Feel Good

Dries Mertens is having a fantastic year, and now he can check “perform heartwarming celebration off of his list.” The Belgian winger is currently one of the best attackers in Italy, and while his goal-scoring record (8 in 22 across all competitions) might not not convince you of this, he has played a large roll in putting Napoli at the top of Serie A.

He and his teammates have scored a league leading 45 goals so far. That’s 6 more than the second leading scoring team, Fiorentina, and firmly establishes Napoli as the most potent attack in Italy.

At some point in every superstar’s life they were normal. It’s hard to imagine that someone so perfect, so often worshipped by society as an example of what we should be, could ever be normal. With being normal comes doubts and insecurities, timidity and apprehension. Maybe that’s why people so often dream about their own ascension into stardom, because it’s so hard to believe.

It seems like every heartwarming Christmas story features an adorable orphan, and Cristiano Ronaldo's heartwarming Christmas story is no different.

First there was this Tweet:

Located on the outskirts of the historic city of Florence in the picturesque hilly landscape of Tuscany, a club is redefining, or reintroducing, what the relationship between a team and their supporters can be.

Centro Storico Lebowski, spearheaded by a conglomerate of supporters fed up with "mod€rn" football and the growing disconnect between Italian clubs and their supporters, is founded on the prioritization of fan ownership, self-management and a bit of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski.

Marvel Comics teamed up with espnW to honor this year’s IMPACT25 nominees and the results, in the words of Barack Obama, are badass. The annual IMPACT25 serves to highlight 25 female athletes and influencers who shaped and impacted the biggest sporting events of the calendar year. 

It’s been fascinating to see Neymar grow as a player. Once a teenager in Brazil that was capable of pulling off ridiculous goals against subpar competition, he is now a young man in Spain playing for Barcelona, pulling off even more ridiculous goals against world-class defenders. But for all of the success he has on the pitch, he is still humble, and that is what Neymar’s new tattoo reinforces. 

With just under 20 minutes left to play in the 2015 Women’s College Cup, Mallory Weber received the ball on the sideline and heard a very familiar sound.

“I heard Rocky screaming in the middle,” Weber said after the game. “And when Rocky wants the ball, you try and find a way to do it.”

It’s not surprising that Neymar was a standout soccer player his entire life. It’s expected. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. That doesn’t just happen overnight. That, however, doesn’t make it any less impressive to see Neymar playing in Brazil age of 14, running around with professionals, including the likes of Robinho and Romario, and fitting in. Sure, the video below is of a charity match, and because of that I can guarantee none of the professional footballers in it are trying hard, but Neymar’s skill is still evident. 

UPDATE: here's footage of the singing of La Marseillaise at Wembley. 

Despite our geographic proximity, or perhaps because of it, the English and French endure a relationship that is best labelled “tetchy”.