I went to a big football (soccer) match between Hillel (a local team) and a team from Nigeria. Most games cost 500 Dinars, so I only brought 1000 Dinars. This game cost 2000 Dinars, because it was a big match. I walked up a ramp leading to the expensive seats (the ramp is taller than the stadium wall) and watched the beginning of the game from there. The view was not very good, though, so I went across the street where many people were watching from a rooftop. The view was a little better, but you could only see one goal. At half time I decided to invoke Hawaja Privilege (taking advantage of the fact that white people are rare and well respected) and got in for free. Inside the stadium, I met some Sudanese fans who spoke decent English and watched the game with them.
The place was absolutely packed. It was the deciding game for entrance into the African League Semi-Finals. Sudan lost 3-0 in Nigeria, so they had to win by more than 4 points. No one thought it could be done. Hillel scored one goal after another. Each time, the fans lit newspapers on fire, shot off Roman Candles (fireworks) and danced around hugging each other. It came down to an exciting sudden-death shootout and Hillel won! I the whole city of Omderman (and probably the rest of the country) celebrated for hours.
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