Alone in a sea of sky blue

Loneliness can take shape in many forms: in most cases, people think of it as an absence of people around you, but in certain situations, you can be alone in the middle of a crowd. For Sunday’s World Cup Final, I was about the only fan out of the hundreds present at Public Bar in Washington, D.C. that was rooting for Germany. My white Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany kit stood out like an eyesore in a sea of sky blue and white striped Argentina shirts. While I knew I was going to be outnumbered from the get-go, as more and more fans poured into the bar, the ratio continued to grow against my favor. It became oppressively hot in the bar due to the number of people there and the high temperatures in DC on Sunday and everyone was sweating through their shirts, marking everyone there as proper hard fans. By the time the match finally kicked off, the Argentinian fans were chanting and singing in support of their squad, while I started to sweat about how I was going to get out of there without taking a few punches were Germany to win.

So how does one govern oneself in such a situation? Obviously you want to be able to cheer on your squad during the match - especially this one - but given the discrepancy in the number of fans there, it gave me pause. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t exactly rooting for Chelsea at a corner pub in Liverpool, but when there are emotions this strong at stake, you never know. So I decided tread carefully, slowly moving from initial silence to the occasional cry out or cheer (no doubt this increasing ebullience came from the energy of the game and not the $3 Bud Lights that kept appearing in my hand). When Higuaín appeared to score in the 30th minute, the bar exploded: beers spraying amidst a thunderous ovation, as grown men were hugging each other in an incredible display of raw emotion. Meanwhile, my heart stopped during a seemingly endless delay, until the offsides flag was shown to be raised. The bar went nearly silent in an instant, with the only audible sounds a few incredulous groans at the lost opportunity - and I let out a silent cheer.

As the match went on and scoring opportunities came and went for both countries, the tension continued to build as the match moved into extra time. I found myself thinking about how the penalty shootout would play out, ignoring the fact that there were still ten minutes of regular action to go. When Mario Göetze scored his wundergoal in the 113th minute, I couldn’t help myself: I cheered. I cheered loud and hard - no matter the consequences (thank you, Bud Light!). But then looking around at the crestfallen faces of those around me, another emotion took over in the minutes that followed: sympathy. As a fan of many sports teams, including Chelsea and the Washington Redskins, I know that kind of last-gasp heartbreak. I have been there more times than I’d care to count and for some reason, it seems to me that the losses feel far worse than the victories feel great. 

 And so after Lionel Messi’s last-gasp free kick sailed over the bar and the reality that there would be no last minute miracle began to set in, I attempted to console the "sad Messi's" around me. Whereas before the match, I had texted trash talk to my fiancé's stepfather (who is from Argentina), my text in the minutes after the match was to send my condolences. Football is a funny old game and there is no doubt that I will be in their position in the near future (as a supporter of both the U.S. and England I already was in this same tournament). (Editor's note: The18 thinks it must be nice to have so many horses in the race) 

And so while I did high five a few other Germany fans that suddenly came out of the woodworks after the victory was secured, I accompanied some of those Argentina fans to another bar for some post-match consolatory beverages. We talked about the match and what a great tournament it had been. There will be another time when the roles are reversed and though I was operating throughout the day in enemy territory, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience (having my team won certainly helped I’m sure). There are few better things than being surrounded by passionate fans during a game you care about passionately - no matter who they are supporting.

So now what are we supposed to do for the next month until the European leagues resume? Don't worry, The18's got your back.

Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent