Bereft

I have a serious case of Dorito Syndrome. The World Cup is over, my team did not win, after not having a dog in the race in too many cups... and I'm left feeling empty. I've cried real tears since Spain got their one goal. I've wept, sworn furiously in every language I know, railed at the Soccer Gods, and finally accepted that there may not be any Soccer Gods.

My husband wore Sneijder's jersey, I put on van der Vaart's as soon as he came in to sub. I had on an orange Holland shirt my mother-in-law gave me an hour or so before the game.

I have nothing to look forward to but... EPL and MLS starting up again! But it doesn't get me past the feeling. You know that one in your gut that says, "You know, it's silly to feel this way over a game." I know it is, intellectually, but emotionally I had so much invested in Holland winning. I was so sure they could do it. And then it didn't happen. Sure I should butch up, but you know what? I don't feel like it, I want to wallow a minute or two, then move on to dinner.

The look on Arjen Robben's face reminded me squarely of John Terry's face when England lost, after losing a man due to infantile temper tantrums, in the last cup. I was crying for him. I was crying for Sneijder who should have won the Golden Boot, but it will go to the German guy who had three assists over the five goals he tied with Sneijder and Villa. I was crying because as I think back over the years I've been watching the World Cup, this was the first time I'd really had a vested interest in who won. Brazil in '94 comes close, but even then I stopped caring after the US was out.

So I am going to gear up for the EPL to start up again. I will await the MLS to start soon, and dream of Brazil and the next World Cup, when I will again, for one month, lose my freakin' mind while I am immersed in football. I'm already making plans to go to the next cup.