"No, Ronaldo is the best!" says my 7-year-old niece. We were arguing over FaceTime about who the GOAT was—Messi or Ronaldo.

"Can you get me a Ronaldo jersey for Christmas?"

"Do you know who he even plays for?" She didn't know where Portugal or Argentina were, nor did she care that her Uncle Paul was half Argentinian. But she knew the teams' jersey colors.

"I'll get you a Ronaldo jersey if Portugal wins the World Cup! But if Argentina wins, you have to wear a Messi jersey!"

"NO!" Izzy screamed emphatically. "I'll rip the jersey in half!" Okayyy, she's definitely not strong enough to tear a jersey apart, but her point was clear. "Ok, ok, you can bake us a cake in their colors." She was excited about decorating a cake—the bet had become a win/win scenario for her, and it took the fun out of it for me.

This moment represents why I love professional sports:

1. We become so emotionally invested in players and teams that we experience the full gamut of human emotion from one tournament. And what makes it great is that we're doing it with others, so we never feel alone.

2. It connects people. It brings people together across generations, across cities, and in the World Cup, across the whole world. It can also connect you to your roots. Paul didn't watch sports before me. But this year we've been able to celebrate our hometowns with the Seahawks and Knicks winning championships. And now we have the opportunity to celebrate some old and new roots (with us living in Messi-land Miami) with Argentina making it to the World Cup Final.

3. It creates memories. This surprising conversation with my niece will forever be seared in my memory, as will all the biggest wins (like that UCLA comeback against Gonzaga in March Madness '06) and heartbreaks (that Seahawks SB loss), and witnessing the people in my life go through it too.

Let's go, Argentina!