Kabir,
(Denmark - Norway 1-0)
you are right, up to the match things went far out of proportion. It was the
press, who could not control themselves and the temptation to use a football
match to nearly declare war between the two nations. Every angle was turned
and nothing was too small to be blown up. There were many humorous things in
the media "war". I never read the tabloid press, which I understand was the
most stupid, and specially one Danish newspaper did a lot to insult Norway
and its people. I believe the Norwegians have suffered enough after 600
years under Danish and Swedish rule.
I attended the match at the national football stadium PARKEN, and was
surprised to see so many from Norway, even in the Danish supporter section.
Both national anthems were carried away by thousands of voices and those
moments gives you a shivering feeling.
In and around the stadium there were many friendly singing and shouting
contests between the supporters. Some Norwegians has been on tour to Denmark
since Friday , supporting the under 21 - match between our countries, and
they had like some Danish supporters spend many hours in the bars. That led
to a few serious  incidents. The beer is cheap in Denmark compared to
Norway. In Denmark we expect that you can bring your family to a match. You
will se many women and kids for such matches. And hopefully this sportsand
supporter culture can continue in the future. There are some who are not
interested in the matches but only come to start a fight. Till now the
police has it under control. But we are debating if the society and the
taxpayers should accept such a use of resources, when there are many other
things for the police to handle.

The contest between Senegal and The Gambia is something special. Senegal is
the big brother in most ways and would like to act like that. The Scorpions
are the underdogs, who will try and overcome the maybe arrogant Lions. Even
with strong cultural and tribal links between the two countries and the
players, there are also strong feelings and tense emotions involved. The
Lions are after world cup "ruling" the football-savanna and will not see
even a tiny  scorpion try and change that, well knowing that the scorpions
and specially the young scorpions are on the rise.
I do hope that the reported clashes between the supporters were not many and
too heavy, and certainly not led to anything serious, so all will find their
way back home. I agree, that attacking each other and our homes and property
is way out of proportion, as you say.

I know it´s football, and very important for our prestige, but we don´t need
to play it as if life and dead is on stake.

Regards Asbjørn Nordam
 

on 08/06/03 19:28, Amadu Kabir Njie at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Brother Mo!
> 
> I was thinking along the same lines when I first heard the news. For over a
> month, yesterday's clash between Denmark and Norway stole a large chunk of
> media attention here, with an alleged 'war of words' from the two trainers,
> all blown out of proportion but with much sense of humour. Danish and
> Norwegian fans were repeatedly shown on Friday merry-making and teasing each
> other about football and about their respective countries on.
> 
> I believe Senegal's security apparatus is sophisticated enough to have been in
> a position to foresee and forestall these riots effectively before it got out
> of hand.
> 
> But I guess this was just another opportunity for some to canalize their
> frustration from the dire economic situation back home in both countries.
> 'Misplaced nationalism,' if you ask me.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kabir. 
> 

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