Iran under the Shah was advancing on every front. Sport was no exception

He should be given credit for single handedly inspiring a culture of sport & healthy living among the Iranian people that had been lost for centuries

He himself was an avid & skilled sportsman

A thread:

Carrying on in the tradition of our ancient ancestors, the Shah was known as an excellent horseback rider

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the savage murderer, Sadegh Khalkhali was appointed “Chief Justice” by Khomeini

He had the Shah’s favourite horse shot and killed

Here he is playing tennis, showing great form in both his backhand and forehand

The Shah believed the Iranian people should be healthy and enjoy leisure time, in addition to their hard work in the service of the nation

He also made sure to pass these values onto his children

One of the Shah’s favourite pastimes was skiing, and he was as an expert skier

He is singlehandedly responsible for introducing skiing to the wider Iranian population

He built Shemshak and Dizin ski resorts way back in the 1950s and 60s, which are still the top resorts today

The Shah could do it all. Here he is water skiing

Young Iranian men had quite the role model to look up to in the figure of the Shah

Like ancient Greek statues that provided the ideal masculine archetype, the Iranian male youth had in one man an ideal that they could aspire to

Even with his busy schedule, the Shah always made time for exercise

He loved swimming and jogging with his dogs. Today, dogs are badly mistreated in the Islamic Republic

Despite being in his 50s in these later pictures, one can’t help but to admire his physical fitness

Here, the Shah can be seen playing volleyball, bowling, and shuffleboard

Before suffering from his life ending illness, & well into his 50s, his doctors always noted that he was in above average & excellent health

Today, Iranians can thank him for their love of sport & fitness

The Shah aims with his rifles. An exceptionally fine marksman, he also had an impressive gun collection

Most people struggle to excel in one field, & yet the Shah had a seemingly infinite set of skills & versatility

One can’t help be reminded of the Shahnameh’s greatest heroes

The Shah & Shahbanou were “The King & Queen Of Cool”

While young Iranian men & women today lack positive role models to look up to, our youth then were led by the ideal male & female archetypes

He loved his people & believed they should develop themselves as fully as possible

The Shah was even a highly skilled pilot

In fact, on the tragic day of Jan. 16, 1979, when he left Iran for the last time, & having been surrounded with backstabbing traitors, he felt it was safest if he flew his own plane out of Iran

There’s something poetic about that for me

Truly the Shahanshah Aryamehr, it’s hard to imagine any other world leader then or now, & especially in the I.R., of even coming close to measuring up against him in any way

He reminds one of an Iranian version of James Bond, only far more suave, sophisticated, & well, real

The Shah was a skilled soccer player. Here, he can be seen holding the ball as captain of his soccer team during his years at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland

A once in a century leader, I believe the Shah should be given his rightful place among Iranian history’s greatest kings

Iranians can thank the Pahlavi’s for Team Melli. T.M.’s 1st match was on Aug. 25, 1941

They reached their 1st World Cup in 1978, a milestone, where they impressively tied a strong Scottish side 1-1

The revolution occurred 8 months later

It then took 20 years to again qualify

Iran hosted the 1968 & 1976 soccer Asian Cups

Team Melli won the tournaments in 1968, 1972, & 1976

Iranians were top scorers in all 3 tournaments

Revolution occurred in 1979

Iran has never since hosted, nor won the Asian Cup

Imagine where Iranian soccer could’ve been today

Iran’s 2 most popular soccer clubs were both established during the Shah’s reign:

1945: Esteghlal FC, (known from 1949-1979 as “Taj”, meaning “crown”), the blue squad

1963: Persepolis FC, the red squad, named after the ceremonial capital of the ancient Iranian Achaemenid Empire

Despite fake history of the victors & the propaganda of what the Shah rightly referred to as the “Accursed Alliance of Red & Black” (leftists & Islamists), the last Shah was popular among the majority of Iranians

He was a man who deeply loved his people, nation, & culture

Perhaps most admirable, the Shah was a true family man. A deeply devoted father & husband, he taught all Iranian men what a real man looks like

40 years after his death, he still inspires me

Rest In Peace My King, for we are awake, and we will always stay awake

JAVID SHAH

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