Borussia Dortmund

As many of you know, I am an avid soccer fan and follow professional soccer. My favorite team is Borussia Dortmund, a professional soccer club in Germany.

I'm guessing most of you haven't heard of Borussia Dortmund before, so I'll provide you with some background information: they're the best team in the world. Enough said.

I must admit that I wasn't always a Dortmund fan. When I started following professional soccer, I was a Messi/FC Barcelona fan (yes, I was one of those kids). In my defense, I didn't know much about soccer then. It was only when I grew a brain that I began to love Dortmund. I first watched them while browsing a shady website used to stream soccer games. I accidentally clicked on a link that gave me access to their game. Too lazy to find another game, I decided to watch. I was really amazed by their high intensity. They pressured the ball in such a systematic and smart way. Their play was quick and exciting. They were just really fun to watch. 

Borussia Dortmund, unfortunately, isn't the most successful club. This lack of trophies almost led me to return to my old team, Barcelona, in the 2014-2015 season. 2014-2015 was an amazing season for Barcelona; they won the treble for the second time, a feat that no other European team has accomplished. Dortmund on the other hand, finished 7th in the league, got eliminated in both the Champions League and DFB-Pokal. In fact, I have experienced a lot of heartbreak as a Dortmund fan. Here's a list of all the times we nearly won silverware (during my time as a fan):

Runners-up in the Bundesliga (domestic league)

• 2012-2013
• 2013-2014
• 2015-2016

Runners-up in the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup)

• 2013-2014
• 2014-2015
• 2015-2016

And the most painful of all:

Runners-up in the UEFA Champions League:

• 2012-2013

I still have nightmares of that game. The 2012-2013 season was the year when I first became a Dortmund fan, and I was elated that this random new team that I stumbled upon had the chance to win the Champions League, the biggest club competition in Europe. I remember the final vividly. We played extremely well. We dominated the whole game and deserved to win. The universe, however, wanted to be cruel and had other plans for my beloved team. In the 89th minute, in the dying embers of the game, the bald Dutch magician, Arjen Robben, stuck. A tiny mistake from our defense and a brilliant dribble from the forward ended with the ball in the back of the our net. My heart broke. I cried for two days. I grieved for the next two weeks. 

Considering the high quality of our team, we don't really deserve to have so many fruitless seasons. I love the Dortmund players. Marco Reus is an absolute legend and is one of the best players in the world. Jaden Sancho is one of the best young talents in the world. Our team is typically mostly comprised of young talented players who often go on to become world class players. The issue is, our players often leave our club. Here's a list of some of the amazing players to leave our club:

• Robert Lewandoski
• Mario Gotze
• Mats Hummels
• Sokratis Papastathopoulos
• Ousmane Dembele
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan
• İlkay Gündoğan

I was particularly hurt by the departure of Robert Lewandoski. He was our best striker and one of our star players. We signed him early in his career and helped him develop as a player. We helped him create his name. All this generosity, however, was not enough for him. After the 2013-2014 season, he signed for our rivals, Bayern Munich, betraying all of his teammates and fans. I was devastated and angry when I found out the news.

It's safe to say that I have experienced a lot of heartbreak as a Dortmund fan. We recently, however, won the DFB-Pokal in the 2016-2017 season, where we exacted our revenge on Bayern Munich, knocking them out in the semi-finals. It was a truly glorious moment and a campaign that I will remember for the rest of my life. I love Borussia Dortmund, however, not because of the trophies, but because of the fans and players. Borussia Dortmund is known for having one of the best fanbases in the world. In fact, the support is so strong that we have been nicknamed "the Great Yellow Wall." This nickname is given because at home games, all you can see is a sea of yellow shirts and flags in the stands.

Recently, we have been playing out of this world. We are currently on a five game win streak, top of the Bundesliga, and top of our Champions League group. Today, we won 4-0 against Atletico Madrid, one of the best teams in the world. On the other hand, Bayern Munich is having small crisis and struggling to string wins together.

This year is our year.

Heja BVB!

My Moment of Glory

Everyone has had their moments of glory. Whether it be asking their crush to Homecoming, winning a competition, or acing their final. We've all had this moment where we feel on top of the world.

I had this moment a while ago.

During this past summer, I visited my brother in California. We went to LA, explored Universal Studios, ate delicious food, etc. It was a great trip and I had an amazing time.

In our last night in LA, we wanted to have some fun. After finishing our dinner, we explored the beautiful mall that the restaurant was located in. Now when I say beautiful, I mean beautiful. Most of the mall was outdoors, so you could see the night sky and experience the nice California weather. There were huge plots of turf (fake grass) with sofas, swings, and trees. It was a perfect combination of nature and architecture. However, I digress.

While exploring the mall, we found a huge arcade called Dave and Busters. This place was the only arcade that I had ever been in, so it was quite a new experience.

We bought two cards which were loaded with 100 points each. These points were used as currency to play the games.

We played a lot of different games. We played Pac-Man, a dance machine, and multiple shooting games. Obviously, I beat my brother every time, and whenever we were on the same team, he'd always drag me down.

While wandering through the maze of machine games, we eventually stumbled upon a basketball game. It was like the classic basketball arcade game, where you would try to make as many shots as possible within a limited amount of time. The difference, however, was that the hoop on this machine was regulation height, providing an added challenge. The distance of the shot was around the 3-point line for high schoolers. Being basketball fans, my brother and I spent the rest of the time (and 75% of our points) on this game.

Based on my observations, the game worked like this:

• Each time you play the game, you get one minute to score as many baskets as you can
• The first five baskets are worth two points each. The next ten baskets are worth three points each. Afterwards, each basket is worth four points.

My brother and I would alternate playing. We had a competition to see who could score the most. Unfortunately, I did not start off well. You know, after two whole days of traveling and eating an excessive amount of food, I wasn't immediately ready to shoot a basketball. As a result, my brother won the first few rounds and proceed to call my skills "sh*t."

Now obviously, I can't let my brother get away with that. So I had to do it to him. Around seven or eight rounds in, I began to pop off. Every single shot I took went in (I probably missed like one but that doesn't matter. I still popped off). Each ball flew off my fingers with such grace, speed, and accuracy, that even Stephen Curry would've gotten a bit jealous. When the buzzer sounded and my turn ended, I glanced at the score board. It flashed: "NEW HIGH SCORE" with a solid 48 underneath.

I was in disbelief; I had just gotten a high score on an arcade game. This arcade wasn't just some random place located in the middle of nowhere. It was a busy and popular arcade in LA. Now that is something special. I turned to my brother and said "There's more where that came from," but honestly, there wasn't. I tried to replicate my high score to no avail. I'd always get a score in the high 20s or low 30s.

Whenever people *cough* colleges *cough* ask for my biggest accomplishments, I am very tempted to include this moment on the list. 

That was a truly glorious evening.