The women's guild sold pancake breakfasts to raise money for the building fund. The kids played games out in the hallway. The teenagers clustered together with their i-pods, text-messaging back and forth among themselves. Everyone was there to seriously cheer for Iran. Except for one lady who was a Mexico fan.
We were all so HOPEFUL as the Iranian defense stopped Mexico cold again and again. There was so much riding on this game. "If only Iran can win at soccer," I said to the person sitting next to me, "then maybe Bush will back off and not try to blow up Tehran like he did with Baghdad." Magical thinking. Yeah right.
Then Mexico scored a point. Then IRAN SCORED A POINT. The basement went wild! Except for the Mexico fan.
Two-thirds of the way through the game, a child tripped over an extension cord and the screen went black. Nooooo! Turn it back on!
We were all wildly praying for our team to win. 20 minutes left! Mexico scored! What a let-down. I had imagined poor sweet little underdog Iran actually winning this game. But there was still time!
Then Mexico scored again. The Mexican fan went wild! The rest of us slumped in our chairs. But there was still ten minutes left in the game! We could do this! But while Iran's defense still held and they got the ball six or seven times more, they were unable to score and Mexico won.
I was really disappointed but everyone else in the basement was philosophical. Except for the Mexico fan.
