Michael Diton-Edwards
Have you ever been stunned + intrigued + inspired by a team in sports? Have you ever felt the passion that was generated by the 1980 Olympic’s USA Men’s hockey team? Have you ever cried when the Cubs FINALLY won a World Series within a hundred years? Have you ever screamed for joy when the Bad News freakin’ Bears beat the uppity Yankees (they actually lost, but they won, and you remember that they won, didn’t you? Yeah, me too…I still get goosebumps thinking of that game) in the North Valley League Championship?
Sports…awwwww…as much as we moan and groan about what is wrong in all that you provide us, you always find a way to give us SOMETHING we just couldn’t see coming. Sports always delivers the unexpected, the unbelievable, and the crazy result that causes your bet on that favorite to fall flatter than your right rear tire after hitting a pot hole on M-54 in Flint, MI (thank you, jive slapping squirrels causing my boy SJB to have income pouring in quicker than coffee out of a pot 6 hours old at your local Waffle House at 4am). Sports pushes a FG wide right (Scott Norwood) to shock the Bills (sorry, Jamie, still love you), Sports allows Kirk Gibson to limp up to the plate and face the most dominant closer in the game (Eck was NASTY…nastier than an old uncensored Hustler magazine from the ‘70s) and crush a pitch more violently than a cartel pill crusher pounding her product like her quota is behind, and Sports allows Franco Harris to somehow grab a football that wasn’t intended for his hands but for his legacy, for history. Sports. Sports are AMAZING.
As we bemoan the coming MLB strike/lockout (and it is more inevitable than me waking up in the morning fat, bald, and still wondering why Jennifer Aniston won’t return my messages) and realize that there is NOTHING you/we/anyone can do to stop it from happening save a miracle bigger than anything written on stone tablets, there are still moments out there…there are still teams out there…there are still teams out there given to us by Sports.
Cape Verde.
I admit; a month ago I had zero clue that there was a football (sorry, soccer to the Packer fans, sorry) club from a country that qualified for the 2026 World Cup – the BIGGEST tournament in athletic competition for a single discipline, PERIOD (yes, Virginia, bigger than the NFL playoffs/Super Bowl) club with a country’s population of the size of Rhode Island (500k) in the field. Looking at their group, there was as much a chance of Cape Verde advancing to the round of 32 as Willie Nelson & Snoop Dog passing a piss test for weed. No chance. Yet, they did. Their reward?
Argentina. Messi. Defending champions.
If there was ANY chance of Cape Verde being competitive against Argentina, it would take one of your three wishes off of the genie lamp you dug up in your dreams (what are your three wishes???? Ohhhh, that is a great question MOST people will not answer honestly in public…bet…mine…nope, me either). There was almost no chance Cape Verde would be a threat to the GOAT of world football, and they should have just been happy to ‘be there’ – right???
Wrong.
When a team believes in ‘something’ – when a group of dedicated people strive to a common goal and truly BELIEVE that the effort is worth it all, amazing, beautiful, and special results can take place.
Mens USA Hockey 1980 Ice Hockey. 2016 Cubs. Bad News Bears.
In this modern world of analytic, Artificial Intelligence, and more betting platforms that exist than hairs on my sunburnt head, a person would think that upsets and improbabilities are not even a thing to expect anymore…we have the results before the matches are played, right? We can confidently bet on an outcome just by asking ChatGPT which team to wage on, right? I can ask for JA’s favorite buzzword and she will respond, RIGHT??????
Cape Verde.
If anyone bet on Cape Verde to be bounced from the tournament prior to the knockout round of 32, they lost. If anyone bet on Cape Verde to lose to Spain in regulation time during the initial stage, they lost. If anyone bet on the Blue Sharks to bow down and take a complimentary kick to the butts versus Messi and the mighty Argentinians as they laid down more submissively than the towel you use while (not whilst – thank you Boston Paul) stepping out of the shower, they lost. Cape Verde not only was just happy to get an invite to the party almost as big as the MSG wedding between Tay Tay and Kelce (what a spectacle…omg…the pretentious fodder available to write about is more plentiful than a complimentary buffet at your local Golden Corral at Thanksgiving), they SHOWED UP and SHOWED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Blue Sharks not only gave an effort, they pushed the defending holders to extra time, and by the holy goodness of everything sacred to George Michael and his brilliant career, they showed talent and they showed Faith and they believed they would win!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cape Verde.
Call me crazy, but Cape Verde was the better team. Not because they were underdogs and almost won…not because anyone not in Argentina was rooting for the opponent…Cape Verde was the better team on the pitch for the match because they WERE….they really were…not on paper…not in comparison to club memberships and weekly pays and club evaluations…simply Cape Verde was better because they believed they COULD BE…and they were.
Thank you, Sports. Thank you for reminding me, for you, for all of us, that the final outcome is NEVER pre-determined. Thank you Sports. Oh, and while I am at it…yeah…this is a reminder that there is a little bit of Cape Verde in all of us. Maybe not Chicago Bears’ fans, but the ability to rise up and win —— even when you lose —— is indeed within all of us.
Peace 🙂 michaeld.edwards@gmail.com is my email…I invite discussion and debate, but ALWAYS value your support and dialogue 🙂 Please continue to support my platform at South Florida Tribune, https://southfloridatribune.com/category/scott/michael-edwards/, and thank you in advance for sharing with others 🙂
