When will the banners and the victory parades celebrate the day a better world was won? Now, and forever.

I'm about to do something which I rarely - indeed, if ever at all - I did on my blogs, which is to write about football. Insofar as I've been able to, I have not allowed footie to come into play in my musings, because It's all too easy for me to write ginormous ramblings full of invective and derision, and I've opted to let that pass. The closest I ever came to that was when I wrote a couple of posts for a long-abandoned blog, but then that was its sole purpose, for me to wax lyrical on footie.
But today... today, it's stronger than me. I could write at length about what this year meant for me as a SLB fan, but I shan't.
Instead, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the sixty-five thousand that filled the Cathedral yesterday, always shouting, leading the team on. I want to say thank you to the two hundred thousand revelers that filled the city's streets last night, and deservedly celebrated after too long a time of waiting. I want to thank the millions of people all over the country that yelled as one yesterday when the game was over, and for hours and hours after that.
As well, a thank you to the millions of fans all over the world, in all of the continents, who celebrated like there was no tomorrow. A huge thank you to the brave souls who celebrated this victory in what, to my disgust, have become bastions of terrorism in Portugal : the cities of Porto and Braga. It's sad indeed that two beautiful cities are riddled with such hatred. But thank you anyway, it just goes to show the enormity of our victory, and that of our beloved club.
Everyone in the staff - from the guy who washes the kits and carries the balls, to the guy whose work is to give massages to our heroes, to the assistant coaches : thank you.
To the gaffer, Jorge Jesus : Thank you. You gave Benfica back to millions of us.
To the president, Luis Filipe Vieira and the general manager, Rui Costa : Thank you. Great challenges lie ahead for you now, and you have the hopes of millions in your hands. It's time to forge a new dynasty, and you are the right people for the job.
To every single of our players, from the guys who didn't play a single minute, but whose mere presence was absolutely crucial, to those who played sparingly and did what they had to do with aplomb, to those who week in, week out went into the pitch and gave their all, and often even more than that, to those who kept the balls from going into our nets, to those that scored the many goals we scored this year : I humbly thank you.
But winning is something that comes directly from being better than the opposing teams, and by beating them consistently. And this year, we had many, many obstacles to fend off. From the teams who played (or tried to play) the games of their lives against us, to the referees who made a point to show everyone where their loyalties lie, to the backstage shenanigans orchestrated by our adversaries, that only backfired on them, to those who brilliantly kept pace with us until the bitter end for them, I thank you. Fifteen other teams there are, and we faced each twice. Seventy eight times our balls flew into your nets, providing us with many joys, and only twenty of yours went into our nets.
Of worthy thanks are our media darlings, who ceaselessly tried to come up of new ways to destabilize us. We know you will never learn, but you can't stop us. The giant is awakening, and everything in our path will be destroyed. Where you stand is up to you, we don't care. But be aware that we will retaliate, and you court out displeasure at your own peril.
So that's it... one season of great football, of goals and victories, of joys unending, even when (rarely) defeat came knocking at our doors. I already eagerly await next season, with the full knowledge that some of our players will have moved on to other teams, but also raring to see the new recruits in action. If they are all that they are supposed to be, then we'll have new heroes soon enough. Bring on the new season already!