22 years is a long time.
When I was 8 years old, I watched Scotland compete in the 1974 football World Cup. They then qualified for every world cup after that, seven in a row, until, on June 23, 1998, aged 32, and the day before my oldest son’s 4th birthday, I stood in a bar in the Cayman Islands and watched Scotland’s ignominious exit from the 1998 football World Cup, losing (badly) to Morocco.
That was the last time Scotland qualified for a major finals, they have failed something like 14 times since then to make either the World Cup or the Euros. That 4-year-old boy is now a 26-year-old man and, following the family tradition, has been a Scotland fan his whole life, yet has never seen Scotland qualify and compete on a major stage.
As he was fond of saying, and a phrase familiar to Scotland fans:
Its the hope that kills you
That all changed yesterday, when, doing it the (really!) hard way as always, Scotland qualified for the Euros to be played in June 2021. They failed in the normal qualifying round, so then had to win a long secondary competition before multiple playoff matches, culminating in a final match last night. They were ahead, away from home, until conceding an equalising goal in the very last minute. Every Scot watching felt heartbreak ahead, and yet, for the first time in 22 years, that heartbreak never came. Instead, at 5-4 in the penalty shootout, with the very first kick that was “sudden death”, one of the stars of the opposing team failed to convert his penalty.
The reaction? This was the First Minister of Scotland on Twitter right after the final kick.
As a proud and passionate nation, when you are used to losing, to win feels particularly sweet.
22 years is a long time, yet it feels like yesterday. My son was not even 4, now he is 26. Time, and how we feel about it depending on the circumstances, is such a wonder.