For the first time in 60 years, Italy has not qualified for the world cup.  Their record was shattered by Sweden who beat us 1-0, after scoring a goal in the first leg. This was a heartbreaking moment for Italians around the world, which included a large amount of my family.  Along with this, my cousins were always huge soccer fans and I received a jersey from them in 2006 for that World Cup. I remember over that entire summer, I would wear that jersey all the time at home, and whenever Italy played a match it would always be with me. It was my first jersey, this made it very important to me and my family.  Due to this, the jersey made it feel like my cousins weren’t 4,000 miles away, and instead, right next to me cheering on “Gli Azzurri.”  Alongside this, the reason the jersey means so much to me now is because that was one of the years Italy won the World Cup!  Thus, the jersey became a kind of good luck charm to me after that day.  Due to the fact that my cousins speak very little English, we bonded over the sport.  It seemed like we were always on the same page since we all showed the same compassion for the sport. The jersey of ¨Gli Azzurri¨ has always been a huge symbol of unity in my family for years, as it continues to be one of the most important parts of our culture.

– Joseph Bongiorno

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