Thus The Economist today. “A match between Serbia and Albania devolves into a nationalist riot,” elaborates the newspaper. Riot? How about slaughter? Indeed, the soccer match in Belgrade ended up without any dead only by sheer chance. Much of the article is about the petty details, which are of no consequence whatsoever. What is important about this match is that it makes clear that any major conflagration in Europe, let alone World War III, would lead to all-out slaughter in the Balkans. Only fifteen years after the last war in the region, as well as twenty-three years since the first one in a bloody series, many are ready for yet another one. Nay, eager. They are only waiting for the umpire to blow the whistle, and the match would start in earnest. We are lucky to have soccer as a gauge of the passions, though. It shows that all the hopes for a lasting peace in the Balkans are for the birds. Peace, how do you play that?