Quick question, who is the unhappiest man in the world this week?
Pat yourself on the back if you blurted out Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7 ), about a neck in front of Football Australia CEO James Johnson.
The Lionel Messi fairytale came true, and I'm going to concentrate on the positives of that story rather than the Saturday debacle at AAMI Park, which I will largely leave to the political expertise of sports editor Robert Dillon (because I can).
I reckon if you truly couldn't be happy for the 35-year-old genius, you don't love sport. In the minds of some he needed to justify his status for equal billing with Pele and Maradona, not mine I must state because his performances over so extended a career gives him an advantage in the longevity stakes.
From that point you can take your pick from personal preference.
Pele with his 1000 goals and three World Cups is hard to look past with wins at 17 and 30 before retiring, Maradona with still the most dazzling and commanding role I've ever seen at a World Cup in 1986, and Messi at 35 delivering in the last-chance saloon for personal and national glory.
The pressure he felt must have been enormous.
His coach and fellow players trusted his talent and vowed to work extra hard to cover for the ageing legs and physical decline.
He in turn treated his colleagues to a masterclass of passing, vision and creative timing, rather than the electric and mesmeric dribbling of his youth. It is still available to a point but much more occasional.
To win the player of the tournament and to score in every match at the tournament is a remarkable achievement at 35 - remember Diego was 25 when he ruled in 86 and Pele played in unquestionably more talented teams.
I guess my admiration for this feat extends back to my younger years, when many of my sporting heroes fell an inch or so short of the greatest triumphs and it hurt for months for me and I'm sure a lifetime for them.
Greg Norman anyone? Denied by fate, a hard-nosed Nick Faldo and a 46-year-old charging Jack Nicklaus (the GOAT) when he seemed destined to crown his decade-long run as the best player in the world in the US Masters.
I remain convinced if he had won one, he would have won four or five.
Merlene Ottey and Don Quarrie, two Jamaican sprinters who were the best of their generation, denied by injury or someone producing their life's best performance on the biggest Olympic stage.
Or our Raelene (Boyle) denied Olympic mortality by a dodgy false start call and the systemic doping of the East German female sprinters in the 70s.
Our man Messi faced that moment several times through the tournament and triumphed. Say no more.
On the local front the hard work of so many, and the boost of a golden run at the World Cup, was all but destroyed by the actions of a few lunatics at AAMI Park on Saturday night who felt their thoughts and feelings were more important than the vast majority of supporters and pundits and they had to up the ante.
Supporters are important but, without players and officials, spectators would be watching grass grow and hence the playing arena should be sacred and the enjoyment of the entire audience considered.
We used to call it manners.
The Jets' run of defeats and concession of goals reappeared at the Mariners last weekend and Arthur Papas and his team face a difficult week away to Adelaide on Tuesday then at home to Sydney five days later.
The league is very condensed, as it can be at times, but the Jets need to turn things around very quickly. We shall return our thoughts to that and the A-League next week, I promise.
Last but not least, Merry Christmas to all you good people reading this column. Here's hoping the big man in the red suit looks after you.
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