“At its best, the World Cup produces games that are works of art, narratives that can rival our greatest plays and novels for what they tell us about ourselves and our world. Opinions will differ, of course, about any work of art, and our and interpretation always depends on what we carry with us. I’m certainly biased in this case: I am Belgian-American, and deeply invested in the stories both these teams brought to the pitch. Though I’m a bit of specialist in ambivalent fandom, yesterday’s brought my level of fragmentation to new levels. But I survived, and am grateful for what last night offered us.” New Republic – Laurent Dubois