February 6, 2007
SINGAPORE
Hooliganism Claims More Lives, NTU Olympic Games
What else is there to talk about on Mondays other than the weekend’s sporting events?
I will start with one of the more troubling events: the
football riots in southern Italy that resulted in the
death of an Italian police officer. An exploding smoke
canister struck the officer in the head, and he
subsequently died of a heart attack upon arriving at the
hospital. The imagery and video of the rioting (found on
youTube.com) are appalling to see in a country as
developed as Italy. I would expect to find such
fanaticism in under-developed and under-privileged parts
of the world where the populace simply does not know any
better. Only last week an Italian football director was
kicked to death while trying to break up a fight between
two teams after the match – and now this.
I went to a football match in Rome, Italy in 2005 to see two of the Serie A’s top clubs (Inter Milan v Roma) battle it out in the championship. The electric atmosphere in the build-up to the game was everything I had hoped for: there was smoke everywhere as well as derisive chanting toward the opposition. However, as the game progressed it was obvious how close the stadium was to erupting into chaos.
The
rival fans had to be kept at opposite ends of the
stadium with a full outfit of riot police separating
them throughout the match. Despite the police presence
and 15 foot walls, opposing fans were still hurling
flares and other projectiles at one another. This was
the same stadium in which a flare struck one of the
world's best goalkeepers in the head earlier in the
season (shown to the left).
I am thankful I grew up with American sporting events where maniacal violence is unheard of and children can safely attend games. Those who support the passion of “firms” (typical to England) or the outright hooliganism are every bit as guilty as those who partake in such events. I hope European football takes this issue seriously rather than waiting for more people to die or become crippled.
On to a brighter note...
I am competing in NTU’s International Olympic Games as
part of the “Union” football team. We are a rag-tag
bunch compared to the well-organized Southeast Asian
teams, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. We won our
first match against Malaysia, but lost later in the day
to Vietnam. In fairness, we only met one another 30
minutes before kickoff and we had to recruit a group of
volleyball players so we could field enough players. We
will play our qualifying match this Friday against
Indonesia.
The best part of joining the tournament has been the people I have met (although scoring goals was a very close second!) In particular, I have now become friends with several graduate students from both Kazakhstan and Iran. I have never had the chance to become close with people native to either country, and it is embarrassing when I think of how little I know about Kazakhstan. Most things I know about Iran are probably skewed by the bias of western media. I hate to sound cliché, but the students I have met are among the friendliest and most open of any I have met. It is unfortunate how easily politics (on both sides) gets in the way of what would otherwise be terrific social and economic growth opportunities.
A final few words...
The Colts won the Super Bowl. It should have been the Patriots.