Let us set aside the usual cynical shrug that accompanies modern patriotism. Yesterday, the Netherlands achieved something rare: a double World Cup victory in a single day. The Dutch royals celebrated openly, and the nation erupted in a display of pride that felt, for a moment, lifted from a Victorian anthem or a Roman triumph.
This is not merely a sports story. It is a case study in national identity and historical cycles. For decades, we have been told that tribalism is dead, that globalism has flattened our allegiances into a grey paste.
But here, in a small, flat country of bicycles and canals, we saw a reminder that nations still matter. The fall of Rome did not happen overnight; it began when citizens stopped caring about the collective. The Dutch, by contrast, demonstrated that pride in shared achievement is not a relic.
It is a lifeline. One wonders if the rest of Europe, drowning in bureaucratic abstractness, is paying attention. Perhaps the lesson is simple: you cannot build a future on irony and disdain.
You need victories, yes. But more than that, you need the courage to celebrate them without apology.