Lionel Messi's stint in the MLS has been great thus far and even earned him some screen time on American Football by way of his great Super Bowl LVIII ad. The Argentinian can do no wrong, it seems, and I'm more convinced of that after a father's reaction to Messi's errant free kick hitting his toddler. The kid was not too happy about the situation, but the dad's response -- which was more of a sports fan than of a parent -- had me laughing.
Inter Miami faced off against Orlando FC and, while there are those talking about Lionel Messi's first two-goal game of his MLS career, others are sharing the video of his botched free kick coming in contact with a small child seated behind the goalpost. Take a look at the video below and all that ensued afterward:
Messi's free kick hits a baby in the crowdpic.twitter.com/ZT6DrxQt73March 3, 2024
I realize millenial Americans are at a disadvantage, because the best kids sports movies of the 90s didn't have many soccer movies. However, they should know it's always a good idea to keep one's head on a swivel when sitting directly behind the goal. More goals in a soccer game miss the goal rather than find their way in between the goalposts, though it is worth noting Miami dominated this game 5-0.
English-speaking readers likely didn't catch the father's statement as his daughter was crying, but translations hit the Internet, thanks to Mirror and others. Here's what the dad had to say as his daughter sobbed after the ball struck her:
Are you okay, my love? Messi hit you anyway, huh. Nothing's wrong.
Bumps and bruises are temporary, but dad here is pointing to the wisdom that a story about being hit by one of the greatest soccer players of all time will last forever. Not only that, but he has a viral video to verify it happened as well as the ball which we see slowly tucked away afterward. I don't blame him if he kept it as a souvenir, it's the least they can do after their child was hit!
For those thinking the father was cruel with his response, I don't see it that way. I would also point out that while many maintain that the ball directly hit the child, we don't see that confirmed in the video.
From my perspective, it seems like there was possibly a ricochet shot that bounced before striking the child, which is why it landed next to her rather than bouncing forward away from her. Had the ball directly struck her, her face would've likely been much redder. Yet I'm just speculating as someone who has seen more of the best sports movies than I ever started on my high school soccer team.
Lionel Messi's presence in the MLS is putting a spotlight on soccer in the United States, but it's not the only thing bolstering the sport stateside. Ryan Reynolds And Rob McElhenney's purchase of the soccer club Wrexham AFC (and the series about it) has certainly done some work in further popularizing the sport, as did the Emmy-winning Ted Lasso series available with an Apple TV+ subscription. We're still far off from it being as popular here as it is in other parts of the world but, with more streaming services for sports fans regularly showing the best matches around the world, I could see it only catching on more. I look forward to seeing more of Messi's contributions to the game, but let's hope they don't involve a child getting hit.
