BAY AREA BEGINS THE MILLENNIUM WITH IRAN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
1/5/00 - Niloofar Mohtasham-Nouri, Persian Center

-Photos: Bijan Sartipi

United Airlines Flight 649, arrived at the Oakland Airport from Chicago at 10:26 p.m. on January 5, 2000, carrying precious cargo: Iran's National Soccer Team. Over 300 Iranians and Iranian-Americans, adorned in flowers and smiles, gathered at the airport to welcome them to the Bay Area. Although the team did not enter the airport terminal to join the hundreds of adoring fans, they did receive a hero's welcome from friends, founders, and board members of Persian Center who were stationed at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Oakland. Security was tight, but nothing could contain the excitement in the air.

Pristinely dressed in suits and smiles on their faces, they welcomed the initial 30 cheering fans, despite their 36-hour ordeal (including a bomb threat on their Lufthansa flight from Iran to Germany). Persian Center presented them with their first welcome bouquet, and ensured them that they had many more visitors who were on their way from the airport. The team was quickly escorted to their rooms.

It only took ten minutes for hundreds of fans to start pouring into the hotel, desperately seeking a glance of the players. After a few phone calls and twenty anxious minutes, Mr. Safai-Farahani, the President of Iranís Soccer Federation, joined the guests who were chanting "Iran, Iran, Iran...Iran; Bachaha Motchakereem, Bachaha Motchakereem [friends, we thank you]. He stated, [in Persian] we are very thankful for all of your support. YOU are the main reason we have come to the United States! The players are very tired after their journey and need to rest; tomorrow, we will let you know when and where the practice games are scheduled. At that point, the rowdy fans were asked to disperse, to allow for the delivery of the team's luggage, which included a big box of uniforms entitled "shorteh sefid va ghermez" [red and white shorts].

The crowd slowly dissipated, leaving behind around fifty die-hard fans for another half-an-hour whose efforts paid off! Three members of Iran's National Soccer Team, Daei, Estili, and Kavianpour, came down to greet everyone, shake hands, and sign t-shirts, cards, and pieces of paper. Gracious and cheerful, they honored every request for photographs and autographs, as they joked and laughed with their visitors. Upon midnight, they retreated to their rooms, leaving everyone unfulfilled, yet even more excited about the upcoming game against Mexico, at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 9, 2000. GO IRAN!

(Our latest sources have notified us that their first practice game will be at the Oakland Coliseum at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 6, 2000.)