
Recently, this happened.
It was pretty exciting.
In my not so brief interim of not writing blog posts, I’ve taken up really watching soccer. Watching a lot of soccer. Finding myself undoubtedly wrapped up in the world that is sports fanaticism and soccer obsession and being okay with it.
It’s probably something I’ll have a lot to say about.
But, for now, this. This was something special. A charity game put together by one of the best damn soccer players in all the world (Lionel Messi, of course) where he invited not one, not two, not three but four players from one of my top teams (Napoli~) to come and play at a stadium that is about ten minutes from my apartment? This was something made of magic. I punched the ever-living out of Ticketmaster the morning the tickets went on sale, ensuring myself and my mom (who happens to be a Messi-Fangirl, after I’ve thrown her into the downward spiral that is futbol) decent tickets on the upper level with a view of the entire field.
After waiting what felt like forever from buying the tickets, the game happened and it was about two weeks ago. We met up with some friends before the game actually started and had a sort-of tailgate that mostly involved drinking hard cider and kicking a soccer ball around while commenting on how it really seemed like it was going to rain…

We managed to get by unscathed before the match and one of my darling soccer buddies, Danny, dressed himself up as what he called BarcaMan…Which was just him in full-on Barcelona gear, including a cape that was made out of the crest flag.


In fact, we even managed to make it to our seats before it started to rain…

and some of the players even got to come out…




I nearly screamed myself hoarse for Lavezzi and Cavani and Hamsik, who were the top three people I had come to see. It was a strange sensation to see the people I had spent the past few months quickly becoming so attached to through 90 minutes of running back and forth as tiny figures breathing the same air I did. Pretty lucky, really, when I think about it – players from my favourite team making themselves halfway around the world so I could see them?
In fact, I felt so lucky that the rain didn’t even bother me…

Even if it was the absolute most hurricane-esque rainstorm with thunder and lightning and nonstop water poundning my face. I ended up sitting in a small puddle that was up to my ankles and soaking through my shoes, astounded by the one thing I didn’t expect: silence. The game was so quiet. I’m unsure if it was because of the rain or because we were all collectively holding our breaths watching everything pass around us.


In the end, Messi scored a few goals (and I got to see him score them, live. Those are things you’ll tell your future nieces and nephews about, you know) and Cavani got himself a penalty kick and I got to see Hamsik’s glorious in-growing-process mohawk in person (And I got to mutter under my breath to Lavezzi about his move to PSG, even if, you know, he couldn’t hear me…) and it was all pretty much worth the rain storm…
Even if the moment after the game was over, the rain ended..






