The clock had ticked four minutes into the red when, for a few moments in Fort Lauderdale, Lionel Messi stood over a free kick and time stood still.This was it. The moment that Inter Miami supporters had been waiting for ever since Messi announced his move to Major League Soccer; the night that co-owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas had been dreaming of since before their team had even played a match; the day, if you believe the promises, that soccer in the United States changed forever. It couldn’t have been more perfectly primed.With Inter Miami tied 1-1 with Cruz Azul, Messi took a couple of steps and sent a 25-yard effort towards goal. It was virtually the final kick of this Leagues Cup opener. It curled over the wall, under the bar and into the net. Cue carnage: fireworks lit up the Florida sky and down below, Messi was lost in a hurricane of pink jerseys and noise and emotion as 21,000 supporters lost their minds. Among them? LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian and Beckham. The co-owner’s eyes had soon glazed over.
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