Final thoughts:
Lionel Messi got his whatever-this-event-has-instead-of-a-ring. Awesome. 
There has to be some kind of rule that whenever an incredibly long-suffering jock, franchise, or fanbase is on the verge of finally reaching the top, they CANNOT make it easy for themselves, they absolutely MUST turn it into an unbelievably long, torturous, blood vessel-popping, brain-frying ten thousand mile-long emotional rollercoaster. Think the Boston Red Sox in the '04 ALCS the Chicago Cubs in '16 World Series, the '94 and '95 Houston Rockets, or pretty much every Musashimaru yusho. I felt like that after Argentina nearly blew a 2-0 lead. How do you give up two goals to a team that you scored two goals on?? I just can’t wrap my head around it. And I also recall that there was a time (just once, but it happened!) where Messi’s extra time goal would’ve iced it right there. But it always has to be a nailbiter, always has to be gut-wrenching, always has to be by a thousandth of a hair. I get the feeling that if the Super Bowl is Bills vs. Vikings, it’s going to go to 6 overtimes and there will be 18 missed field goals and 120 penalties and 80 call reviews, half of which they’ll freaking still get wrong. That’s why I don’t have the stomach for live sports anymore. Unless it’s something fun like figure skating, or cornhole, or drone racing.
I decided before the match that while a back-to-back World Cup would be a nice mark on history, I’d be okay with France losing. Two championships and one second place over the last seven World Cups proves beyond any shadow of doubt that they’ve arrived. Much like the '18 Golden State Warriors, they’re still plenty loaded and will be back. I do like the idea of a strong France because Europe should have a strong representative. Spain and Germany aren’t consistent enough, Italy is an enigma, and we just can’t depend on England. (I’m sorry, we can’t!)
The big moment for VAR (that I witnessed, anyway) was during the France-England match where, with France up 2-1, a French defender bulldozed an English striker in the box from behind, a blatant penalty which went uncalled. However, after several seconds, the video official stopped the game, and, after some deliberation, correctly called the penalty! The shot-taker missed high and the game ended with the same score. This crucial correction of a truly unforgivable ref omission legitimized France’s win and proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that VAR has a positive effect on the game. Still some fine-tuning to be done, of course, including #ffs#d# (I will never, ever use that word in any soccer discussion again, ever, ever) calls, but it’s proven its worth and I really hope it sticks.
As for American side, a humble plea…enough. I remember when we were “turning the corner”. I remember when we were “taking a step forward”. I remember when we were “giving Brazil/Italy/Germany a scare”. I remember when we were “finally taking this game seriously”. I even remember when we were “really sticking it to France” (man, was '02 Alice in Wonderland territory or what?). And now we’ve “shown we can compete with the best”. I can’t help but notice that, other than the aforementioned Soccer Event From Another Planet, every single one of these hopeful or encouraging or corner-turning runs ends up in the exact same freaking place. Folks, listen to me…the American men’s soccer team is the Los Angeles Clippers. They get into the playoffs, they get out of the playoffs. And that is the best you’ll ever see from them. Now, you can be happy for this! It’s okay to have low expectations! We’re not a soccer powerhouse any more than Brazil is a hockey powerhouse! That’s the reality! It’s perfectly all right to be a fan! But the idea that they’re getting better or are going to contend for the championship 4 years or 16 years or 100 years from now is a dream, and at this point a completely played-out one. I’ll believe it when I see it. You should too.
As for Qatar, here’s the deal. I will completely whitewash all my political and human rights concerns and cheerfully celebrate an absolutely glorious final (and an entertaining 3rd place match) as soon as the government of Qatar provides lavish death benefits to the families of the 6,500 dead migrant workers, pays full compensatory damages to the liquor companies who were not allowed to sell beer in the stadium after signing deals with them, and contributes, mmm, $50 million sounds reasonable, to nonprofit organizations that help women and underprivileged minorities.
