Staff writer
TC Edwards of Marion nervously tapped his fingers about two-thirds of the way through the World Cup final Sunday between Spain and the Netherlands.
When Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain in overtime, Edwards pumped his fist in excitement.
“Yes! Yes!” he shouted.
Edwards wasn’t always a soccer fan. He played on a youth team when he was in first and second grade, then he drifted away from the sport.
But a year in Spain as a high school exchange student during his senior year in 2007-08, when Spain won the Euro Cup, rekindled his spirit.
“By the time they won the Euro Cup, I was a dedicated fan,” Edwards said. “I remember when they won the Euro Cup, the streets weren’t quiet until 6 when the sun came up. Noise, noise, noise, all night long.”
This year, he followed all of the team’s matches in the World Cup, watching them live or recording them. When he had to record a match, he tried to avoid hearing the results before watching it.
Neither team scored in regulation during the finals, and it wasn’t until only five minutes remained before Spain scored the only goal of the match. The match set a record for number of fouls called in a World Cup final.
“I’d say that’s the sign of a roughly played game,” Edwards said. “But in the long run, who’s going to remember a few yellow cards for the honor of a World Cup. I can’t think of a better way for them to win.”
Edwards, who doesn’t use periods in between his initials, tries to keep a realistic perspective on soccer.
“Soccer — this is going to sound bad — it isn’t the world,” he said. “It’s a game. It just happens to be a big, fun game.”
Based on his experience when Spain won the Euro Cup, Edwards didn’t think anyone in Spain would sleep Sunday night — all because of a big, fun game.