Another Soccer Sunday

Sunday, June 21 was another day of soccer in Guinea. The national team was playing Malawi in a World Cup qualifying match, and the locals were confident of a victory. We had witnessed some of the soccer hysteria two weeks ago during another national qualifying match, and this Sunday showed us again how crazy for soccer Guineans are.

The match was held in the late afternoon. I was out in a neighborhood just outside of downtown when the match started. I had taken a taxi there with David, one of the drumming students, and Mohammad, Amara’s brother, who has been helping with our program. We went with the intention of visiting the “Exclusiv Hyper-Marche Bobo,” advertised as a large supermarket where you could get anything. Although it was Sunday, we had understood this store was open 24 hours, but when we got there we found it shut tight. So, we walked around the neighborhood, which was near the coastline, and we visited some small shops where vendors were selling Guinean souvenirs and products from local artisans. There were a lot of wood carvings and shell necklaces, as well as a few unusual items such as animal pelts and “silver” jewelry. Some of the vendors had drums, so we were looking at those.

I found a drum that I liked and I was negotiating with the vendor for it – a process that involves leaving and returning, discussing the quality of the item, and many other tricks. Mohammad, David and I were standing up the street from the shop discussing the drum and a proper price when Guinea scored its first goal. There was no doubt what had happened, as almost everyone on the street broke out in screams and laughter. Some of the kids were running down the street and everyone was very happy.

We concluded our negotiation for the drum and were walking through a nearby neighborhood when Guinea scored its second goal, and again we knew immediately what had happened. People, especially kids, poured out of the houses and on to the streets, and were running around celebrating. Both goals were scored in the first half of the game, and both by the same Guinean striker.

We were near the Grand Mosque, one of the landmarks in Conakry, so we walked over and looked around – it is a beautiful building, surrounded by a large park. We then caught a taxi back to our house, and on the way back noticed that the traffic was very light for Conakry – no doubt many people were inside watching the second half of the game. In fact in several spots we saw people watching the game – upwards of 200 people gathered around a single TV set at one site, nearly as many at another down the street. When we got back to the house, a radio was blasting the game in the patio. I went walking through our neighborhood of Conteya and saw people packed in small restaurants or around storefront businesses gathered around one TV. Guineans love their soccer!

In the end the Guinean team triumphed, 2-1. A happy day for the country.