A decade devoid of titles, devoid of joys, devoid of absences has passed for Maccabi Haifa fans, a decade that came to an end yesterday evening with a victory over Hapoel B.S.
And since we are talking about joys, let me be the one to disable them for a moment. In the big picture, zoom out to Haifa sports, this historic championship is offset by the basketball team's relegation to the National League. After two miserable years in the Premier League with an unstoppable train of foreigners, unconvincing ability and firing of coaches, Haifa Sel was relegated, and rightly so, to the second league in Tiva. Apparently it's really impossible to enjoy all the worlds.
Maccabi Sel's relegation to the National League goes under the radar, quietly, such that it deserves to be humbled as if it were a wayward child. Maybe because there are no real expectations from the team for success, or from a feeling of not belonging to the club and there really isn't a fan base there to shout their pain, the kind of shouts that were heard yesterday in Safar square until 4 in the morning.
The historic championship yesterday (Sunday 30/05/21), the crazy atmosphere in the stands of Sami Ofer, the exciting feature in the city of Haifa, gave a shot of energy to the residents - children were ordered to wear green to school, adults stayed up late, even the sleepy Moriah Boulevard wore a holiday . Neighbors' complaints about noise will testify.
Something that is not taken for granted in the city.
In a city that craves energy, in a place that lives on its sports teams, with people just waiting to explode, Maccabi Leg made an extraordinary, sporting and human achievement yesterday. Now waiting for the one from basketball
