This drone footage of Buenos Aires celebrating Argentina’s (and Lionel Messi’s) World Cup win is like a scene out of a movie
Argentina #Argentina
On Sunday, Argentina outlasted France in arguably the best soccer match ever played. They beat the brakes off the Les Blues in the first half, threw away a commanding lead late in regulation, another in extra time, and came inches from conceding the game winner in the 120th minute. But when it came down to penalties, Argentina steeled themselves just as they did against the Dutch in the quarterfinal, comfortably beating French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to take home their third—and arguably most important—World Cup.
We say “most important” because of all the various storylines and subplots in Qatar over the past month, none loomed larger than Messi’s Last Ride. The tension and emotion from the Argentinian fanbase simmered from the very first whistle of the tournament—an auspicious 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia—and on Sunday they boiled over into one of the most rapturous celebrations in sporting history. Don’t believe us? Just check out this drone footage of Buenos Aires shortly after Gonzalo Montiel’s decisive penalty hit the back of the net.
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To put it in the simplest terms imaginable, we have never seen anything like it and we saw the Philadelphia Eagles win a Super Bowl. The sea of blue and white stretches as far as the eye can see. Fans are perched atop every light post. Argentinian flags and Diego Maradona murals fly from every outstretched arm. At that very moment, hundreds of little babies named Lionel were being conceived. Argentinian or no, it’s enough to put goosebumps on your arms and a lump in your throat. It’s an almost unfathomable show of support, one usually reserved for the ending of wars and the toppling of governments, and it was all for a soccer game. If you still haven’t come around to the magic of the World Cup and “the beautiful game” itself, perhaps this will finally make you realize what you’ve been missing.
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