Lessons from the pitch

In case you missed it, a great unifying event transpired for Iraqis this past weekend: they won the Asian Cup, defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the championship game. Along the way, they also beat South Korea. Upon news of their victory, there was dancing and celebrating in the streets. For a shining moment, Iraq was united behind a team that represented the whole nation, regardless as to whether Shiite, Sunni or Kurd. For one brief moment, what mattered was that they were Iraqi, and they were champions.

This is hardly an isolated phenomenon. The Ivory Coast's soccer team effectively ended the nation's civil war when the team captain declared that they were playing for the whole country, going so far as to play one of their key matches in the rebel capitol (and bringing politicians from both sides together in the same place.) There are stories of Syrian Muslims, Lebanese Christians and Israelis huddling around a television set - together - to watch the FIFA World Cup, even knowing that the week prior they were shooting at each other, and when the World Cup was over, they'd go back to shooting at each other.

What is it about sport - and soccer in particular - that unifies? Why is it that the beautiful game can transcend politics, religion, race and rhetoric and bring the direst of enemies together as the closest of friends? It is no accident that many countries have a Ministry of Sport, and that this ministry is closely tied to success on the pitch. It is also no accident that politicians routinely try to politicize soccer, and that they routinely fail.

At its very core, the beautiful game is what politics is not. It is generally a meritocracy: if you are a good player, you may be invited to wear the national colors and to represent the people of your country. Your worth is measured by what you do on the pitch, not by your political leanings or religious beliefs or ethnic heritage. People of your country see the kit in your country's colors and rally behind you because you are one of them. When you score a goal, it counts the same whether you are from Baghdad or Tikrit or Fallujah or the Kurdish north. And the color of your teammate's skin has no bearing on whether you pass him the ball when he is open.

Most days I wonder whether there is any hope for Iraq, a country which is all but in an all-out civil war. They're just waiting for the US to leave so they can start the killing in earnest. Then they go and pull off an unlikely victory like the Asian Cup, and for a brief moment, Iraq is filled with Iraqis and not Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. And for a brief moment, I have hope.