Many of you who read my words are too young to remember the Iran Hostage situation. It’s one of my earliest memories and one of my scariest. The U.S. backed government (dictatorship) in Iran was led by the Shah of Iran. Islamic fundamentalists overtook his regime, when he went into exile, in 1979 and held 52 U.S. diplomat’s hostage for 444 days. As a child, it was my first encounter with hatred. That there were people out in the world who actually hated me, confused and, obviously, scared me. Someone hated me?!? Hated. Me? Why? They didn’t even know me. Did they hate Snoopy, Star Wars and the Dodgers as well? It was beyond me. To a degree, it still is.

Now, forty years later, the crumbs of a revolution to overthrow the Fundamentalist government has grown into a fully baked coup and is gaining speed and power. Into that fray, the United States plays Iran in a crucial World Cup match. Could I break down this match piece by piece, player by player? Sure. My new sports blog, The Sports Lisperer is all about that. But today, I’m interested in the role sports plays in countries and cultures rivalries.

There’s no Olympics unless the City/Polis’ of Greece and Rome didn’t wish to champion their heroes. I’m sure from the first cave man clash until the first game of competition, there’s always been an ‘Us versus Them’ theme. Think of all the moments of competition in this world and eventually it all comes down to ‘Us versus Them’. The image of Jesse Owens shoving Hitler’s racial superiority where the Nazi don’t shine is legendary and a shining example.

Rivalries and Nationalism go hand and hand in events such as the Olympics and the World Cup. They enhance already tense situations and can help a struggling country emerge from difficult eras. The U.S. was at the height of the Iran Hostage situation when we played the mighty Soviets in the 1980 hockey game. The victory of the upstart Americans over the colossal giants of hockey lit the stasis ember of confidence in this country that helped drive this country through the 80s.

Now, of course, there’s a flip side to that coin. Two generations of English soccer players couldn’t defeat Argentina in major matches after the Falkland Island’s war. Argentinian players took exception to the colonizers and dominated for a couple decades. Maradona in ’86 and the horrifying loss in 1990. I have a vivid memory of Paul Gascoigne bawling on the pitch after the defeat to Argentina, in that particularly galling loss. Those losses seemed to take the sails out of England. Now, I’m not saying that little island lost most of its colonies because of Argentina losses but as a whole, England has planted the seeds of contentious rivalries all across the globe. Thank God Prime Minister Hugh Grant told President Billy Bob Thornton how great his country was in Love, Actually.

So where do we sit with this match between U.S. and Iran? The foes are not villains, rarely they are. The players on Iran have risked life, limb and their families to be outspoken about the Iranian regime. In many eyes, they are heroes and in that, they have achieved their greatest freedom on the pitch. To find ninety minutes of peace between the lines is sometimes all it takes to bring forth a victory. I believe that is what led Iran to defeat the U.S. in a World Cup match in 1998. To the Iranian players, I tip my cap.

However, I am rooting for my country. This is an exciting group of young men who, I hope, are leading the best generation in this country’s soccer history. They’ve played inspired and listless, dangerous and frugal in the two prior matches. It will take an inspired performance to beat a team with the zeal of Iran.

And so, I will root for my country, but I will not begrudge our foe if we should fall. If only we could live our lives as a world, like that.