The European Championship is a big soccer tournament that takes place in Europe. It’s a very big deal to Europeans because there are only a select few teams that make it in this competition.

This is the big game, the game that determines who will be the next European Champion and take home the euro cup. As the final five minutes tick by in the game, everyone in Portugal waits impatiently on edge as team Portugal is tied with the host team for the Euro 2016, France: 0-0. For the first time in what feels like forever, I find myself actually interested in watching a soccer game for more than just waiting to see Cristiano Ronaldo score a goal followed by him taking off his shirt. The pressure is now on for both teams as they each try their hardest to make their respectful countries proud in this short amount of time, I could sense the tension in the surrounding atmosphere.

My father and grandfather are watching the game in the den, I’m watching the game in the kitchen chowing down on a box of the sweetest pastries that smell like heaven. Meanwhile, my grandmother is in her bedroom watching her favorite soap opera. My father rushes into the kitchen as to not miss a moment and promises me that if Portugal won, he would get me a authentic green jersey with Ronaldo written on the back. This really got me all fired up. All of a sudden, at that very moment with only two minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo does it. He scores the first goal! However, there’s still two minutes left in the game and as my dad always says, the game isn’t over until the referee blows the whistle. We all sit there waiting impatiently and on the edge of our seats, watching the clock countdown from one minute, just waiting for the referee to blow the whistle and hope that France doesn’t succeed in scoring.

To our luck, the time finally comes to an end and in just mere seconds, the apartment is turned upside down with the three of us cheering and screaming with joy; my grandmother is trying to cover her ears to drown out the sound. Outside, you can hear the cars honking loudly from every direction and from miles away. The city of Lisbon turned into a chaotic zoo filled with wild animals waiting to be fed at feeding hour. While we celebrate, the french turn France into a complete warzone. Objects are flying through windows, cars are getting beaten up and smashed beyond recognition, other stuff being burnt beyond recognition while hundreds of innocents are being mugged and robbed.

“Team Portugal Wins the Euro 2016” is making headlines all across Portugal and Europe. The official Euro 2016 song: This One’s for You being played on radios, televisions and people downloading it off iTunes; it instantly became the number one song in Europe but never made its way to America. The next day, when my dad and I went to Lisbon, there were shards of broken glass from beer bottles everywhere on the ground forcing us to watch where we stepped. We started our hunt for the authentic Ronaldo jersey my dad had promised me, but with no luck the first time through, we returned to my grandparents condo empty handed. Later that day, my dad and grandfather went to a bookstore and got two newspaper that had posters with team Portugal inside: one for my God Father and one for me. After searching for a couple of days high and low, through cracks and rocks finding nothing but fake jerseys. Just as we were about to give up, we finally came across a green jersey that just happened to be in my size just calling my name; all I could think about at that moment was how for once in my life, luck was finally on my side.

This excitement lasted maybe for about the duration of my stay in Portugal before everything was back to the way it was when I first arrived. However, this event will forever be remembered in Portuguese history, giving my father yet another reason to try and convince me that the portuguese are the best at everything in the world.