re: 2005 Gold Cup Final

Ah, the good old days. I remember being excited about this and mentioning to my friends how I couldn't wait for the World Cup the next year with our A squad (How disappointed was I, right?). I'll never forget one of the responses.

"I hate soccer. Every year everyone gets excited for the World Cup and then no one cares anymore. Let's see if you still care in 5 years!"

Typical "I heard my redneck dad say this once and repeated it". I outright told him that that was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard and explained how the World Cup cycle worked. You better believe I reminded him every day during the 2010 World Cup that I still cared 5 years later, and I still remind him every year how much I love the team. He's actually a fan now, though, so he's forgiven... But it will never be forgotten.

Funny thing is that as far as we've come, that shite is still happening. We visited my girlfriend's parents house a lot this summer so I was there for a long time. Because I was always watching and explaining it, they were pretty into it by the end. My girlfriend's little brother, who is turning 15, got really big into the sport, though, because I made him watch the World Cup and play FIFA all summer. Kid loves Zlatan already even though he wasn't at the World Cup. His friends all made fun of him for it, but he held strong. There was one day where we picked him and one of his friends up from workouts in the morning, and on the way to drop his buddy off, we turned the tides and ganged up on this kid. I was like "Heard you've been talkin' shite, bro!" He gave me this long speech about how no one will care after the year, and I told him the story about my friend telling me that almost 10 years earlier. My girlfriend, her brother, and I spent the rest of the drive grilling him with questions like "So you've been a fan of everything you've liked since you were born? You've never become a fan of something in your life? Why are you giving people such a hard time about liking something, bro?" It was all in good fun, but I think it helped my girlfriend's little brother feel better about enjoying it. I definitely got joy out of turning the tables on someone for once. The Sport of the Future since 1972 is getting there, guys.