Four years ago many women danced in the street for the first time in their lives. The occasion: the defeat of the Australians in the Football World Cup. There was even more dancing when Iran beat the US.
Football is immensely popular, but wrestling is Iran's traditional sport. And that reveals another side to the Iranian character…
Teymour Shaheeni
On Wednesday 15th, November over 120,000 Iranians fans, many who had been in the Tehran stadium six hours before the game started, watched the national team beat Ireland 1-0, but failed to go through to the 2002 World Cup finals on aggregate. Millions more watched on TV - and later mourned. Some took to the streets and threw stones at government buildings. Four years ago the scenes were very different. Iran first defeated Australia to qualify in the 1998 World Cup, and then beat the US in France. After each match thousands poured into the streets and danced the night away. Everyone remembers where they were on those two nights. The Iranian supporters in France were one of the most popular groups because of their colourfulness and ability to enjoy the occasion.
Such football frenzy is not just a passing fashion during the World Cup. It has been a major part of Iranian life now for at least 40 years. Iran has won the Asian league three times and has its own national league, started in 1960, which is dominated by the two Tehran teams, Pirouzi and Istighal. As well as following their own league, millions of Iranians follow the UK Premiership, which is shown live and free on Iranian TV.
Football is now Iran's most popular sport - but the country enjoys much more success in its traditional sport, wrestling. In football Iran has never been the world's number one, but between 1951 and 2000 Iran won no less than 43 Gold Medals, 40 Silver Medals, and 36 Bronze Medals in free style wrestling at Olympic and International Competitions. Iran has also won Olympic Gold Medals in the 90 kg category and the 58 kg category.
For centuries the wrestling gymnasium or 'Zurkhana' (literally, The House of Strength) has been very much at the centre of towns and villages throughout Iran. Here men would come to train and practise, while a special orator would recite from the poem Shahnameh by Firdowsi (932-1025) to inspire them with the example of Rostam, Iran's national hero . Unlike in the West where wrestling has an element of circus entertainment to it, wrestling in Iran is a very serious affair where manliness is made or broken.
Iran's passion for football reflects not just their love for a great game, but also their intense national pride. The fact that they are one of the premier footballing nations in Asia is in tune with what many Iranians believe their real position in the world is. Their success in wrestling reflects something much more deep-rooted. That life is a closely fought struggle where individual training, determination, and intelligent tactics will bring victory for the whole community.