Built in 1966 and christened by the great Eusebio in a friendly international between the Iraqi and Portuguese national teams, the Shaab Stadium has stood out as the Mecca of Iraqi soccer ever since. As a fanatic and avid supporter who has been known to have green blood, the night before my anticipated visit to the stadium was a restless one. All night long, my mind raced through memory lane and revisited great Iraqi soccer moments from Ahmed Radhi's goal in Mexico '86 to Emad Mohamad's championship golden goal only weeks prior to my pilgrimage to the great stadium.

It was a cold and rainy winter day in Baghdad, creating a beautiful contradiction between what the world was like outside and how I was feeling inside. Today, I was going to see Al Zawraa and Al Shorta (Police) go head to head for the Um Al Maarik (Mother of all Battles) Cup after being personally invited by Shorta's coach, the legendary Ahmed Radhi, a few days earlier. Our meeting was part of my great football experience in Iraq which included watching a lackluster effort by the national team in Lebanon 2000, and then dancing all night in the streets of Baghdad after being crowned Asian Youth Champions. My visit to the Cup final would be a great way to top off the four months of Iraqi football I was treated to.

We headed out to the stadium, located in a remote area of the city as early as possible to avoid the rush for tickets. My uncle, driving a typical Iraqi Brazilian made Volkswagen (Barazali), was trying to mentally prepare me for the experience that was at hand. "50,000 spectators," I remember him saying, perhaps exaggerating by 10,000 people or so. "Trumpets and drums," he added knowing of my great admiration for the loud and colorful way in which Iraqis support their favorite footballers. And just as he finished telling me of the musical elements of the game, the great stadium appeared. Much like an anticipated oasis for a thirsty nomad, the stadium soared very high from the beautiful Baghdad landscape. I even caught a glimpse of the fans seated high in the stands, some two kilometers away, where I was certain that they could hear the pounding of my heart as the whole experience began to set in. Interestingly, the sight of the stadium, triggered memories of the Iraqi Qatari draw in the stadium more than ten years ago killing our chances of qualifying to Italia '90 (I never got over that).

Getting into the stadium was an ordeal all on its own as I had to make my way through very tight security, where by special circumstance, I was seated at field level. After settling in, I found myself being immersed in a sea of people encircling the stadium. Even more interestingly was the sight of hundreds of fans climbing over various walls and fences trying to sneak a peek at the sold out affair. Slowly, players started emerging onto the pitch, triggering off a carnival atmosphere filled with loud music and the traditional chants of what must have been more than 40,000 supporters. Ahmed Ali al Jaber (heroic net minder of the U-20 Asian Champion squad), Nashaat Akram, Emad Mohamad, Laith Hussein, Ahmed Radhi, Abbas Raheem, and Ziad Tariq were just some of the stars involved in today's match. These people whom I had danced for in their moments of joy, and cried for when they were overcome with the utter despair of loss, were now within reaching distance. I was also treated to the sight of the prolific scoring machine Razzaq Farhan, Hamza Hadi, and Abbas Obeid (whom I later met on a plane trip from Amman to Doha) who were all taking in the action a short distance away from me.

The game, which now seemed a secondary issue that seemed to take a back seat to the circus like frenzy that the stadium was going through, kicked off promptly. Al Zawraa had early ball control with the fast antics of Abbas Raheem down the left side, but fell short of scoring. Al Shorta, taking advantage of the white team's missed opportunities, scored a goal shortly before the end of the first half, sending the green's supporters, who conquered a much smaller portion of the stadium, into absolute ecstasy. Personally, being caught up in the excitement and feeling happy for Ahmed Radhi, I began dancing frantically at the sidelines. Not realizing that I was seated in front of the Al Zawraa fans, I quickly was reminded of where I stood through a beautiful display of Iraqi swear words and ill intended remarks pointed at me. The game settled into a normal pace into the second half, until the last minutes of the match. The stadium was alit as Al Zawraa hit the uprights many times in their attempts to tie up the match. The "White Larks" failed to capitalize on any of the chances they created, due to the great defensive play of Al Shorta's Ziad Tariq. Before the final whistle, a player of Al Zawraa was sent off for intentionally elbowing his counterpart, sparking a storm of stones onto the field by angry fans. I was narrowly missed by a flying object, before Abbas Raheem, came over to calm down his supporters. The final whistle finally blew after an extraordinary twelve minutes of stoppage time! The Al Shorta bench poured onto the pitch and celebrated their first major triumph of the year.

After the presentation of the Cup, the stadium quietly emptied leaving me alone in an empty stadium. I refused to leave, as so I can finalize my thoughts at what I feared might be a once in a lifetime experience. I realized that the most glaring impression that I wanted to take with me today was deeper than the sensory overload that I experienced at the stadium. It was the fact that Iraqi football seemed to be breathing strongly against all the odds set against it. I felt a sense of relieve, only compared to a mother seeing her child recover from a fatal disease. May Iraqi football andthe Stadium of People live on forever.