30.05.2016, 07:20
Thomas's faith has been restored

BLOG: ehfTV commentator Tom O'Brannagain refuses to explain the inexplicable as he and the whole handball world witnessed the miracle on the Rhine.

Thomas's faith has been restored

I can't believe what I have just seen. I really can't. The VELUX EHF FINAL4 gold medal game is something that cannot be believed until it is seen.

I was named after Thomas, the doubter from the bible, the man who wouldn't believe unless he had first seen it himself, and much like him myself, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would think it was some Hollywood blockbuster dreamed up by some sports fanatic.

In fact if you told me right now that Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman and the Easter Bunny were signed by Kielce for next season, you wouldn't even see a flicker of disbelief in my eyes. That is the magnitude of what we have just witnessed in Cologne.

It all started out as a normal Saturday semi-final day. PSG and Kiel should have won and gone to the final. They didn't and instead Kielce and Veszprem were the two that would compete for the gold medal.

The game was going Veszprem's way for 43 minutes and 30 seconds and that was as good as it got for them. How good was it? It was amazing. They tore Kielce to shreds and were leading by nine goals. When Veszprem scored through Ugalde to make it +9 this commentator said:

"That's it, game over"

If you don't believe me, check it out. What happened after that is nothing short of sensational. I would go as far as to say biblical. At the risk of being excommunicated from the Catholic Church, I would say there hasn't been a miracle like this since the marriage feast of Caana.

How on earth do you blow a nine-goal lead. Well it doesn't help when the commentator puts a jinx on you. No kidding, the curse of the commentator came back to bite me big time. I should have learned my lesson from previous encounters. But no! How could I be wrong? Nine goals up with less than 17 minutes to play.

And then the miracle happened. The Polish word for miracle is "cud". Well if anyone could mastermind a comeback from nine down, the Talant could.

He had done it before in 2009 with Ciudad Real.

You know sometimes there is no explanation, sometimes you just have to believe. Kielce believed and somehow against all the odds they won a trophy that was in the back pocket of the Hungarian side.

All over Poland, people will watch this game over and over again, just to see that incredible comeback and win.

I will never watch it again. It is embedded in my memory and I already know the ending.

I believe in miracles now. My faith has been restored.

TEXT: Tom O'Brannagain, ehfTV commentator