Champions League Finals
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Thats the day when it all changed.
I was never a sports person. Let me correct that statement, I never liked or played outdoor sports. I was the guy who loved staying indoors while everyone else played outside. I liked being that guy, the indoor, non-sporty guy who liked to stay in his room and do indoor things. I picked up a lot of indoor games like Chess and Carrom, and was realllllllly good at those. Life was good, I was happy.
Funny thing was, I was always surrounded by people who watched sports, People who were crazy about sports, People who used to wake up at 4:00 am in the morning just to watch their teams matches. I never really understood the whole concept of “Team Spirit” in sports, how people are crazy about their teams and are willing to do anything for their teams.
“Champions League” is supposed to be one of the biggest competition in the world of Football. By Football, i don’t mean the American Football, i refer to the European Football (known as soccer in the United States). Earlier last May, my friends asked me if I would join them for a screening of Champions League Final’s at the local bar. Football matches are intense, the tension amongst the crowd during any match is “intense” which makes it worth watching. I did not know much about football, but still went for the company of my friends.
The match was supposed to start at 10:00 in the morning, we came to the bar about 60 mins prior to the match, hoping to get a seat in the bar, which we didn’t. The atmosphere there was something that I had never seen before. The place was buzzing with people wearing football jerseys, almost everyone had a drink or their team’s scarf in their hand and everyone was just singing, dancing and waiting for the match to start. All this at 9:40 in the morning!!
The moment we entered the bar, two people from the opposition teams came to us and asked – “Chelsea goes on left side and Manchester City on the right side. Choose wisely“. We went straight to the middle of the bar and got us some drinks. I was still processing the fact that on a Sunday morning, the bar is jammed with 200+ people and everyone is happy, cheerful and excited for the match to start. Sports is something.
Since I was there watching the match, my friend asked me if I would support the blue team or the white team and I said “blue”. Following Football gets way more interesting if you pick up a side and watch them play. The rules are simple, well they looked simple. Two teams start from the center and the objective is to net the ball in the other teams goal post. The goal posts are guarded by the “Goalkeepers“. Simple enough?
The match started slow, people were chanting anthems, cheering for their teams. I could hear people chanting “Chelsea! Chelsea! Chelsea!” while on the other side a group was just singing “We love you City!“. Things were pretty tense till the 40th minute when the “blue” team scored a goal.
And that’s a GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Kai Havertz netted the ball right before half time. Chelsea has finally done it and have a lead over Manchester City!
The bar lit up, everyone in the place jumped from their seat and yelled. Chelsea fans were screaming in excitement while City fans were just yelling in despair. I could see the happiness in the face of people, like actual happiness. It felt like the whole place became alive and has emotions. People were jumping, singing, dancing and what not. Chelsea was winning.
I think that was the defining moment for me. That was the moment when I realized that I have been missing out on something for the past 24 years and it’s time for a change. At that moment, I realized that all my life I have never ever experienced the joy when your team “scores“. When your team wins, when it loses. That emotion was missing for me and I was jealous of the people who were living that moment.
That was the day I decided to follow Football, which still remains as one of the best decisions i’ve taken in my life!
Note: I did not turn out to be a Chelsea or a Manchester City Fan.
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