What more is there to say? Little old West Ham, forever the underachievers, living every club outside the big six's dream on the European stage. West Ham reaching the Europa League semi-final. West Ham reached the Europa League semi-final / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages *For Scott's alternative pick, please see the following Slack message: "if you want one please replace mine with 'Leandro Paredes smashing ball at Dutch bench'." The day of qualification had to be the moment I picked, mind you, because we were absolutely sh*te in Qatar. I even got to ride on the team's coat-tails and get up close in the tournament itself. I wasn't able to make it to Cardiff but most that did will tell you that was one of the greatest days in the history of Welsh football - given the "it's been 64 years since our last one" narrative - and it had an incredible impact on me.
But so much has changed and Welsh football's in a better place. Nobody expected this - my generation and those before me had become accustomed to failure and nobody would've thought this was possible a mere decade ago. Mad with celebration, excitement, emotion, tears.
Wayne Hennessey turned into superman and somehow kept a clean sheet, Cymru held on and Cardiff went mad.
#FOOTBALL FUNNY MOMENTS FREE#
Wales narrowly beat Ukraine to confirm their place in Qatar after a deflected Gareth Bale free kick edged them ahead. On a rainy day in June in Cardiff, it happened. Nothing is better in football than when your country succeeds.Īnd success, for Wales, in 2022, was qualifying for the World Cup*. Wales qualified for their first World Cup since 1958 / Athena Pictures/GettyImages
Having followed the team through thick and very, very thin down the years, the 2022 FAI Cup triumph and the ensuing buzz around the club in the city has been really fantastic to see and will hopefully kickstart a wee golden era for the Candystripes. The most recent time was this year, when over 20,000 Derry natives made an eight-hour round trip to Dublin to watch Ruaidhri Higgins' side thump Shelbourne 4-0 in the final at the Aviva Stadium. While I still haven't seen the Candystripes win the League of Ireland (despite finishing second on four occasions in those two decades, missing out on goal difference during one particularly heartbreaking season), I have been lucky enough to see the boys lift the domestic cup - the FAI Cup - four times. It's fair to say that the League of Ireland isn't the best, biggest or richest league in the world, but it's the one that myself and my da have been going to watch my hometown club, Derry City, play in for over two decades. “So it was my opinion that we oughta be rooting for our teammates rather than kind of lounge it because we pretty much had everything but playing cards over there, so I thought it was time to move on from that.Derry City won the FAI Cup / Tim Clayton - Corbis/GettyImages “We were in that period of time where it sure seemed to me we were a lot more interested in sitting in that chair than being on the football field or rooting for our teammates,” Mike Leach said postgame. Mississippi State would go on to win the game 39-33, but his postgame quote made the sideline moment even better. This was a video that would live on forever, as another Mike Leach teachable moment, or just frustration. Highly upset with his offense, Leach went to the wide receivers area on the sidelines and folded up every one of their chairs, placing them on the ground. The Bulldogs led 24-6 at halftime, but came out in the third quarter looking flat, as the Tigers cut the lead to 24-19. Leach, the late Mississippi State football coach, had so many funny moments during his time coaching college football, but his last one came this past season against Auburn. This was the case for Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello on Tuesday night against LSU in the College World Series. There are different ways to pay tribute to Mike Leach, even if you aren’t trying or had the intention.
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