King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Olympics: What else but a huge sports upset could make Iraq go silly with joy? Plus: Shame on ESPN.
Aug. 13, 2004 | When the Opening Ceremonies represent an anticlimax, you have to say the Olympics have gotten off to a pretty good start.
The Olympic soccer tournament begins before the official opening of the Games so they can get all the matches in, and the Iraqi team ensured Thursday that when the athletes march and the music plays and whatever over-the-top folderol is going to unfold unfolds Friday night, one of the signature moments of the Athens Games will already have taken place 130 miles away in Patras.
It may turn out to be the signature moment. These Olympics could be pretty good without its being topped.
Iraq beat Portugal 4-2 in a first-round match Thursday. It's not going to lead to a gold medal, but we can still call it a miracle on grass, an overused phrase, even if it did take place in front of a sea of empty seats.
In 1950 the United States pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history by beating England 1-0. They've made a movie about that match. We're still congratulating ourselves over it. Compared to Iraq over Portugal, it was Manchester United beating the North Central Under-10 All-Stars.
The Americans, after all, hadn't just been invaded. They weren't under a foreign occupation that followed decades of murderous tyranny. There were surely some inspiring stories of hardship overcome on that American side, but none of them included being jailed and tortured for playing badly by the psychotic son of the dictator.
The Iraqis overcame that and more just to qualify for the Olympics in a major upset this spring. They could have been forgiven for not expecting much on the scoreboard when just walking onto the pitch represented a victory of unimaginable proportions for anyone who hasn't been through similar depredation.
It would have been all right if they'd folded up the tent after falling behind 1-0 on an accidental own-goal by defender Haidar Jabar, a mistake that would have had tragic consequences for Jabar if Udai Hussein were still running things, but this time only meant a probable defeat. This was Portugal, after all, a medal favorite fresh off an upset loss to Greece in the final of Euro 2004. (Though because the Olympic soccer tournament is for under-23 teams only, with three age exceptions allowed per team, the Euro 2004 squad was a different, better bunch of players.)
It took three minutes for Iraq to tie the score. Emad Mohammed on a rebound. Iraq took the lead later in the first half but Portugal tied it before the break. A moral victory: even-up at halftime.
Next page: A little nationalism can come in handy. Plus: ESPN sees nothing -- nothing!