It was Euro Cup 1996, and all I knew was that it was a soccer tournament. At 2am, I had stayed up to watch the German team win the championship. I have been a fan ever since.

Today, 18 years later, I finally got to see them victorious again. It was three hours of nervousness: I ran out of fingernails to chew on. I am much older now, and thus more appreciative of how rare this is.

I cried a little. My shirt collar was nasty because by then I had moved on from biting my nails (suspense, it does things to you…). I got to see this moment with my girlfriend and my parents. Back in ‘96, I was with family, too. I haven’t forgotten that night and I won’t forget today.