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8/13/07 We’re just days away from the Novi Wildcat home football opener on August 24th. Fans will converge from many places, and they will have a chance to re-connect and say hello to people they haven’t seen in awhile. And, oh by the way it should be a terrific contest on the field against a talented visitor in the Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers! If anyone doubts the unifying power of sports, consider a soccer contest played halfway around the world on July 29th in Jakarta, Indonesia. A group of 22 Iraqi athletes that form their National soccer team bested heavily favored Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Cup 1-0. And yes, this group of young men offered a beacon of hope for a nation that is tattered and divided. Thousands of miles away in Iraq, she-ites and sunnis put down there guns temporarily, and celebrated. Many miles away from there, 3,000 Iraqi refugees in Damascus, Syria broke into dance and celebration. Eight time zones away in Dearborn, Michigan, Iraqi-Americans gathered in the streets honking horns, sitting on car roofs and waving flags. Even in war torn Baghdad men of all ages ran through the neighborhoods cheering like crazy. “The players have made us proud, not the greedy politicians,” said Sabah Shaiyal a 43-year old Baghdad based police officer. “Once again our sportsmen have shown us there is only one united Iraq.” Legendary football Coach Fred Akers once said, “Sports are not a matter of life or death, they’re actually more important than that,” he deadpanned. He may be right… So, when Tab Kellepourey’s team takes the field for their first contest in a few days, the action on the gridiron will once again serve as a metaphor that the world of sport has a transcendent quality in the collective lives of a community, and even an entire nation. No matter how you spell it, futbol or football; it’s unifying power is universal. (c) 2007 Novi
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