BAGHDAD, Iraq-

In soccer, AKA European football, the term, “the Equalizer” is used when one team scores a goal that brings the match to a tie. In nearly all cases an equalizer is considered to be a very dramatic event because it wipes the slate clean, and brings the teams back to an even state, where it’s anyone’s match to win. In some cases an equalizer can bring a severe underdog back to life by giving them hope that they can win, or at least leave with a tie, and a tie is a huge moral victory for a team that is considered the underdog.

One Saturday afternoon in Baghdad, two local teams were playing a match when one of the players on the losing team, Haider Kadhim, was about to score. He had broken free in front of the opposing team’s goal and had the equalizer in his sights. Scoring the equalizing goal is a dream of every young soccer player, and Kadhim was about to live out his dream in front of thousands of spectators. All he had to do was get by the opposing goalie, which would not be difficult, and he would have his equalizer.

Kadhim’s dream was about to become a reality, until one of the fans from the opposing team changed the course of Kadhim’s destiny. A man sitting in the stands pulled out a pistol and shot Kadhim dead in his tracks, before the goal was scored. Hitting a moving player as he moves about on on a soccer field, he sounds like a crack shot to me.

The Moral of the story: When is Baghdad never try to score a goal when all the opponents fans are packing.

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