Journal of Experiences: A moment in our lives

October 24, 2019

Dear diary,

I didn't understand the feeling of unity and happiness in its fullness until yesterday, the historic October 23, 2019 that will be forever marked in my life, the day which Flamengo team was qualified for the final of the Libertadores of America.

Since October 2, the first part of a semifinal of two matches, the days between the first and the second match has been exactly 21 days. These days seemed to last centuries, I had the feeling that they wouldn't pass, which greatly increased my admirable ability to be an extremely anxious person. And I am not proud of it.

Well, the such desired and historic day had arrived and we only know what a historical day is when we live it intensely. Yesterday, I woke up excited and the common feeling among the Flamengo fans I met was that everything would work out. And if the days have lasted for centuries, every hour of that Wednesday seemed to have lasted an eternity. Despite the obligations of my adult life, such as college classes and assignments, any rational thought was hidden in my mind by thoughts about the football match, worthy of a solar eclipse. Like in a magic trick, what we had before us was transformed into another thing as the match approached, the houses, the streets and finally the entire state of Rio was practically covered by Flamengo shirts and flags. It was amazing!! And I'm sure it wasn't different for other regions of the country.

When the match began at 9:30 pm, the tension was evident because Flamengo faced a more traditional and historically victorious team in this competition, Grêmio. The first half was fully disputed, but the fans and the Flamengo team looked like they were one creature, the feeling of victory was almost a certainty. I believe that like me, no one thought that in the second half of the match everything would be easier, since from the second goal of Flamengo the confidence of the team of Grêmio fell as the wall of Berlin. Flamengo's superiority over Grêmio was so great that the final score was the incredible and historic 5x0 – OMG! I really didn't expect something like that. In the fifth goal, the Maracanã burst into smiles, tears and hugs in which men and women, children and the elderly, all vibrated in the same energy. I have no words to describe what I felt at that moment, I will always remember this day.

And that's how after 38 years of disappointing eliminations, my beloved team was qualified for the final of the Libertadores of America, one of the toughest championships in the world and I was able to experience the story going on. The imposing Maracanã stadium, on this magical day, a Wednesday of October, filled with red and black, it was like a big beating heart pumping emotions of joy and pride for all the fans across Brazil.

Yours, Fabrício.