Confessions of an Ex-Football Fan in Chile · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On the blog section of Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, Gustavo Santander writes that he doesn't like football, even though he ends up watching the matches with his friends and sharing stories so much that someone told him once: “you know a lot for someone who doesn't like football.”
He explains there was once a time when he loved football and that the 1986 World Cup in Mexico was the first one he remembers to the fullest:
Quién sabe por qué ese 29 de junio (de 1986) se grabó en mi mente como un día inolvidable, el hecho es que si cierro los ojos, aún puedo ver al Loco (Carlos Salvador) Bilardo gesticulando como un demente al borde de la cancha, a (Nery) Pumpido volando como un poseso para atajar los tiros alemanes, a (Karl-Heniz) Rummenigge disparando pelotazos como si fuera un Pánzer de carne y hueso; a (Jorge) Valdano metiendo el segundo gol de Argentina y a mi padre abrazando a mi madre, besándola en los labios como si fueran dos adolescentes cuando el silbato del árbitro marcó el fin de ese encuentro, que no era el suyo, pues ese año aún ni sabían que su matrimonio estaba por jugar su tiempo suplementario.
Who knows why that June 29 (1986) is fixed in my memory as an unforgettable day, and if I close my eyes, I can still see (Argentinian coach Carlos Salvador) Loco Bilardo madly gesturing on the sidelines, (Argentinian goalkeeper Nery) Pumpido flying as if possessed to block the German shots, (German goalkeeper Karl-Heniz) Rummenigge taking shots as if he was a flesh and blood Panzer; (Argentinian player Jorge) Valdano scoring the second Argentinian goal and my father hugging my mother, kissing her on the lips as if they were two teenagers when the referee whistled to end the match that wasn't theirs, as that year they weren't even aware that their marriage was about to play in additional time.