Sometimes the fairy tale actually happens.
FC Thun - a club that had existed for 128 years without ever winning a trophy - are champions of Switzerland. Not next year. Not "building for the future." Right now. One year after getting promoted back to the top flight.
Let me say that again: Promoted last summer, champions this spring.
When FC St. Gallen lost 3-0 at home to FC Sion yesterday, the math became official - Thun could no longer be caught at the top of the table. In the town of Thun, population 43,000, the scenes were absolute pandemonium. People pouring into the streets, fireworks lighting up the sky, grown men crying tears of joy.
This is the ultimate underdog story. This is Leicester City. This is Miracle on Ice. This is every sports movie you've ever loved, except it's real.
Think about what it means to support a club for 128 years and never win anything. Your great-grandfather watched them lose. Your grandfather watched them lose. Your father watched them lose. You watched them lose. And then one magical season, everything changes.
The club was promoted from the second tier just last summer. Most experts predicted they'd struggle to stay up, maybe finish mid-table if things went well. Instead, they went out and won the whole damn thing. They beat the big-money clubs from Zurich and Basel. They outlasted everyone.
The celebration videos from Thun show a town celebrating like they've won the World Cup. Because for them, this is bigger than the World Cup. This is their team, the team they've supported through relegation and heartbreak and 128 years of "maybe next year," finally - FINALLY - winning something.
The manager. The players. The fans who stuck with them through the bad times. They're all heroes in tonight. And they should be.
