Former Penn soccer star Aaron Ross weighs on Egyptian soccer riots

If you haven't seen the images that came out of Egypt on Feb. 15, you truly missed one of the scariest moments in recent sporting memory.

Fans of El Masry stormed the field in the aftermath of a 3-1 upset and attacked players and supporters of Al Ahly (Egypt's most famous soccer club). In the riots, 74 people died and over 1000 people were injured.

After the mandatory 40-day mourning period, soccer in Egypt is once again starting again and former Penn midfielder Aaron Ross captured the moment.

Ross, who is now a journalist in Egypt writing about politics, sports and business in post-Mubarak Egypt, wrote a post for NYTimes Goal Blog about the process of healing.

The unprecedented scene Sunday should not have been all that remarkable. There is little beyond rooting loyalty that distinguishes Al Ahly and Zamalek fans. The old geographic and social fault lines that used to divide them barely exist anymore. Outside Ultras life, rival fans are sometimes close friends.
But for those here, the experience was hard to wrap their heads around. “It was so, so strange,” Ahmed said afterward. “I felt like I was in a dream.”

On the ride back toward the Metro station, the two sets of fans shared one of the rickety buses ordinarily used to transport them from the stadium after games.

Unsurprisingly, on a vehicle packed with teenagers and early twentysomethings, the atmosphere was rowdy. But there was not a whiff of animosity in the air.