Soccer, Armenian style

by Maria Titizian

Published: Saturday June 23, 2007 in Living in Armenia

I am in a reflective mood this evening as I sit in front of my computer struggling to write. Children are playing on the street, birds are chirping rather wildly by my window­sill and the sun is playing games with the clouds as it quietly sets. Mt. Ararat is settling down for a night's repose, and in a few minutes its faint silhouette will frame the evening sky and then softly disappear into the darkness.

Dusk in Yerevan is the serene intermingled with muffled sounds that echo through the house. The television in the living room however is blaring, as Armenia's national soccer team hosts Poland in yet another qualifying match for the UEFA Eurocup finals in 2008. In complete tandem with the Armenian sports commentator, my son is shouting and shrieking at every play and at every missed shot. Last week Armenia beat Kazakhstan 2-1, and tonight there are record numbers in attendance at the soccer stadium in Yerevan, including Prime Minister Serge Sargsian of Armenia and President Arkady Ghoukassian of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Soccer is a national obsession, but for many years its popularity has been waning. The fact that our team rarely wins might be a reason. Locals are not surprised. They insist that Armenian national characteristics are not conducive to team sports. We excel in tennis, chess, weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling, and admittedly since 1973 there hasn't been much winning in the way of soccer. Therefore, because we do not know how to be team players, success on the soccer field will always be akin to unrequited love.

Two years ago I went to a soccer game in Yerevan, when Armenia was playing against the Czech Republic. It was exciting because I had never been to a soccer game before but I must admit that the level of testosterone in the stadium was stifling. I was one of the few people there of the female persuasion to watch the game. Although the stadium was half empty that day, it was evident that Armenians were wild about the game, and tonight, as our national team battles Poland, the strongest team in their division, is no exception.

I can hear the fans going wild and I'm afraid my son is on the cusp of losing his voice. I decide to investigate the reason for such enthusiasm, and just as I walk into the living room our team scores the first goal of the game.

It is mayhem in the stadium, in my house, and probably throughout the whole city. Of course I am riveted and sit down to watch the rest of the game. Could it be possible that we are on a winning streak?

In the final seconds of the game with the score still 1-0 in favor of Armenia, you can hear a pin drop. And then the final whistle blows - and victory! Everyone is doing a collective dance of celebration, the fans, the players, the prime minister, and the president. You'd think we were playing for the World Cup championship.

It didn't matter that it was only a qualifying match; it was a victory that everyone had been hoping for but not anticipating. The next day every news and radio station, every newspaper in the country ran the story. One local newspaper wrote, "There was frenzy in the stadium, frenzy among football fans glued to their TV sets at home. It's been a long time since young football fans shouted, ‘Armenia! Armenia!' in the streets with such pride."

It doesn't take much. Small things such as winning a soccer game can have a tremendous impact on a country that doesn't get many breaks.

So while today the National Assembly of Armenia held its first sitting, and as the OSCE Minsk delegation was in Armenia discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a small victory such as winning a soccer game couldn't have lent itself more to bringing people together.

It's important on another level also. Young people in this country need heroes and role models to look up to. And our soccer players this evening stepped up to the plate.

Although we gripe and complain, it has been a year of victories for this country. Last year the Armenian national chess team won the world championships for chess, and just last month our weightlifting team won the European championships. So we have a lot to be proud of and thankful for.

We sometimes don't see the forest for the trees, but if we just step back and remember to breathe we'll see that for such a small nation who has had to overcome unimaginable obstacles we are survivors and can be winners. To think that in the span of two decades we have had to bear witness to and survive a tragic earthquake, war, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, independence, blockade by two of our neighbors, an energy crisis, total collapse of the economy, and mass exodus. Little victories like winning a qualifying soccer match are tantamount to miraculous. Bravo!