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Deus Ex Machina

Eugene Abrams

Monday, August 1st, 2022

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 The visiting Pachuca fans, in masks
like pagan worshippers, believed that fate
would favor Mexico The minutes passed
away and still they led on aggregate
but we were sixty thousand strong, naively
faithfully, cheering in our crumbling stands
The futbol gods smiled indulgently
on the Mexican supporters’ victory plans –
when suddenly, for no reason at all
soccer’s Lord of Thunder, reached down and flicked
the ball to a one-hit-wonder on Montreal

Notes

Inspired by the last-minute upset victory of the MLS team Montreal Impact in 2015, over Mexican team Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter finals. Cameron Porter, a recruit, for Montreal who enjoyed a very brief career as a professional, scored in the final seconds after a soaring Hail Mary pass from an otherwise equally unremarkable teammate.
Note: According to my friend in the next seat over at the match, it seems to be a Mexican tradition for football supporters to wear the masks of professional wrestlers in the stands.
Deus ex machina is a theatre term for a last-minute intervention by the gods to avoid a tragedy or defeat.

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Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/deus-ex-machina/