The Game

Just thinking back to that day fills my heart with so much joy.  I am positive that many could not even understand why a soccer game would make me so happy.  I am really not much of a sports fan except when it comes to soccer.  My love of soccer began in 1997-98 when I met my husband.  After marriage, we took a little vacation to Vancouver, Canada.  We went to see the gardens in Victoria.  I remember it was raining one of the days we were up there.  We ducked into a pub and decided to get some lunch. I remember that we ate nachos and drank Diet Coke, but what is more important about this memory is that we sat and watched the European Championship on the telly.  At the time, I had no idea about how soccer was played except that one scored by shooting a ball into the net. My love affair with the sport has since grown.  We have gone to matches in Atlanta, we went to see games in Spain, and now we can add that we have actually been to a championship game.  Our next goal is to make it to the World Cup.  It isn't the sport I love, but it is the communal feeling of rooting for the same thing.  The shared experience of watching history take place.  The joy!  Going to the game with my son brought me so much joy!  He loves soccer too!  The stadium was electric.  One good light the whole city with the energy being expelled that evening. The city was on fire all day as people awaiting the game sat in restaurants singing soccer chants.  It was amazing.  The game we went to see was Portugal against the Czech Republic.  I love Ronaldo, so it was fun to see him again.  He is an amazing player.  I would have loved to have gone to see the German team, but the tickets were too expensive.  Some day I hope!  Well, I need to run and get ready for church.  Have a great day!  It is finally sunny today, so I think after church the girls and I are going to go on a walk in the forest.  Oh, BTW, I forgot to mention that Portugal one that evening 2-1.

Another thing to mention is that we were in the 5th row just above the locker room where Portugal came out and that evening the father of one of the players was in our row.  When his son scored the final winning goal, many of the fans around us turned around and applauded the father.  He in return graciously put his hands together in prayer form and did a slight bow. It was very touching. What is also significant about the father is that he played with Ronaldo many years ago when Ronaldo was just starting to play.  It was a little full-circle moment for the two of them. Also, I just realized that this is the second post on this topic, but since the text is different and some of the pictures are different, I will leave it.