I was in my apartment last Sunday morning about to make breakfast, when I remembered Manchester City was playing Chelsea in the English Premier League in roughly 10 minutes. The English Premier League is an English soccer league (or as they would call it, football), which runs from August to May and is the equivalent to the NFL in terms of popularity in the U.S. 

Last season’s champion was Manchester City, a team that has been revitalized in the last five years thanks to its wealthy new owners not being afraid to spend the big bucks it takes to win. Its opponent on this particular day, Chelsea, has spent the second-largest amount of money in the EPL over the last five years, second only to Manchester City. These two teams are currently the two favorites to win the title this season.

To summarize the first 80 minutes of the match, it’s fair to say Chelsea was the better team and benefited greatly by the referee. It just wasn’t shaping up to be Manchester City’s day, and with only 10 minutes left in the match I almost decided to just catch the final score later on the Internet. What happened over the course of the next 10 minutes, though, reminded me why I love sports so much and made me glad I didn’t stop watching.  

It started at the 78th minute of the match when the TV cameras cut to the scene of the newly acquired player Frank Lampard warming up for Manchester City. I had almost completely forgotten that Lampard played for Manchester City now. Why is this a big deal you ask? That would be because Lampard may be the greatest player to ever wear a Chelsea uniform. He played for Chelsea for 15 years and currently stands as the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. After last season, Chelsea decided to let him loose after all of the great memories he had forged for the club. Most fans were not happy Lampard was not allowed to play at least one last season with the club so he could officially retire while at Chelsea. 

Lampard decided to sign with the American team, the New York Red Bulls, an action which has become very common for older English players to do at the tail end of their careers. Players can make more money and finish their playing careers in some of the biggest markets in the world.  What is the problem with this strategy? The Major League Soccer season runs on a completely different schedule then the rest of the world. When Lampard signed with the Red Bulls, the MLS season was already halfway through. The two teams decided the best course of action would be to have Lampard loaned off to another club until the 2015 preseason starts in January.  A little while after that, Manchester City started to show interest in the former Chelsea man and a loan deal was officially signed soon after. Lampard was coming back to the EPL for six months.

Last Sunday, many doubted Lampard would get any match time for ManCity. However, manager Manuel Pellegrino was looking for some kind of spark to ignite his side, which found itself down a man and a goal. He decided to sub Lampard in at the 78th minute mark. When Lampard’s name was announced on the PA system, the Chelsea fans at the game began chanting his name as a way of saying thanks for all those great years they had together. A very emotional Lampard gave those fans a small nod and entered the field to do his job.  

Three minutes later, Lampard found himself with the ball. In typical Lampard fashion, he buried it right into the bottom left hand corner. The very same Chelsea fans that were singing his name minutes earlier now had their hands over their heads in shock. Lampard though refused to celebrate the goal and had a look on his face that you could tell echoed that he wasn’t enjoying himself one bit.  He never wanted to score a goal against his former team, and now he had.  This goal was just enough to earn Manchester City the draw and steal the match from his former club.  

I did finally turn off my television, but I couldn’t kick the overall sentiment from my mind of what I just saw take place. Traveling fans cheered for a player on the home team, not because he played for Chelsea for 15 years, but because they truly loved and respected the guy.  In a way, they never got to say thanks and goodbye for all the years of joy he helped bring them.  On Sunday, they finally got their chance to do just that, and Lampard, like a true professional, did his job even if it meant hurting the club he cherished.

These moments on Sunday helped me remember what it is about sports I love so much and why it truly is the best form of entertainment out there. The chances of Lampard even playing in this game were small, let alone he actually scoring in it. However, just like countless times before with sports, the thing you thought couldn’t possibly happen on that day is exactly what took place.  That’s what made this match, as well as what makes sports in general, special. You are always afraid to look away or turn off the television, because you never know what you are going to miss if you do.  On this particular Sunday morning, I’m glad I decided to have another bowl of Lucky Charms, or I would have missed something truly awesome take place.