Friday, January 16, 2009

Oman through to a classic final against the old enemy: Saudi

It's the final we all wished for - as long as we win: us vs. RSA.


Tomorrow, at 6pm, Oman play Saudi in the regional Gulf football cup final. Its a big deal. And it'll be a nail biter game.

Oman got through their semi against Qatar thanks to the amazing Al Habsi. The team played pretty well.


Photo: Oman beat Qatar to face Saudi

In the other semi-final, Saudi vs Kuwait, it was a classic 'no lose' game for Oman. One of them was going to lose. And while everyone was cheering for Kuwait (honestly, just try cheering for Saudi.... I always find it just sticks in the throat), really we all wanted Saudi to win!

Why? So we, Oman, can kick their ass in the final. Omanis really can't stand Saudis. What with the war(s), the border disputes, the religious interference, and the 1980s Saudi official fatwa against all Ibadhi; lets say, there's not a lot of love lost between the people of Oman and the brotherly Kingdom to the West. The great thing is, this nationaistic passion will be subsumed in the sport of football. One can only wonder how long before Gaza could play Israel in a peaceful football match.

I really hope we win tomorrow. Getting beaten by the Saudis would totally suck
.

Enjoy the game folks. Fingers crossed it doesn't go to penalties again... I'll be out with the crowds if they win!


And in other news...
Oh, it rained really hard last week, in case you hadn't heard/don't live here. The wind was IMHO a lot stronger than during Gonu for several minutes. And it hit very fast - a real storm. Mostly the city survived pretty well. Amazingly the pitch was OK for the matches too.



Photo: hail, wind and rain strikes Oman



Rain and hailstorms lash northern parts of Oman

By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief
Published: January 14, 2009, 12:58

Muscat: Hailstorms lashed the northern parts of Omani capital for almost 30 minutes on Tuesday night.

"It was like small cubes of ice but not in definite shape," Saeed Masood, an Omani resident of Seeb, 45-km north of central Ruwi, told Gulf News.

He said the streets were covered with ice and traffic came to a halt as visibility reduced drastically.

"Our terrace was filled with solid pieces of ice," said Yogesh Shah, a long-time Oman resident who lives in a terrace flat in Seeb.

After the storm stopped, Shah said children in the area had a gala time. "For sometime children started throwing ice at each other," he said.

There was nothing unusual about hailstorms as it had happened in the past too, said Hamid Al Brashdi of the Meteorological and Air Navigation Department.

He predicted more rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, due to continued trough of low pressure that first brought rains in Musandam and Wusta region and then over Muscat.

The meteorological office advised people to take extra care during rains, especially in low-lying areas.


I do like the last point of advice. Surprised they didn't warn about being in wadis and things too.

4 comments:

  1. yep - agree that the rain was heavier and wind stronger for a while than dear old Guno; the best part of the game - was the drive home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wind measured at Seeb did exceed the wind at Gonu - so you are correct.

    I am enjoying a well-earned European vacation.

    Good luck to Oman tomorrow.
    Hope they kick Saudi's ass!

    JD

    ReplyDelete
  3. UD

    How many Saudis you know personally?

    I know a couple of them, I visited Saudi Arabia many times, and they are very nice people who have to deal with very strange laws.

    I hope Oman win, but if Saudi did win, so what, its just a game of football.

    ReplyDelete
  4. y, JD
    glad to be confirmed!

    Karim,
    Way too many to even count. Most that I've seen, generally v. nice (but to tell the truth that is the same for any race, nation, people I've ever met, including Jews.) Ever been to Bahrain Karim?

    But still a large remainder were definite hypocritical, spoilt, arrogant, wacko, curse you to Allah while drinking quadruple Chivas and whoring, grade A bastards.

    Well, you asked.

    And we won.

    ReplyDelete

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