The Game

Just thinking back to that day fills my heart with so much joy.  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 we ate nachos and drank Diet Coke, but more important about this memory is that we sat and watched the European Championship on the telly.

At the time, I had no idea 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 and 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. The town 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 a fantastic 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 the girls and I will walk in the forest after church.  Oh, BTW, I forgot to mention the Portugal won 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 full-circle moment for the two of them. Also, 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.