It would be like the Chicago Cubs closing in on the World Series -- the baseball world would be gaga!
That's what happened with the national football team of Wales, managed by Chris Coleman, and inspired by Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, when this little principality of 3 million people won 3-1 over Belgium, FIFA's No. 2 ranked team. The win gets them to the semifinal (July 6) of Euro 2016, against Portugal's CR7 and Pepe, football's bête noire -- and just one step from an unprecedented final against hosts France or world champs Germany.
All over the world, people are going gaga for the underdog team with the fierce Welsh dragon crest on the team's chests. After the Belgium win, Twitter went wacky for Wales, a country that had never even qualified for the Euro tournament previously.
Actor Iwan Rheon, who plays that Game of Thrones' uber miscreant Ramsay Bolton, tweeted: "Cymru am byth!!! Anhygoel! (Wales forever. Amazing.)"
Matthew Rhys, who adroitly plays an undercover Soviet spy in The Americans, tweeted: "Neithiwr, fe grëwyd hanes. - (Last night we created history.)" He also retweeted soccer superstar Gareth Bale's post: "The dragon on my shirt, that's all I need."
That great Welsh performing icon, Sir Tom Jones, also exclaimed: "Congratulations Wales, what a fantastic game, so proud of you all!" And, comic genius Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey) posted: "So proud of those boys. So proud to be Welsh. Just incredible."
And Welsh soccer pundit Robbie Savage, who previously played for the national team, exulted: "Wake your kids up something special is happening."
I've been an Angeleno longer than I lived in Wales, but my early years there imprinted the love of poetry whispered from the heart of the green, green grass in the Valleys, and of things mystical. And this run by Wales in Euro 2016 is truly magical, a sporting story that is propelled by a brave, mostly no-name team, and inspired by the Welsh national anthem that is sung before, during and after games.
When the hairs rise up on your skin, people watching the televised Wales games ask, What's that song they're singing?
In Welsh, it's called Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, and in English, Land of My Fathers. In 1905, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau became the first national anthem to be sung at the beginning of a sports event. As an Anglo-Welshman, who grew up close to the border, I knew the song in English, and it's pretty awesome -- there's a English version by legendary American vocalist/actor Paul Robeson that just rocks. The chorus in English goes as follows:
Where'er I roam, Though far from my home,
The mother is calling her child."
The chorus in the original Welsh goes:
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith