The Canadian soccer team was eliminated early on. I was happy that they made it to the World Cup Soccer tournament at all and was excited when they scored their first goal. Even though they were sent home early, they still did their country proud.
After that, I didn't know who to root for and to be honest, I kind of stopped watching the games. I'd pay attention to the matches by listening to sports reports and following the excitement of others on social media.
It wasn't until the final match, yesterday, between France and Argentina, that I thought I'd return to the Cup. But I didn't know who to cheer on.
Sure, it had been more than 30 years since the South American country had won the World Cup. And France had won the last time, was defending their title as the best team in the tournament.
But I'm neither French nor Argentinian, so as far as I was concerned, either team could win.
DW was different. She was fully behind Argentina. She wanted the win for this team, wanted the win for the team's captain, Lionel Messi, who had hinted that this might be his final World Cup match.
I cheered for both teams.
For me, it didn't matter what colour the jersey was. If someone made a great play, I'd get excited. I'd scream as a team moved in on a goal keeper, and I'd groan if a shot was missed, while at the same time applaud the keep for stopping the ball.
It frustrated DW to no end but I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to see a good game and I wasn't disappointed. France fought hard in the second half and came from a nil score to tie 3-3. Argentina never gave up and came on strong in the penalty kick round.
It was a well-earned victory.
I was happy for Argentina. I grieved for France but applauded their hard work and amazing goals. I could afford to cheer for both teams: as I've said, I had no skin in the game.
Oh, but what a game.
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