Chirag Sharma

Ever since I remember, I've always been a Ronaldo fan. Back in my middle school days, watching him play on TV was the only way my mom could get me to have dinner. On the other hand, if Messi ever showed up on TV, I would feel like spitting my food out. I was obsessed with everything about Ronaldo and was thus thrilled when I heard that we were traveling to Europe and would watch a soccer game while we were there. I knew that it had to be Real Madrid, especially considering how I never hid my likeness for Ronaldo. However, when I heard that we would be going to a Barcelona game instead, I was devastated. It seemed like everyone was playing a sick joke on me. Everyone in the big group we were going with were Messi fans and the tickets had already been booked! Just like that, I was forced to enter the stadium of my rival and have the "opportunity" to watch him live surrounded by his fans. As I sat onto my seat at the game, I already started to feel out of place. However, that started to change. Midway through the game, A conversation arose with the people around me and to my surprise, they weren't nearly as bad as I expected. Everyone was friendly and were there not to hate on Ronaldo but enjoy the spirit of soccer. And of course, there was the brilliant goal by Messi in the second half that I have to admit is one of the best I've ever seen. I actually felt grateful and extremely lucky to have witnessed this spectacle live. After that game, I realized that not everything has to be black and white. We as a society often tend to get aggressively stuck to one side of an issue and automatically believe that we are supposed to hate the other side. Thats not the case and Im living proof of it, A Ronaldo fan that can appreciate the greatness of Messi.