Rise of a Football God

Sam clicked on the video.

It was made in a rickety setting, a setting that Sam was all familiar with.

It was a bare-bones building with wooden bench arranged in rows, all filled to the brim with people. There were 2 big tv screens at the very front of this building, and both showed the same football match.

This was a viewing center in Nigeria, and showing on the 2 big tv screens was the unforgettable FIFA World Cup final 2022 played in Qatar between Argentina and France.

It was the 108th minute of the game in the 2nd period of extra time.

By then, the tension in the game was already palpable, and in extension, the tension in the viewing center was also palpable as the viewers ignored their sweat, their eyes fixated on the proceedings on the big screen.

And then it happened as Lautaro Martinez, the Argentine striker received a pass inside the France 18-yard box.

As soon as this happened, a youthful boy quickly jumped to his feet, roaring. "Pass! Pass the ball! Pass the f*cking ball!"

Watching this scene, Sam could not help but blush fiercely.

The video was not of the best quality, and the youthful boy on the video looked darker and younger than the current him, but Sam had no doubt that this was him on the night of the most memorable game of his life.

'Damn! Who made a video of me?' He lamented.

The video continued…

As the youthful boy screamed, filled with tension, instead of passing, Lautaro Martinez took a shot.

Bam!

It hit the French goalkeeper, Hugo Iloris.

"F*ck!" Sam could not help but mutter again as he watched the recording, having been transported back to the unforgettable day that it happened.

On that day, he also cursed; he was already cursing when Lionel Messi pounced, poking the rebounded ball back in.
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Jules Kounde, the French fullback who currently plied his trade for FC Barcelona in La Liga did a goal line clearance but goal line technology judged the ball to have crossed the line.

"GOALLLLL…!" The viewing center erupted with the roars of ecstatic Argentina fans, and Sam was at the forefront of the celebrations.

Unbounded, no longer caring about how he looked, Sam pulled off his Argentina jersey, leaving only his white singlet as he waved the jersey wildly while running to the front of this viewing center.

By now, he already lost his composure in the emotion of this incredible football game. He was on a high where he no longer cared about anybody.

He celebrated like a mad man, not caring how he looked. At some point, he even hugged his dad excitedly without knowing it.

The other Argentina fans also celebrated wildly.

This was where the video came to an end.

Sam felt a deep sense of nostalgia as he watched the video, but at the same time, his face turned a deep shade of pink as he blushed. 'Curse the bastard who took this video!' Tears streamed down his face.

He finally understood why everyone wanted him to go on social media.

At that moment, his phone rang again.

(Incoming call from Best Buddy…)

"Get lost!" Sam cursed.

When he took his best friend's call, Ian simply stayed, not saying anything for a few seconds and then he burst out laughing like a mad man.

"Get lost!" Sam truly felt like crying, he cut the call.

Thinking for a few seconds, Sam picked up his phone and dialed Kayla's number again, calling her to vent and unleash his grievance.

But as soon as she picked his call, Kayla also burst out laughing.

"Even you too?"

She laughed still, wheezing uncontrollably. "Sam, you just have to see the look on my face right now. My tummy is paining me God!" She laughed loudly.

"Stop…!" Sam complained grievingly.

"Pass! Pass the ball! Pass the f*cking ball!" Kayla mimicked him, laughing in between.

"…" Sam felt like crying.

In the end, Kayla took Sam deeper, taking him to the comment section of this video on YouTube where Sam saw comments that cracked his ribs.

>Comments:<

{I-am-Ronaldinho: Lmao, I always said that every great football player is first a big fan of the sport. Just look at Sam, the guy was even more of a maniac than I am, I love him even more now- emote laughing emoji}

{Zidane-meatrider: Lol, Sam wins the award for the best reaction to that goal. But come on man- emote crying-laughing emoji, Sam looked so wretched and overweight there. Man, I can't believe that's him, how did he come from that to becoming this?- emote laughing emoji}

{I-smoke-smoke: Man, this video takes me back, so many fond memories are swirling through my head now. I can relate so much with Sam man, that night, this was exactly how I and my brothers reacted to the goal, peak night y'all}

{Fake-I-show-speed: Sam is lowkey just like us, a crazy football fan lol}

{Fulham-till-I-die: That's our superstar! Zinedine Sam!}

{Trenches-is-where-I-come-from: See that shirt pull, and that shirt waving?- emote laughing emoji, That's the pure Nigerian footballing spirit, Sam is Nigerian ghetto-bred through and through, now I believe}

{Trenches-is-where-I-come-from: To the Coach of the Nigerian national team, I hope you're seeing this, you better select Sam and play him in our next international game. The boy is too valuable and likeable to leave behind.}

{Manchester-United-till-I-die: Who else does Sam's celebration remind of Ryan Gigg's legendary solo goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup?}

{Flying-Emirates-is-my-home replied to Manchester-United-till-I-die: No one, you're the only one who's reminded of that}

{Fish-in-the-sea replied to Flying-Emirates-is-my-home: emote laughing emoji; emote laughing emoji; emote laughing emoji}

{Manchester-United-till-I-die replied to Flying-Emirates-is-my-home: Lol, salty Arsenal fan}

{Flying-Emirates-is-my-home replied to Manchester-United-till-I-die: Lol, delusional Manchester United fan, I don't talk with Europa league club fans}

{Manchester-United-till-I-die replied to Flying-Emirates-is-my-home: Hahaha, where is your champions league trophy?}

{Flying-Emirates-is-my-home replied to Manchester-United-till-I-die: At least I'm not 14th in the premier league table lol}

{Manchester-United-till-I-die replied to Flying-Emirates-is-my-home: Hehe, forever 1st runner ups, the immortal league bottlers}

{Fish-in-the-sea replied to Manchester-United-till-I-die: emote laughing-crying emoji; Emotional damage! I'm dying in laughter lmao- emote laughing emoji}

Reading through the comment section, before Sam knew it, there was a big smile on his face as he read.

"Hehe," he chuckled.