‘Miss Brazil’ proud of her team despite disappointing end

It was under the tutelage of my football-loving father that I learned Brazil was the home of the greatest football player of all time, Pele.

Since that indoctrination, the national team from the land of Samba has been the subject of my affection and respect every four years. This year was no different, as my hopes for the South American giants to add a sixth star to their jerseys seemed more like an inevitability than anything else. But then came Croatia.

At the start of this year's World Cup, clear battle lines were drawn among the Cheers To The Cup team. Videographer Raymond Simpson, and photographers Gladstone Taylor and Kenyon Hemans, and I all made clear our allegiance to the Pele's successors, while my co-host Roxroy McLean and photographer Nicholas Nunes rallied around the Lionel Messi-led Argentines. All tournament long as we travelled from location to location, this rivalry built to a crescendo that never gave way to climax.

When Argentina lost their first match against Saudi Arabia, I mocked Roxroy and Nicholas mercilessly. Wherever we went, the first thing I would bring up was their embarrassing defeat to the Middle-Eastern underdogs, and with the help of the large Brazil local following, they were unable to escape the memory.

"You cyah talk to me after unuh lose to Saudi Arabia!" I'd say at every chance, backed by my chorus of Brazil supporters. In downtown Kingston, where we spent the majority of our time during the World Cup, I had gained the name 'Miss Brazil', known for my dark glasses, red lipstick and Brazil jersey.

This sense of camaraderie and competition added a whole new layer of enjoyment to the tournament. I was beyond excited to see us through to the end, and enjoyed all the friendly animosity that we brought. So when the Brazilian team demonstrably struggled during their match with Croatia, my nerves were at an all-time high. By the time they had missed their first penalty kick, my heart was in my throat. Resigning to the defeat I knew was sure by the time Luka Modric got the ball, I started to work out how I could avoid the taunts that were sure to come.

My evasion tactics weren't extensive enough, however, because as the final whistle blew, my phone started to buzz with the sounds of 1,000 disgruntled sports fans ready to hand me my comeuppance.

With my team out of the running, I was loud about rooting for every team that opposed Argentina. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Lionel Messi himself was ensuring they won each match just to spite me. With Roxroy and Nicholas now more frantic than ever, the finals on Sunday seems to me like fruitless labour. My only hope is that Kylian Mbappe and the French take the necessary steps to ensure that Roxroy does not have the ammunition to be insufferable for the rest of the year. At the very least, I would like to maintain that his 'G.O.A.T.' doesn't have a World Cup title under his belt.