How quickly it all can change.
11 days ago, in a fit of rage and passion, I was the nearest I have ever been to throwing in the proverbial towel on my all-time favorite team, my obsession, Arsenal Football Club. The Arsenal had just thrown away a 4-0 halftime lead en route to the greatest collapse in English Premier League (and probably all of soccer) history. In my 13 years of religiously following the club, never had I been so embarrassed to call myself an Arsenal fan. I had experienced bad beats before, and to be fair, Arsenal is one of the more frustrating teams the footballing world has to offer, but this had a sting unlike anything I had ever seen before.
Directly after the final whistle of that glorious yet miserable draw, I had to get in my car and drive to work. In the rain. For 12 minutes I sat in silence (I punched the radio off immediately) stewing in anger and disbelief over what had just happened. The guy who had supported Arsenal long before anyone in his town had heard of Manchester United was suddenly, legitimately, considering tossing all seven of his Arsenal jerseys in favor of a new team (... Fulham. Because they have a knack for signing American players. Not the best idea for trying to win in England, but admirable enough for me!).
As gutted as I was with the complete and utter choke job my team put forth on that Saturday, and as much as I wanted to discard them, Arsenal is my team.
And today, they repaid me and every one of their fans like me by coming from behind to upset probably the best football machine the world has ever seen in Barcelona, 2-1.
I cheered. I laughed. I yelped. I nearly cried from joy as my team completed a historic turnaround in less than 20 minutes. My team. The same team I nearly swore off less than two weeks prior.
11 days ago, there's no way I would have admitted an Arsenal fan. Today, you'd have to gag me to prevent me from telling you I am one.
It made me realize sports are like life. Sometimes it's awesome. Sometimes it awful. But stick with it and your Arsenal will come.
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