Utopia sometimes sings Les Bleus

I'm not French.­ I was born in Belgium, raised in the U.S., so I have no reason of citizenship or ancestry for supporting Les Bleus. The reason I support France is precisely because they have long been so non-national, or supra-national, bringing a set of global stories and backgrounds to the pitch. I became a convert, one of many, in 1998: It was Lilian Thuram and Zinedine Zidane, and the ebullient, diverse collective they gathered around them to win the World Cup on home soil, that made me want to sign the Marseillaise and wave the Tricolore. The reason I love Les Bleus is because every once in a while, for the most fleeting of moments, they make me feel like utopia is actually possible.

My favorite moment in football came in 1998, during the France-Croatia game, when the Guadeloupean-born defender Thuram decided it was up to him, and him alone, to get France into the final of the World Cup. After allowing a Croatian goal at the beginning of the first half, he immediately got the ball, ran up the field, and scored essentially on his own. A little bit later, he did it again. They were the only two goals he ever scored for France ­ in a total of 142 caps ­ but they made him an instant and permanent icon, a status he has used in recent years to campaign and educate against racism. In 2006, there was the game against Spain, an incredible and transformative victory that ended with Zidane, Thuram, and their teammates flying, arms out, towards their unbelieving fans.

The rest of the time, they pretty much torture us. Flashes of brilliance are interspersed with periods of excessive drama, underperformance, and shock at the fact that such a brilliant collective can disappoint us so deeply. There was the failure of 2002, and the implosion of 2010. And the lackluster campaign to get to Brazil, which appeared doomed to failure before it was redeemed in the the very last minute, by the brilliant Mamadou Sakho scoring and saving France.

So, which Bleus will show up in Brazil? I have no idea: I'll be wary this time, having been hurt many times in the past. But I'll be ready, too, for a whiff or even a blast of utopia. 

As told to Africasacountry.