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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Soccer / Lower Divisions / The birth of a new team By Matan Krakow It is 1 P.M. Friday at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Givat Ram. Women, children, dogs, youths with drums and scarves - most of them wearing red and smiling - have gathered here in a mass picnic-type atmosphere. Or, in other words, they have fulfilled their dream of becoming the first fan-based soccer club in Israel, Hapoel Katamon. The club will use the soccer field at the university until it receives permits to play at Teddy Stadium. On the paths leading to the field, children are playing "catch me," not even interested in the soccer match and simply enjoying a pleasant fall day. One after the other passing through the shrubs, and the drama is heartwarming. Advertisement Around 2,500 fans have come to see the opening match of the season for the newest Jerusalem team. Some bought shares in the club for NIS 1,000 each and brought their families, some are youths who were fed up with the exhausting Sassy-Yona ownership at Hapoel Jerusalem and some were just curious. "People haven't been able to sleep and have been waiting for this moment," says a young man who was involved in selling the shares and has already forgotten about the break between the fans who stayed at the old Hapoel and those who have joined the new entity. At the opening whistle, 200 youths in the center of the stands bang their drums, sing non-stop, light smoke bombs and clap their hands at every positive move on the field. So what if the field is 100 meters away from the stands and it is difficult to understand what is going on? Hapoel Nahalat Yehuda, which was supposed to act mainly as window-dressing at the festive event, took the lead 10 minutes into the second half with a goal from Nir Tibi - something that did not cause any significant change in the atmosphere. Some confused fans even happily clapped their hands, mistakenly thinking that the team in red was Katamon. The youths kept banging on their drums, and Uri Werner, who won a reality show on one of the sports channels, turned the tables by scoring for Katamon in the 74th and 86th minutes and securing a debut victory for Katamon in its first match. The excited and smiling crowd headed home, continuing their successful dream. On the way out, there were even some romantics wondering how many years it would take until the first derby against Beitar. It is reasonable to assume that the euphoria of the season's opening will fade and the thousands will become hundreds. But no matter what, with an atmosphere like this, the League A South will look completely different this year, at least every other weekend in Jerusalem. Bookmark to del.icio.us A Palestinian gesture The top PA diplomat in Poland joined his Israeli counterpart on a visit to Auschwitz. Link to Temple found A controversial excavation at Temple Mount has unearthed fragments from First Temple era.

Today Online Britain's chief rabbi: Multiculturalism is threat to democracy Responses: 141 Fayad: Suspects in plot to kill Olmert have been arrested again Responses: 131 PM: Annapolis summit will not bring historic breakthrough Responses: 102 Gideon Levy: The time has come for Israel to give up on Ron Arad Responses: 95 Prince Hassan of Jordan: Muslims must differentiate between Israeli action, Jews Responses: 67 More Headlines 21:38 Palestinian PM: Suspects in plot against Olmert back in custody 21:05 Cheney: U.S. and its allies won't let Iran have a nuclear weapon 23:29 One killed in clashes between Hamas and Jihad in Gaza Strip 01:07 IAF strike injures at least four Hamas gunmen in north Gaza 22:08 In act of joint reflection, Israeli and PA diplomats visit Auschwitz 19:40 Archaeologists find link to 1st temple in controversial J'lem dig 00:18 Lebanese Druze leader calls on U.S. to impose sanctions on Syria 21:43 Tamir proposes external mediation in bid to end university strike 22:20 Seven Iraqi children to be brought to Israel for heart surgery Previous Editions Select Day 21 oct 19 oct 18 oct 17 oct 16 oct 15 oct 14 oct 12 oct 11 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct

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