There's some people on the pitch

Assalamu Aleikum!

"There's some people on the pitch. They think it's all over. It is now!"

I went to our local professional football team's match last night. We were second to bottom of the league at start of play with only one victory all season. The tension was obvious as we moved towards the stadium. Bus loads of kids had arrived in the yellow buses they travel to school in. The drummers/cheer leaders had settled themselves into the stands next to the glass enclosure that held the shaykhs. Worried looking men were dragging on cigarettes. The player's wife (singular!) fashionably dressed with a headscarf strategically placed over her head took her place in the posh seats.

We had our usual frisk at the gates for any weapons. The police were taking no chances! A little boy of about 3 was frisked as I was. Fortunately no offensive weapons were discovered. Then we took our seats and settled down to a game of 2 halves. By the end of the first half our team was 3-0 up and there the excitement ended. The second half produced no shots on goal but a lot of players falling down injured only to jump up a minute later after the opposition had sportingly kicked the ball out of play.

The final whistle blew and our team jumped into each other's arms. The new Egyptian coach, looking like Gareth Southgate in a smart suit, ran over and congratulated his players on only their second win of the season. As I was watching this the person next to me spotted something else going.
"Look over there! This win means a lot to them."
I followed the direction he was pointing and saw hordes of kids invading the pitch. But rather than the parkas the Hereford fans wore when their team beat Newcastle in the early 70s these kids were all wearing the kandoora (long white shirt). The glee in their faces was palpable. And yet within those gleeful expressions was a look of steely determination. As if they had a greater motive than just celebrating their team's win.

Then it dawned on me. "The balls!"
Too late the footballers realised that they had left the balls that they had been warming up with on the side of the pitch. Each boy made a grab for a ball. Some stuffed them under their kandooras and dashed out of the ground looking like pregnant 10 year olds. Others launched them over the fence to waiting compatriots. By the end of 2 minutes the ground was cleared of footballs.

Free to watch and you get a football to take home with you. I wonder if it'll catch on in the UK?

Masalamah
Yahya