As you may or may not know, based on whether you live shouting distance from a place that has been screening games, the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup came to a rousing conclusion on Sunday, with Argentina snatching the victory from France in the penalty kick heard ’round the world.
Though the winning goal was delivered by Gonzalo Montiel, and a triumph for the whole Argentine team — and indeed the whole country, which declared a national holiday today, December 20 — it was especially meaningful for Lionel Messi. The striker has spent most of his storied career abroad, dreaming of bringing the sport’s top honor home to Argentina. Having done so, Messi posted a series of celebratory pictures to his Instagram, leading with one of him raising the Jules Rimet trophy above his head and “CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO!!!!!!” — “world champions” — touching off a tribute in the caption to the family, fans, and teammates that made the moment possible.
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The post has accrued some 64,755,376 likes (and counting), meaning that Messi’s victory is now twofold: Not only has he won the World Cup for Argentina, but according to an announcement by the Guinness Book of World Records, he is now the proud titleholder for the most-liked post on Instagram. This is a decisive and crushing blow to the most recent reigning champion, which was simply a picture of an egg.
(@world_record_egg)The fallen Titan, @world_record_egg, is a single-post account created with one purpose: to create the most-liked post on Instagram, an honor once held, back on January 4th, 2019, by Kylie Jenner, with 18 million likes (pitiful to even think of it, now). The egg managed to crack Jenner’s hold on the Internet, racking up more than 57 million likes.
For several long, victorious years, it seemed that dislike of Kylie Jenner was enough to unite humanity, but today we are better than that. Today, we see there is a force even more powerful than the desire to diminish the laurels of one of the most privileged humans on Earth. It is the love of soccer, yes, but also the love of a man who loves soccer and loves his country.
Humanity has long pondered which came first, the chicken or the egg, but today, as we the citizens of the internet lift our eyes and voices to celebrate one man’s symbolic homecoming, we acknowledge that which truly comes first: Lionel Messi.
Source: Hyperallergic.com