...And that special game, I can't watch it? It just so happens my parent's flight was scheduled to arrive a little after two Sunday, meaning the game would be going on while I picked them up, and over when we got home. So, this was all for nothing, I thought, as I held back tears.
Then it dawned on me, if the Cubs show replays of their 5-1 afternoon losses, then surely the World Cup final will be replayed some time tonight. I checked and it was going to be shown, on ESPN2, at one in the morning.
Under normal circumstances I would forget about it. I'd just check the score and be done with it. But how could I look back on this World Cup knowing all the time I've logged watching the games, the possible scenarios I'm conjured up in my head, the laughs I shared with Alexi and Steve, were all for naught because I couldn't even bring myself to stay up late to watch the final match.
So I did, pulling off one of the most impressive feats I've accomplished in a while. I knew that it would be difficult to stay up until 3:30 in the morning to watch a game I already knew the outcome of. So I did it. For the rest of the day I avoided the internet and sports channels completely. I don't know how I did it, it would be like a crack addict quitting cold turkey, but I did it.
So that's the set-up I successfully avoided all contact with any medium that could possibly notify me of the score...for a good ten hours. I made sure to get the customary Red Bull, which in hindsight, didn't wake me up at all. I don't drink energy drinks or take five hour energy or any of that enough to know, but I wonder if you're supposed to take that stuff before you're tired and let it kick in, or while you're tired and it's supposed to kick in?
So I turn on the TV at one in the morning and notice they're still showing World Cup Live, going through the highlights (I use that term loosely) of the game. I immediately turn the channel. Every two or three minutes I check back and switch back right away so I don't see the score.
Long story short, I happen to switch over at the wrong time...to an image of Spain celebrating. I tried my best, went almost eleven hours, and had now found out the outcome of the game right before it was going to start at 1:45. The wait for something that didn't materialize would be a microcosm of the night.
I was hoping for at least an interesting 90 minutes. A game full of wasted chances, maybe a few great saves, a ball off the post. There were a few nice saves, but overall, I could count the amount of good scoring chances on one hand.
The highlight of the first half was all the yellow cards. The sea of orange in Amsterdam was nothing compared to the sea of yellow on the field. This game combined for 13 yellow cards, and the funny thing is, every single one of them was warranted. Normally when I see this many, I'd have to assume the referee was a little card happy, but that wasn't the case at all. The Dutch just played a sloppy game in the first half. What was it? Four or five yellow cards in a span of a few minutes. One that should have been a red too.
I almost doze off in the 41st minute. I catch myself and start to walk around. I know its going to overtime, and I still have a long night ahead of me. The Red Bull is finished. I'm in this alone now. The same thing would happen in the 85th minute, once again I catch myself.
The only sense of suspense (I like that, sense of suspense. There's probably an obscure 80s band with that name) was during overtime. I knew the game was decided in overtime but not what minute the goal was scored. I mean, come on, it was 3:30 in the morning, that was exciting.
Of course, they made me wait until the 116th minute. I was beginning to think my mind was playing tricks on me and I'd seen wrong. Maybe there wasn't going to be a score. Here's what was cool about Iniesta's goal: it wasn't scored by David Villa. Which means there was a four way tie for goals scored. Thomas Muller, age 20, of Germany had the most assists so he will be awarded the Golden Boot. Not a bad introduction to the world stage.
In conclusion, the World Cup final was not the most exciting of matches, but that really didn't matter. More important to me was how things unfolded to get to that point. I don't care what anybody says, this is by far the best designed tournament in all of sports. As always, worth every bit of the four year wait. Even if it means staying up until 4:15 in the morning to get some sort of closure.
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