A month of connecting with the world.

Every 2 years I find myself going completely nuts for a full month. This year, it’s November/December (rather than the usual June/July).

Want to guess what happens every 2 years that lasts for a month?

That’s right. It’s the World Cup. My favorite event in the world. The event that sets me off on a month of being the biggest fan of a sport I love passionately but otherwise don’t actually follow. *laughs*

This year, the Men’s World Cup is taking place in Qatar. I know a lot of people who are boycotting. Protesting in their way. Qatar is a nightmare of a country, filled with hatred and human rights violations and corruption more than any other host country in history. I recognize this.

But it’s the World Cup.

This is an event that gives me a month full of excitement and fun and the feeling of connection with people around the globe. It matters to me.

I put on my Thomas Müller shirt (Germany is my team), or my Luka Modrić one (Croatia is the team of one of my closest friends, so I wear this one for her), and when I encounter another football fan while out and about – no matter what country the other person supports – I get smiles and shared feelings of “we’re all in this together.”

I mean, yesterday morning I went into a Brazilian cafe for breakfast while wearing a German shirt, and we all shared tables and our excitement that the World Cup was back and wished each other’s teams well. On a normal day, I go in and all I do is sit and eat quietly by myself.

One year I kept track of match scores on the white board on my door at work. But since the final match of the day wouldn’t finish before I left work I would always leave that score blank.

And every day I would come in the next morning and the score would have been added to my door. The cleaning people overnight would post it there for me. Frequently with smiley faces if they were happy with how the match ended.

For a month every 2 years (Men’s and Women’s alternating), football is my fandom. I go nuts. And, thankfully, my friends let me at it. They’re normally pretty derisive of sports and sports fans. But, they love me. And they can see how happy this month makes me.

I’ve got the best friends there can be.

And share my fandom with the best fans in the world.

It’s Day 2. My excitement has only just begun.