Monday, January 11, 2010

Malawi woyee!! Flames woyee!!

Big, BIG news from Malawi, today, which will probably never make it to your corner of the world.

But the Malawi Flames, the lowest ranked team in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, beat Algeria three to one in their opening game. WOO-HOO! Seriously, people, this is BIG here. The Africa Cup of Nations is like the regional World Cup for African football (soccer) teams. From around 3 o'clock this afternoon, the city has been filled with cheers, honking horns, and and people waving at strangers, just sharing in the happiness. Jorge drove around to all the minibus depots for a while, blaring the horn, just because he could get away with it.

We went for a walk after work, and many of the men we saw were still carrying their little battery-operated radios around with them, listening to the commentary and highlights. Then on the drive home, we passed several revelers who had taken big, leafy branches from the trees and covered their bodies with them, an impromptu traditional costume.

We are very proud of our guys! Go Flames!!

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

"We passed several revelers who had taken big, leafy branches from the trees and covered their bodies with them, an impromptu traditional costume."

That's what I expect to see if the Saints win the Super Bowl!

Dad said...

This news made it into the Seattle Times, largely, I suspect, because USA meets Algeria in the first round of the World Cup. Though the Times reported the score as 3-0.
The Times also reported the sad news that Togo has withdrawn from the tournament because an attack on their team bus killed two players (and the driver).

Gwyneth said...

Sorry, dad, that was a mistake - the score was indeed 3 to 0. Just typed it wrong in my excitement, I did actually know the score!

Chris Johnson said...

Beat Angola! Beat Angola!

Chris Johnson said...

Darn it, just saw the result... 0-2.

Brooke said...

It really is amazing how sports create such camaraderie. A friend wrote a paper on the Olympics and Nationalism, which I think is fascinating. Nation building with a soccer ball right there :-)