4. There were areas at the back of the stadium for people to do their prayers at any time during the evening

5. People bought cups of hot tea to sip while watching the game instead of cold beers

6. Players from the opposite teams greeted each other pre-game with handshakes and kisses (this is a common way of greeting here)

7. Riot police situated throughout the entire stadium, evenly spaced in rows at a ratio of perhaps 3 fans to 1 policeman. The last five minutes of the game, some of them formed a wall around the field to protect from fans rushing the field. (The last game between these two teams, a riot broke out after one team’s fans threw firecrackers into the seats of the other team’s)

8. Secret police stationed beside us to protect the only foreigners in the stadium


Bus to the game:


Police surrounding the Isamaily fans, they weren't quite this thick everywhere: