Michael Diton-Edwards June 13, 2026
Hello Sports fans! Be honest, and don’t cheat with Google or AI or calling your best crazy friend that has more sports knowledge than the entirety of Barstool’s squad of goofballs doing their best to find an angle to make sports seem like a fit for wacky moments in real life (oh, crap…wait a minute…that sounds like my articles…okay…ummmm…sorry…) – have you EVER heard of Boualem Khoukhi? No? Well, guess what my friend, you are not alone – unless you live in the Middle East or are a streamer for football/soccer in the world outside of any popular league, that name falls as flat as my 1,489,328th request to Jennifer Aniston for a friend acceptance on social media. Yet, as I type this endeavor into not only entertaining you but enlightening you regarding the WORLD’S BIGGEST SPECTACLE currently taking place (it is a little something called the World Cup…please search it in your favorite engine if you don’t know), Boualem Khoukhi is a national hero…no…he is a Continental hero and for the rest of his life he won’t ever have to pay for a meal, a drink or a pay port-a-potty on the street in Qatar. Seriously.
So, I am impatient…you too? I mean, if I am watching a match/game of any sort and it seems as if the outcome is as decided as my personal physician telling me I need to lose weight and stop drinking, then I am usually quick to tap that remote button and find a new option on the 14 different streaming options I currently subscribe too (yes, Virginia, we spend more money per month on ‘entertainment’ than a meth head in Evansville, IN trolling the local trailer parks for a score). This time, however, I didn’t hit the home button on that little handheld remote that has spent more time on the floor between my bed and my nightstand than used prophylactics back in the college days – I told myself, “Self,” (yes, I call myself “Self” when I talk to myself…my therapist told me that was okay as long as I didn’t call myself “Butthead”), this is the freaking World Cup…it only happens once every four years, and it is playing out in North America – like, right here where you live (well, not in Cosby, Tennessee…the biggest sporting event in Cosby is the annual cornhole tournament to honor that one moonshiner that lost his left 4 toes to the snapping turtle in the creek), in the actual USA. And while I could afford a ticket to any random game at any random stadium in the entire group stages if only I mortgaged my cabin, sold my baseball card collection, and pimped myself out to a blind group of Mennonites, I respect the fact that the world’s BIGGEST sporting event is not only taking place, but is taking place in North America! That is cool! I mean, if Taylor gets married to Travis in Nashville, don’t think that since I live in the same state I will feel like an invited guest and celebrate like I witnessed the coronation of the Queen!
Sorry…I tend to do that, get off track of the subject…but seriously, have you ever heard of Boualem Khoukhi? Or even of Qatar as a football (sorry Packers’ fans, soccer) team? No, you have not. It’s okay. I love real football…I have heard of Qatar and know about how they have never secured a point in World Cup play…I know how they have 1 single goal in their history as a country playing in this tournament…but please bear with me…when it was the 90th minute of play and the referee had signaled that there would be 6 extra minutes (maybe 8, sue me if I am wrong, my attorney is in jail in Saginaw, MI so no chance you win), the Qatarian fans were STILL celebrating in the stands…seriously…the Fox channel feed (1/14 pay, go me) was quick to show them still being proud of their squad regardless of the score…and you know what??? It made me think…as I was about to hit that ‘home’ button and go to a MLB game to see how bad my fantasy baseball teams were getting punked (rough year, sorry), I literally watched several Red & White jersey wearing people smiling, dancing, and cheering…friends, they were losing! They were down 1-nil…they have never secured a point in the World Cup and they were acting like they just found a hundred dollar bill on the ground while homeless in NYC…and then…omg…OMG…and then…
Boualem Khoukhi.
Boualem Khoukhi.
Freakin’ unbelievable Boualem Khoukhi.
The Maroon & White Defender pushed forward and received an unbelievable cross from Homam Ahmed and delivered a header into the corner of the goal more precise than a Colonoscopy by your friendly neighborhood Indian Doctor. It was amazingly executed, and it not only changed a game’s result, it made me realize that nothing – NOTHING – is ever over until the final whistle.
Sometimes, we give up. Sometimes, we feel desolate. Sometimes, we feel like it will never get better, that we are trapped in a downward spiral of loss and filth. But then…sometimes…sometimes…Homam Ahmed delivers a cross to Boualem Khoukhi and an entire country goes from losing to securing a point … … ..sometimes, miraculous happens, and if it can happen in the World Cup, it can happen anywhere. If it can happen on the BIGGEST STAGE of worldwide sports, maybe…just MAYBE…the unexpected can happen for YOU anywhere and in ANY situation…I believe it can 🙂
I hope you find my articles insightful and entertaining, and I always encourage and welcome feedback and debate. Thank you for taking the time to read my efforts 🙂
