Our five year adventure in Doha, Qatar ended June 1, 2012, but the memories will always remain. It's back to Texas where I have decided...Qatar isn't cornering the market on "quirky", as I once believed. Thanks for opening my eyes to the world, Doha!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Post Game Talk

The much anticpitated big game has come and gone. Brazil vs England for Qatar was to be a preview of how this small unknown nation could potentially host a world class act such as the World Cup for which they are bidding to host in 2022. Rest assured after last night's game, their "readiness" will be hashed out in many blogs and news articles to come. What's my take? Well, you know me, the junior cheerleader for this tiny country hates to say anything negative, but when you run out of food, you're toast in my book. Gridlock parking at the game's end? Expected. No food and water? Unacceptable. David and I made a dash at halftime to the concession area to grab a bite. After all, it was 9:00pm, and we hadn't eaten since lunch. We noted that the crowd at the Hardee's counter was dispersing quickly and we could the hear the echoes of "khalas" flowing through the air. Khalas? Finished? No way. Yes, way. Same thing at KFC, Wataniya, and yes, Krispy Kreme (which, as a last resort, I would have settled for!). One last minute reprieve was in order when I saw an employee with a box in hand. I shoved David in his direction, so he muscled his way through the ensuing crowd. A box of chicken sandwiches had arrived from heaven and I didn't care what the price was. I'm not one that you'd ever catch going on a hunger strike. Crisis averted. Oh, I'm sure there were other things that didn't quite go right, but those I can overlook. Food shortages, I cannot. No doubt the powers that be are at the drawing board this very moment to determine what went right and what went wrong. Let's just hope they can pony up and admit what did go wrong and proceed from there. Do note that plenty did go right. The festival atmosphere before kickoff made for a nice, but low key evening. Remember, there's no imbibing in Doha which explained the unusually quiet soccer fans that otherwise would be insanely out of control. I do wish Qatar the best of luck on their 2022 World Cupl bid.

Noteworthy or Not:

There were warnings in various news articles advising "UK hooligans" to keep their shirts on when in Doha. No problem for this fan, "I'll just wear my naked chick shirt".


This gentleman opted for a skirt. Please, don't remove that either!




The dude seated next to me opted for pink socks. His "lucky" ones, maybe?




No misbehavin' at this game. Instead we had fans tossing thousands of glow sticks from the stands during the pregame show. Number of eyes put out due to the pummeling is unknown at this time.


Are you this big, Dave?





Was this double fisted texter the cause of the parking lot gridlock after the game?




Yeah, there was a game with players and everything. Maybe I'll add some pics of that later :)

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4 comments:

  1. I went through a similar experience at the concession stand. Our snack area didn't run out completely - we had soft drinks and chicken sandwiches. These could only be obtained after standing in a violent mob for fifty minutes. I missed the first fifteen minutes of the second half (and the game's only goal) while I was being pushed around by a bunch of hungry men.

    I really, really wanted this event to succeed, but I'm with you Sybil. No easy access to food and drink = complete joke!

    They've still got a lot of work to do.

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  2. On a lighter and less important note, it looks like the big event gave a reason to wash the dust off the Khalifa tower. Did they have the light show going?

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  3. The tower was lit up, but nothing electrifying going on.

    Now back to more important matters. Where was the beef?! Can you tell the food issue really got to me?

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  4. I watched that game this weekend. I told Lana you were there, and once again I was jealous. I also watched the Dynamos lose to the Galaxy this weekend to be shut out of the MLS Cup championship game. :( I want to go to a big time football game soooo bad. I want to see an EPL game, maybe Real Madrid versus Man. U. that would be great.

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