My Experience of Watching the 2014 World Cup Final, and the "Two Weeks of Silence" that followed
Hi, guys!
In this post, I want to share another unforgettable experience of mine watching the 2014 World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina with my friends at one of their houses, which, believe it or not, nearly ended our friendship!
So, I'll start by mentioning this phrase: "Football does strange things to people". And, through this post, I want to share wth you my story about one of the strangest things I have witnessed and experienced while watching a World Cup match.
During the 2014 World Cup Final Match, five of us were at a friend's house for the Germany vs Argentina final. Four supporting Germany, one holding the fort for Argentina alone. The banter throughout was exactly what you'd expect, good-natured and relentless, the natural texture of watching a big match with people you're comfortable with.
The match itself was tense and goalless deep into extra time, the kind of final that keeps everyone on edge until the very last moment. Then, in the 113th minute, Mario Götze controlled a cross on his chest and volleyed it into the net. The room erupted on one side and fell completely silent on the other. Eventually, Germany won 1-0. Four of us, as their fans, celebrated. However, our Argentinian-supporting friend sat quietly for a moment, then looked at us all and suddenly just told us to leave his house. At first, we assumed he was joking. However, it became clear that he was not.
Incredibly, what followed that night was two weeks of complete silence. No replies in the group chat from that Argentinian-supporting friend, no acknowledgment at school, nothing. For someone who was normally one of the most sociable people any of us knew, the transformation was genuinely unsettling. We spent a portion of those two weeks quietly wondering whether a football result had somehow ended a friendship.
It hadn't. After two weeks, things returned to normal as suddenly as they had stopped. He (our Argentinian-supporting friend) eventually offered an explanation that was both completely understandable and absolutely ridiculous: he hadn't been angry at us exactly, just at Germany, and by extension at anyone who had been supporting Germany, and he'd needed time for that irrational feeling to pass.
It is, objectively, one of the most unhinged responses to a football result I have ever encountered. We have laughed about it many times since. More importantly, we are all still close to this day, which is the only ending a story like this deserves.
That's my unforgettable experience regarding the 2014 World Cup final. How about you, guys? Have you experienced similar things before while watching football matches? Feel free to let me know in the comment section below. Thanks a lot, guys!
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Nicholas Wilson Pranoto4