The Best News To Come Out of Iraq Since... Ever

by Sanchez, Shot To Nothing

Against the odds the Iraqi soccer team managed to beat South Korea in the Asian Cup Semi-finals and will meet Saudi Arabia tonight for the whole kettle of fish.

"As the winning penalty kick hit the back of the net, the entire city erupted in celebration. The sound and smell of celebratory gunfire filled the air as thousands of people took to the streets - Iraq had made it to the final of the Asian Cup."

I question how you could tell that the gunfire in question was actually celebratory but ehy, there's nothing quite like the sound of gun fire and cheering is there?

On a more serious note though, it looks like once again sport is the only thing that can bring a divided nation together.

"A headline in a local paper, below a picture of the team's star striker Younis Mahmoud, roughly translated read: "Apologies South Korea, we must win for the happiness of Iraq.""

The team themselves are made up of players from all three of Iraq's major religions, Sunnis, Shiahs and Kurds and this unity seems to have seeped onto the streets of Iraq. It hasn't stopped
the suicide bombers of-course, but it has given the country a reason to feel proud of itself. Which is kind of the whole point of sport really. If they can win tonight (and I'll be keeping everything crossed for them) perhaps it will send out a message to all of Iraq's people that says 'Look what we can achieve when we work together'.

Then again, perhaps that's just being naive, but I believe in the power of sport as a force for good and at the very least, it will be a more affirming thing to watch then monsieur Bonds 'road to history'.

Source: BBC NEWS