Our house has World Cup fever. Well... Samson and I have it, which has been a blast!
When the tournament kicked off (pun intended), we printed off a schedule of the group stage and the knockout rounds. Samson has been dutifully recording match scores.
He also decided to root for whichever country is closest to us. I thought that was a fantastically objective way to choose. He asks our echo device which team is closer — pretty smart (though, not always the most accurate...).
In game 1, Mexico beat South Africa, and he was elated. In game 2, his team, Czechia, went up 1-0. But late in the game, South Korea tied it at 1-1, and then scored another goal to win it 2-1. Samson went to bed SOBBING over the loss... for a team he didn’t know existed a couple of days ago!
Talk about passion!
It reminded me of two Super Bowls ago when the Chiefs played the Eagles. Samson was all-in for the Chiefs. He wore his red gear and cheered for them. The Chiefs struggled early, and Samson became despondent. I was rooting for the Eagles, but tried to play it cool when I saw how upset he was.
At halftime, he went to his room, changed into a green outfit, and declared he was now rooting for the Eagles. He changed his attitude instantly and genuinely celebrated the Eagles' victory. It was borderline: "The Chiefs are dead to me because they let me down."
It’s whiplashing at how fast and intensely he changes.
Back to soccer. Jessi asked me what we should do about our sobbing son after the game. I voted for exposure therapy: watch as many of the 104 games as possible to show him that life goes on.
It seems to be working. He hasn't been upset about a single outcome since. Though now he also looks up the winning probabilities along with their distance. But his attitude is closer to “let’s see if the stats are correct” instead of rooting for a specific team.
Except for Argentina.
He wants Messi to win it all. He is, of course, excited for the US, but it’s not the same. If they get a chance to play each other, I imagine his emotions will run hot again. It's wild!
For now, I’m enjoying watching lots of soccer with Samson, talking about amazing goals, and swapping stats.
Nothing like teachable moments!
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