I just posted this link on facebook, but I've got to add this to the blog.
One commentator in the video notes that membership in Ahly or Zamalek being one of the things that stood in place of political parties after the 1952 abolition of political parties in Egypt. The images of political parties and Ahly fans overlapping at the beginning really do give you a sense of the overlapping senses of solidarity that the two call to mind. I remember reading Terry Eagleton's comments on the similarities between religion and soccer fandom. There's definitely something to be said for that.
I was out at a Cafe in Hussein (the medieval area of Cairo with Mamluk mosques, Fatimid walls, etc.) watching the Ahly-Zamalek. It was a very friendly atmosphere, but on the way back some "Ultras" (see video) from Ahly kept our metro train in one station for over 10 minutes by blocking the doors open. Not sure what the goal of that was...
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