Wales is why we love international tournaments

Full disclosure: I am part Welsh. My family came over from Merthyr Tydfil, an iron and coal town, in the 1850s. While I have mostly German and Irish blood in me, it’s the Welsh heritage that my mother’s family takes the most pride in. I grew up with Welsh flags in the house. I had a couple t-shirts with the Wales crest emblazoned across the front. I tried to learn Welsh as a teenager, and even started to spell my name in the traditional Welsh style, "Ifan." That name, "Evan Davis," is essentially the "John Smith" of Cardiff and Newport. It's that Welsh. The name was my grandfather’s name, and his father’s before him. My very identity is shaped by the Welsh blood that pumps through my veins.

I’ve never visited Wales. My entire experience of the place is one of a distant immigrant attempting to make sense of what that Welsh identity means. It seems all too appropriate, then, that a worthy conduit through which to channel my Welsh pride would take the form of the national football team. They are, along with Iceland, the truly special Cinderella stories of the European Championship so far. Wales improbably won their group and are poised for a quarterfinal berth if they get past Northern Ireland this weekend. Taken more broadly, however, Wales represents the best of what international football can be.

Consider that Wales has always been a groomsman, never the groom. They border the country that invented the sport, and thanks to the decision to break up the Home Nations on the international stage, Wales got lost in the shuffle. The nation is the second smallest by both geography and population in the UK. The country is shaped by its subservience to its English neighbor, perpetually the butt of jokes about sheep. Wales has never even had the galvanizing nationalistic movement that has at times driven Ireland’s sense of itself and its place in history.

That inferiority complex carries over into soccer. While the likes of Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs have donned the red shirt of the Dragons, Wales has never been a contender on the European or global stage. Their brightest moment was qualification to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Less than 3,000 saw Terry Medwin bag the winner in the playoff against Hungary, sending the team through to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, of course, would be as far as the side would go, thanks to a single strike by a 17-year-old Brazilian kid by the name of Pelé—his first-ever World Cup goal.

Wales would lie dormant for 58 years, unable to qualify for another World Cup or European Championship. Rush, Hughes and Giggs played their entire careers without ever experiencing major tournament football. Wales fans began to stir a few years ago, with the emergence of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. Could it be possible that Wales might actually be able to make a show of it?

With the expanded European Championships in 2016, there was a glimmer of hope. It was thankfully, miraculously realized. Gareth Bale scored seven goals in the qualifying tournament. It was everything we could have dreamed of.

Wales has continued that dream. We all know that the Spains and the Germanys of the world are heavily favored to dominate tournaments like the Euros. The underdogs are always more fun. When Wales qualified last autumn, I thought, "We’ll either be eliminated in the group stage, or maybe scrape our way to a third-placed finish and go through." When the draw was made, I allowed myself to think, "Wow, we might even be in the mix for second place!" Nothing ever led me to believe that we would actually stand atop the group, and stand atop it convincingly.

Everything about this team embodies the spirit of international football. Wales and Bale may appear to fit the "star and scrubs" model of sides like Sweden, but the cohesive, organized style that head coach Chris Coleman has drilled into players’ heads rejects that myth. Tottenham Hotspur backup Ben Davies has put in heroic performances on the left side of defense all tournament. Joe Allen has kept the midfield compact and organized, and was almost certainly man of the match in the team’s victory over Russia. Aaron Ramsey reminded everyone why he can be world class. And yes, Bale has delivered some of the most spectacular moments thanks to his free kicks. This team has shown, like Iceland, that an organized style built around a superstar doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t play for each other.

The players play for the badge, too. Gareth Bale stirred the pot before the England game with his comments about "national pride," but it’s hard to disagree with him too much. Wales fans have packed stadiums all over France, belting out "Land of my Fathers" with more passion than most supporters I’ve witnessed. The men on the pitch and the men and women in the stands are living and dying together. Just look at this dude during that savage loss to England:

Even that loss bore with it all for which we hope in international football. A tasty geopolitical rivalry; a spiky, close game; a brutal, cruel conclusion. England’s victory over Wales had it all. In order to feel unbridled joy, one must know raw pain. Few fixtures in the Euro group stage had the same kind of impact as England-Wales.

I’ve been on this emotional roller coaster from the very beginning. I even found a Welsh bar in Queens to watch games. I’ve gotten my girlfriend involved. I’ve done shots with fellow Welsh immigrants chanting "Cymru am byth" ("Long live Wales"). The further we go, the more I feel linked to this distant and long-lost part of my heritage.

#Wales won their group and is advancing to the knockout in #EURO2016! 1st time since 1958! #WAL #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/MSQFpKiGZG

— Snowdonia (@snowdoniapub) June 20, 2016

I make no illusions about Wales’s chances for a deep run in the tournament. They should be able to beat Northern Ireland, which would likely set up a rematch against Belgium, whom Wales battled to a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 victory in qualifying. Belgium’s attack is one of the most complete in the tournament, and they have the kind of depth that Wales can’t even fathom. Even I can’t really imagine us squeaking out a semifinal place.

But that’s OK. Every Welsh person in France, back in the home country, or anywhere all over the world is remembering this experience, savoring it. We may never get back to the Euros, or ever qualify for another World Cup. We must relish every moment we have, and appreciate the beautiful gift that Gareth Bale and the rest of Coleman’s boys have given us. The land of my fathers is in France this summer, and it is in me. Joe Ledley certainly understands that.