Grace in Victory, Pride in Defeat

I congratulated two Inter supporters after they took the Scudetto from us. The first was a woman close to my age who works at the café near me—radiant, humble, almost disbelieving with joy. We spoke for a few minutes, and honestly, seeing someone that happy made the loss easier to stomach. Football is cruel, but shared humanity softens it.

The second was a younger guy I occasionally run into. Smug, dismissive, almost bored by winning—as if another Scudetto was beneath his notice because Inter are simply “used to it.” By the end of the conversation, I regretted congratulating him at all. I’ll never lose sleep or start a fight over football, but I’d be lying if I said his disrespect didn't stir a brief flash of anger in me.

Napoli may not have defended our title, but this squad endured injuries, chaos, and adversity all season and still stands on the verge of Champions League qualification and a second-place finish. No small feat. Not even close. Forza Napoli Sempre!