Posted on 06/15/2006 7:49:39 PM PDT by neverdem
The two countries the United States hates most this month are Iran and Mexico. Iran, for its nukes; Mexico for its Mexicans. This is not a particularly good time to be waving south-of-the-border flags or screaming classic Persian fight songs.
So, when Mexico played Iran in the first round of the World Cup on Sunday morning, I drove down to watch it at Caspian, an Iranian restaurant in Irvine, Calif., to see how rowdy the two sides would get. I chose Irvine because it has a huge Iranian population and it happens to be in California, which is full of Mexicans.
I arrived at Caspian 45 minutes before game time, and the parking lot was already full. After I shouldered my way to the counter, I bought a tea and a bowl of "halim," an Iranian porridge made of wheat, lentils and meat.
At the condiments table, I noticed that everyone was pouring astronomical amounts of sugar and cinnamon on their "halim." The first clue that a food will not be delicious is when people cover it with sugar and cinnamon.
As I entered a room packed with people, a huge chant went up. Having occasionally seen the news in the past 30 years, I was initially nervous about being in the middle of a huge crowd of chanting Iranians.
But the guy sitting to my right, Raytheon software engineer Navead Hashemi, noticed my disquiet and gently translated the song for me: "What is Iran going to do to the team? THEY'RE GOING TO TEAR THEM UP!"
I felt much better.
Looking to get along, I asked Hashemi if I should refer to my new friends as Iranians or Persians.
"Persian sounds better to Americans because of terrorism," he said. "Me, I always tell people I'm Iranian."
I stared nervously...
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
Who hates Mexicans? Nobody I know.
I read the whole article. What was the point?
I read the whole thing, too---it's as pointless as most of the Austin un-American Statesman is.
That's what grabbed me. Joel Stein's style reminds me of MoDo from the NY Times.
I hate Mexican soccer (futbol) fans...
When you chant "Osama" at the US team during a 'friendly' that hatred is earned.
Yum!
Sorry.. during Olympic Qualifying
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4236314/
Say what you want about the Iranians; Caspians is one of the best resturants I have ever had the pleasure of dining at! Reasonable prices, and the food is outstanding. How can a culture as backwards as the Muslums; have food this great?
It turned out to be one of those literary deals -- kind of like The Natural or A River Runs Through It.
Ever heard of oatmeal?
By chance, I was having breakfast in a restaurant in Nogales, Mexico during the Mexico vs. Iran game. When we entered the restaurant, the score was tied 1-1. Everyone in the restaurant wore three stripes -- green, white, and red -- on their faces, representing the Mexican flag, and of course they were glued to the TV. While we ate breakfast, Mexico scored their second and third goals, and the mood in the restaurant was jubilant, to say the least. It was a fun time to be in Mexico.
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