I am still in disbelief. Spain has actually done it! We are the Champions! Coming in as favorites and losing the first game, getting written off as over rated, fighting back to classify first in the group and then four games, winning 1-0 in each of them! It’s simply historic.
Although I look American, sound American, and have grown up in New Jersey, I’ve been living in Madrid for close to 4 years and have followed Spanish soccer ever since I was young. My Spanish family (my mother is 1st generation Spanish and all my relatives live in Madrid) always watched La Liga, but were split amongst themselves. One cousin supported Real Madrid, another Atletico, along with my uncle, and my grandfather supported Barcelona!
I grew up following Real Madrid, but on Sunday, I was a Spanish soccer fan. Puyol, from arch rival Barcelona, scored the winning goal against Germany, and then Iniesta, another Barcelona player, scored the winner against Holland. Let’s not forget Villa, who now is playing for Barcelona, single-handedly carried the team on his back! I can only imagine the craziness in Madrid and all over Spain. It truly is amazing how sport can bring a nation together in ways it never ever has. The flag represented one country leaving behind the past, the players came from all over regions, coming together to make a nation feel a sense of pride that has never been felt. What an impactful moment for us all.
By Daniel Pulaski
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