Comebacks

Yesterday was Father's Day, so I'm sure you all sat around the living room enjoying family time, opening gifts, and watching the Turkey-Czech Republic game on ESPN2. Okay, well, maybe not that last part. But it was an amazing game. I don't know too many people who would get excited about the prospect of that match. Who has loyalties to either of those nations? The thing is, when elimination and national pride are on the line, soccer gets intense.

The Czech Republic were up 2-0 with about 20 minutes left to play, but those 20 minutes were filled with attack after attack by the Turks. They scored the seemingly inevitable goal in the 75th minute, but one would figure there was NO WAY they could score another in such little time. It's soccer, after all. Goals are hard to come by. But the Turks had incredible resolve. The rain helped, too, as the second goal came about because of the Czech goalkeeper's inability to hold onto the slippery sphere. The scorer, Nihat, embodied the phrase "in the right place at the right time." With the tying goal, I figured they would just be content to win in the shootout, but only 2 minutes later (the 89th minute!) Nihat scored one of the best goals of the tournament by willing the ball into the corner, right under the crossbar. And that was it. It's amazing to just see how a team can flat-out want the victory more. Comebacks like that are what make sports interesting. It's about determination, it's about the inability to quit, and it's about overcoming all those negative expectations. If you can't get excited about a game like that, we need to find you a new hobby or something.