And I’m going to apologize from the start for going over the first person limit, but that day changed us all. Not only for the already indelible “I can’t believe it, Diego died”, but because it also became one of those historical days that journalists live in a very particular way. Especially since the idea of what the game of the greatest sports idol in the world would be like always hovered in our minds.
Minutes after noon, the first signs emerged. The television programs confirmed it. Tears rolled from one side of the screen to the other. Like when we were children and a fictional hero died who could not lose to the bad guys, in adulthood the same thing happened to us, with the substantial difference that the real superhero left, the one who faced everyone, the one who made us laugh , celebrate, love and also hurt when they cut off his legs. He had left who we all wanted to be.
The chain reaction was brutal. Messages, comments, social networks, the media – regardless of its format or support. You had to listen and read everything, because everyone had a story to tell. For very long hours, in the WhatsApp groups we did not talk about anything else. Personal conversations had no other topic either.
“Is it true that Maradona died?” Was the first thing I heard. The soul froze, the body trembled, and the head shot up thousands of ideas. If 2020 was missing something to be the worst year in history, it was the death of Ten, the fan of all Argentine athletes, no matter what discipline or instance they disputed.
Immediately, the 1986 World Cup became the inexhaustible source of audiovisual memories. It hurt a lot to see those images, but it was also the perfect excuse to evoke the happiness that the Great Captain had caused us (even if we had only a few months to live). And how not to see over and over again that mythical warm-up with Napoli while Live is life by Opus was playing.
Out of pandemic necessity, mid-afternoon found me fleetingly on the street. It was the time of return to the homes for those who already worked in situ. The faces were long; the dialogues, sad; the sky darkened and the air grew thin. The whole country felt collapsed. How could her own land, her homeland, not fall if even in a Syrian city destroyed by war a girl painted a mural of “Fluff” on a ruined wall?
The stares between people were heavy, wide-eyed as proof of surprise and disbelief. By then Maradona had been a global trend on the Internet for long hours and the media were fully devoted to the news. On Ambit the sections ceased to exist, at least for a while, and the dollar and the Covid-19 left their space to the immortality of the greatest footballer in all history. We all got involved in such an event, comparable only to the days when Francisco was elected Pope or the Argentine National Team played in the 2014 World Cup final.
It was to be expected that Diego’s death would cause, when not, a division in society, at least with regard to the funeral and health protocols. What united was the love towards Maradona. Someone ventured to say that his departure surpassed that of any human being who has ever set foot on this planet. Another went much further: if the Beatles they said they were bigger than Jesus, someone had just died who pierced them all.
The tears for the celestial and white myth, icon of Argentina and God of Naples, lasted days and even weeks. It is still hard to believe that it is gone. The tributes followed one after the other, whether in sports, politics or entertainment. The best of all was last July, when the Argentine national team won the America Cup in Brazil. It seemed like a perversion of fate, or maybe it was a wink from him. How hard to accept your departure yet. We miss you Diego.
Source From: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
