Hundreds of black faces observed our arrival, from their perch on a terrace that rose up on the opposite side of the field from us. We milled about gingerly in the unfamiliar setting. Like cautiously emerging from a space-craft on an alien planet, I visually tested the soil, the plant life, and the people. The atmosphere seemed thick and suppres-sive, yet obviously contained oxygen, for I was not suffocating. We were all, to different degrees, taken back by our first experience at being the minority.
Lets show a little life.
A wild cheer erupted from atop the far hill-side, drowning out our exercise counting. We never stopped, but the startling spun our helmeted heads around to witness the commotion, and we got pathetically out of unison. Then our coach erupted, and we got quickly back in step, but had plenty of time to see the green-shirted Dogan players appearance onto the field. As we continued our warm up, we snuck observances at every opportunity. After freeing themselves of their books and shoes they went to reeling and rocking.