International Language of Basketball

Ha. I started this post three months ago. Time to finish this bad boy.

"I played basketball with a few Egyptians and other international students at AUC the other day.(The facilities at AUC’s new 600$ million campus are, well, let’s just say—not at all representative of Egypt. Which is a great thing in this case). I'm hoping they'll open their Olympic style pool next semester--it was supposed to open 16 months ago, but this is Egypt. Maybe next year.

Back to basketball. I dominated the game, naturally. The beauty of basketball--the flow and rhythm, the excitement, and the brute intensity and competitiveness of a great game (God, I'm getting all teary-eyed here)...it just doesn't translate well in the Middle East. Intensity is replaced by nonchalance, defense resembles football, with pushing, grabbing, and even the occasional tackle, and offense is, well, scary sometimes. One larger Egyptian player, (who collapsed halfway through the game from exhaustion) had a particular fondness for three pointers, and managed to hit a spectator in the face with one misplaced shot. Which is not to say that there aren’t any Egyptians who can play ball! One younger player, Ahmed, plays in a club league in Egypt and we had a competitive one-on-one bout after everyone left. Another serious player, whose name I didn’t catch, was an Iranian whose family resides in Tehran. He was about my size and played tough, but also within the bounds of legal basketball activity. His English was impeccable and with his King James Nike kicks and Western clothing, he could have been mistaken for any student from the States or Europe. So when I found out he was from Iran, I was both surprised and intrigued. “What’s it like living in Tehran," I asked him after the game, before realizing how stupid that general question was. I hate when people ask questions like that!

He was friendly though, and was willing to engage my eagerness. "And what do you think of Iran's nuclear program? What about the impending revolution?" (I didn't phrase it quite like that!)

Turns out my Iranian competitor is fairly conservative: He strongly believes that Iran is merely producing nuclear energy and not bombs, (although he thinks they have a right to build a bomb), provides no real threat to Israel, and equated the recent election chaos with Bush v. Gore in 2000. (Good basketball conversation right??).

And then only a few minutes later, we were back at it--playing another 3-on-3, just this time my Iranian counterpart was my teammate. He set a good pick or two, I knocked down some shots, and we torched our Egyptian competitors. I slapped hands with him after the game, and with big smiles on both our faces, we promised to play again soon. Basketball does that to you, I guess. It has its own language, and for a moment I totally forgot that we couldn't be farther apart in terms of certain beliefs we hold about the world." Now, if only we could get Ayatollah Khameini and President Obama to play a little friendly game of 1-on-1. I say advantage Obama, but watch out for the underdog.If his ruthless suppression of the Iranian people is any sign of his basketball prowess, I think Khameini might have a trick or two up his sleeve.

Brief update:

I ended up making the American University in Cairo's basketball team later that month and traveling with the team (about half-Americans, half-Egyptians) to a tournament in Alexandria. I also helped our team win a tournament back in Cairo.
That's right. I have a gold medal from Egypt for winning a basketball tournament with one of the best Universities in the Middle East! I'm supposed to travel to Istanbul next week for another tournament with the team, but I don't think my boss is to keen on my going. Work! Ahh! Gotta pay em bills though..