From NYC I took a 6 hour flight to Frankfurt. From Fankfurt we caught a connecting flight to Tehran after a 7 hour layover...
Lufhansa air is the most efficient way into Tehran I'm told. For security reasons, Lufthansa changes the gate of the flight to Tehran. There was no explanation. My boarding pass listed one gate, the overhead monitor list no gate at all. The actual gate is somewhere else...
We are breifed 1 hour before take off where our gate is going to be . As we board the plane everyone notices our team USA warmups. We were greated with the unversal language a smile...
I had the privelage to sit next a Persian man I will call Mr M. Mr M was very pleased that we were coming to Tehran... He was very welcoming he spoke english. Half way through our conversation he said "we like Obama" and he began to call me Obama for the rest of the flight as a term of endearment towards the US.
The Iranians are just as much curious and intrigued with the USA as we are with them...
I could feel the curious eyes looking in appreciation the we took this adventure for the sake of sport...
I knew on this flight that It maybe a week before I can have a glass of wine. So I had a glass or two... I noticed the other Iranians also doing the same the women on the flight did not wear head garbs on the way over either...
With 45 minutes left in our flight... Mr M asks me to take off my headphones he wanted me to hear what was about to be said over the loud speaker.. the captain comes over the loud speaker once we arrived in Iranian air space...
The metamophisis begins before the plane lands... Passengers are given a warning to leave behind minature bottles of Jack D, Beer etc.. before leaving the plane...
The second announcement is "By the decree of the government of Iran all female passangers are required to have there heads covered".
The German stewards also announces "for your own interst we ask you to put on a scarf before leaving the aircraft."..
We must remember this is a religous custom even thought diffrent from ours its importnat to respect the customs as I eneter Persia...
Mr M looks at me with a friendly smile and says this is what we must do because its law... He said it almost like a kid telling his friend he has be home before dark even though he wanted to continue to play outside.
We arrive in the airport the scene was very welcoming all over the papers in Tehran they new the US team was coming. The Iraninas beat the #1 ranked team in the world the Russians in the world cup a day earlier.
When we arrive we go though security where we get finger printed and our security escorted to our bus.... The whole time eveyone is very happy we are there but we are also breifed that we are not allowed to wear shorts in public.. We can not extend a hand hug etc... to any female...
Its 2am so we are all jet lagged as we drive to the Olympic complex on the Qom highway...
We are two weeks away from the Iranian New year Nowruz so the country is exited about the wrestling bringing in the new year...
The air is crisp and clear mountains to the North desert to the south...
We made it now its show time...
Coming soon
Inside "The House of Wrestling"
The facillatity were the Iranian national team trains and we have our first workout.....
