I am a complete and utter sucker for human displays of extreme positive emotion. This is why I love hanging out at arrival gates in airports (creepy, right?) and race finish lines – especially, later in the race, when folks who are really struggling get to cross.
If you’ve been watching the wrap up of the France-Croatia game on Sunday, there was no shortage of positive emotion on the part of the French team. Impossible to watch without smiling.
Didier Deschamps has now won the World Cup as a player (in 1998 World Cup in their final game against Brazil), AND as a coach. Only two other people are in this special club – Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer. For reference, twelve people have walked on the Moon.
If you have not yet seen the video clip where the French players invade post-final conference, and douse Deschamps in champagne, watch it here:
Every coach will tear up.
On the flip side, if you ever wanted to see twenty some grown men barely holding back tears, you don’t need to go further than the Croatian team. Few short weeks ago, imagining that Croatia would make it to the finals would have been a stretch for most, but once it became a reality – to come this close to gold, and lose – well… this is the definition of athletic heartbreak.
Not all head coaches are former players, yet there is something incredibly unique about coaching others in what is or used to be YOUR sport.
Hugs, SOLO