Over 200 students enjoy World Cup match in Student Union

Some Iranian UB Students celebrated the US win as a form of protest

Students gather in the Student Union to watch the 2022 World Cup Soccer match between Iran and the U.S. Photo by Dominick Matarese

The Student Union erupted into cheers of “USA! USA! USA!” on Tuesday afternoon as over 200 students gathered to watch the 2022 World Cup soccer match between Iran and the U.S.

The game was aired on the large screen at the center of the Student Union, with every chair in the vicinity arranged in a semi circle around it, each filled with a student. Many more stood behind them or watched from above on the bridge.

The 200+ strong group of students erupted into cheers and jeers each time a team came close to scoring, with chants of “USA” breaking out periodically. Many students high fived and jumped around the Student Union in excitement.

Not all Iranian students were rooting for Iran to win however, many were actively rooting against Iran. After the final whistle blew and team USA had officially won, some Iranian students chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, Islamic regime must go.”

Many Iranian Americans across the U.S. are opting not to root for Iran in the World Cup in a display of solidarity with Iranian protesters.

Iran is experiencing the largest protest movement it’s seen in years following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the country’s morality police after being detained for wearing skinny jeans and not wearing a hijab. A U.S based group Human Rights Activists has reported that 451 of the protestors against the Islamic government have been killed, and 18,000 have been detained.

“Iran’s team is not a team that we support. Because it's not a team of the people, it's a team of the Islamic Republic regime, It's a team of the government.” Said Ali Hasanzadeh, a graduate philosophy major. “Even the people that you see chanting in the background, the fans, they are not our people, because all of them have the Islamic regime flags. They were literally paid by the government and brought by the government.”

The Tuesday game, which ended in a 1-0 USA victory over Iran was a “must-win” for the U.S. to advance out of the group stage and continue in the tournament. Iran failed to advance and is out of the tournament.

Armeen, a senior mechanical engineering major, said being part of the crowd made watching the game more enjoyable. “I didn't expect in the US this many people to care about watching the World Cup. So it's cool to be able to share that with a big group of people.”

Shouvik Das, a freshman computer engineering major said “Back home every single match I've seen was on a TV alone on my laptop and stuff. Over here being part of so many people, it's definitely better than watching it alone in like, your own space and stuff. So I definitely recommend it,” Das said.

When the U.S. scored the first and only goal of the match, the crowd erupted. Zaydon Faris, a senior graphic design major said “I looked behind me and there was like 100 people yelling and happy about it.”

Das said “When USA scored, everyone went crazy, and whenever USA cleared the ball from their side towards Iran everyone started cheering then as well.” Das said he was supporting Iran, and that although he was on the losing team, he still had fun.

Hasanzadeh spoke on behalf of a group of “five or six” students, who expressed disappointment with the Iranian team itself in addition to the country they represented.

“They could have done so many things to show their support to the people…the simplest thing to do is after their game with Wales, the goals that they scored, they could have not been as happy or not shown as much happiness. They were jumping on top of each other crying…they could have avoided doing that to show some respect to all the 400 Something people that have died. They refused.”

Hasanzedeh said that most of the Iranians at UB who he talked to were rooting for the US because they did not want to see Iran move to the next level of the tournament. Despite this he said he still had fun and was able to inform his fellow students.

“I got to inform some people about why I curse at the captain, the players, the fans, and anyone that has anything to do with Iran, why I show my middle finger anytime they show up on the screen. I got to inform them why we feel that way and that was really nice. At the same time. Watching the game with a large crowd is always fun.”

Originally written for the UB Spectrum, November 30, 2022