Thursday, May 22, 2008

Oh YES!

My nerves are shot to bloody blazes. 120 minutes of football and a nerve-wracking penalty shoot out. Oh God. It's just hard to recover. Finally at long last, we've won it again. I can't sleep. It's a combination of stress and excitement.

Oh YES!

Bill Shankly once said that football isn't a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that. And oh God, on nights like this I absolutely agree. I'm absolutely overwhelmed. It's taken nine long years to get to this night once again. Nine years of near-misses and heartaches. Only football fans would understand.

I'm trying really hard not to yell and scream here. Oh God, YES!

Two moments really stand out, and they've got nothing to do with football.

First, after Ronaldo missed the penalty, Gary Neville walked out into the rain - suit and all - and picked him up off the ground, and brought him to where the rest of the team was. That's leadership. Even if you're not on the pitch, you're leading your team from the bench. That's something I respect.

Second, when Man Utd won, Paul Scholes didn't join in the celebrations, but instead walked over to John Terry - Chelsea captain - to console him. That's sportsmanship. Think about it. Here's a guy who missed the last finals, finally played in one and won it, and the first thing he does is to console the opposing team. That, I respect.

Say what you want about great goals, young players and championship moments. For me, it was the old guard who stepped up and were counted. Did the things that truly mattered.

That's what's this game is about. Moments like those. These are the things that stick with you. The stepping up. The kind of examples that only legends can set. Somewhere, some kid is going to see those images and think to himself "that's the kind of man I want to be", and it's going to stick with him his whole life. And I'm one of those kids.

Good job well done, lads. And full lauds to Chelsea for giving their 110%. It could really have swung either way.

I love this game!

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