I was in London, England this time four years ago, working for Mayor "Red" Ken Livingstone and coming home each night to watch seemingly endless hours of Britain's strange Olympic coverage which consisted almost entirely of rowing prelims and Samsung commercials. But every once in a while, the hypnotic madness of British television would crescendo when one of a series of 'adverts' would show on Sky TV wherein a character would, in an attempt to explain the the importance of sport to another by saying, quite dramatically, "Let the Power of Sport into Your Life!"

I loved these commercials for some reason, as did my flatmates John and Clark. There was something about that phrase that gave me the chills, that somehow made watching rowers from around the world paddling on serene surfaces interesting to watch.

It must be something in the British water that makes me interested in heretofore unrecognized sports, because when I returned to London last January, I was amazed with the weeklong British frenzy for a Dart competition. It took place in what looked like a really kitchy casino lounge, and all the spectators dressed in wild, random costumes to tempt the eyes of the television cameras to turn their way. But all eyes were fixed on the underdog giant, Andy "The Viking" Fordham, who defied the oddsmakers and captured the hearts of all Brittania, sweating off some 200 litres of salty concentration to win the championship. Here is a picture of Andy in Action:

I have to admit, the accuracy with which this beast of a man was able to propel pointed projectiles into a corkboard was pretty amazing. I was captivated, but then again, there wasn't a whole lot else to watch.

This year, I'm fascinated with the Iraqi football team's performance in the Olympics. They have every reason in the world to be distracted, to be concerned about their families, to fear that their homes won't be there when they get back, and yet they play, and they win, against most, if not all, odds. They beat Group D favorite Portugal in the greatest team win for Iraq in any sport. They beat Costa Rica and assured themselves a place in the quarterfinals. Yesterday, they played a conservative game against Morocco that they knew they didn't have to win. They now play Australia to get to the semifinals. And they have inspired millions of Iraqis, giving them something to hope and cheer for in dark days.

I know I've been writing about this story for several days now, but other people are starting to notice and that makes me excited. It's fantastic to see Iraqis dancing with their team in jubilation. Stephen Barbara picked up on this story today in his piece in the Opinion Journal. He had a thoughts about the Iraqi's style of play:

Yet as striking as these victories were, the style of play of the Iraqi team was even more remarkable. It was a style grounded in teamwork, passion and unselfishness. Finding himself alone in front of Portuguese goalkeeper Moreira, striker Mohammed Emad generously crossed to his teammate Younis Mahmoud, who scored comfortably. Given a nasty professional elbow by Ronaldo, Mahmoud left the game briefly, only to return sportingly with a bandaged eye. The composition of the team was also remarkable: Sunnis, Shiites, and one Kurd--the inspirational Harwa Mulla Mohammed--stood shoulder to shoulder on the pitch. Unable to unite as a political unit, Iraqis have, in their Olympic soccer team, a model of unity, and--just possibly--nationhood.

Iraq is becoming its own nation. There are plenty of reasons to disagree about how they got to this point, but most agree that Iraqis will be better off governing themselves than they were under the oppressive dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Things are getting better in Iraq in many ways, as Chrenkoff's Good news from Iraq indicates, but things are still pretty bad there. Still, they're dancing for football. Stephen Barbara adds,

But the case of the Iraqi soccer team shows the real virtue of the Olympics. Precisely what Iraqis need right now is a sense of nationhood, and--even--a spirit of competitive pride. Call it nationalism, but intellectuals have perhaps overlooked the importance of that feeling of unity with one's countrymen, especially in a fragmented country like Iraq. The sight of Iraqis cheering in the streets of Baghdad, storming the field in Athens every time Iraq scores a goal, and swelling with pride at the thought of their team and their country, is, for the moment, a good thing.

We should all be cheering for Iraq this year. Some might think sport a trivial thing, and I admit, oftentimes it is. But it can also be a source of hope and inspiration, and, especially in Iraq, those are scarce commodities and perhaps the very opposite of trivial things. Indeed, rising star Hussein Mohammed had this to say of their latest victory:

"We call on all Iraqis to respect this victory . . . to use it as a platform to ceasefire, and to be peaceful in what they are doing, and to come back from the brink."

I said it once, I'll say it again: Go Iraq Go!