MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The most accomplished football player in history raised his hands to his head and stroked his hair in pure disbelief of what he had just seen.For a moment, we were all Lionel Messi.A sporting god had been brought down to earth by one of the most incredible strikes he’d ever seen, including the many that came from his own majestic left foot.Thirteen passes, crisply made from one goal to the other, had cut through one of the most laureled national teams ever like a warm knife through butter. Then, Sidny Lopes Cabral, the player wearing the dark blue No. 13 shirt and the gaze of the entire world on his back, launched one of the most beautiful curling strikes across the width of Argentina’s 18-yard box.It soared and spun up and over a defender and goalkeeper who could only watch as the ball came down and nestled itself into the highest region of side netting underneath where the crossbars intersect, where the sport of football keeps some of its most revered moments of glory.Cape Verde had done the unbelievable. Again. They had leveled a World Cup knockout match against the reigning world champions. Again. It felt special.This time it was in extra time after most thought they’d been put away for good. And Messi was as human as the rest of us, touched by a moment many watching will share for the rest of their existence.Lopes Cabral sprinted around and past several players on both teams showing the same signs of pure shock as Messi with their own hands raised to their head. He had only one thing in mind as he made his way to the other side of the stadium, up a staircase and into the grandstand. He was looking for his girlfriend. She made her way down and their embrace will go down as one of the great moments in the World Cup’s nearly century long history.That is what sports are all about.These shared experiences and unexpected flashes of pure joy are the best of what we get out of the experience.Cape Verde started with a massive effort in a debut match against another world champion and football super power. They held mighty Spain, an odds-on favorite to win this World Cup, to nil. It made 40-year-old goalie Vozinha, currently unemployed by any club, a global celebrity.Vozinha’s Instagram followers went from about 50,000 to 20 million overnight.Then, it was a gritty showing against Uruguay, the second of three former world champions they would face at this World Cup. The hardest hit free kick of the tournament to that point by Kevin Pina from 30 yards out had sent another shockwave.They had scored their first World Cup goal and football fans began to celebrate along with them.When the Uruguayans fought back with two quick goals just before the half, it seemed their Cinderella moment was about to strike midnight, but a major gaffe by another 40-year-old goalie, Fernando Muslera, allowed it to live on. The world celebrated with them again and began to take a bit of joy in it for themselves.By the time their third match against Saudi Arabia came around, many had adopted the island nation with a population of just 530,000 people as their own source of delight, whether or not they had a team to support in the tournament.This time, they were favorites for the first time and needed to get a result to secure safe passage into the knockout stage. By this point, many World Cup watchers felt invested in the outcome. It was their turn to be the aggressor in a match and they outshot the Saudis 15 to 6, but it was also their turn to be turned away time and time again and be held to a nil-nil draw.Sidny Lopes Cabral’s shot flies into the top corner (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Their match ended moments before a Uruguay-Spain match that held the Blue Sharks’ fate would end. You could feel the anxiety and anticipation as the players gathered on the field and watched on a cell phone to see that Muslera had once again blundered and gifted them a chance to carry on.Uruguay’s 1-0 loss meant Cape Verde was moving on. Their joy was shared by many. Their prize? Current world champions Argentina in a match that will be long remembered for all the outrageous excitement it provided.Their visit to the world’s party ended after Argentina overcame Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time on a warm, humid night at the Miami Stadium. Argentina proved to be too high of a mountain to climb in the end, but Cape Verde’s football had earned the respect of not just the champs, but many watchers around the world.They did it by striking a chord that shared experiences like sports can touch. They proved that the unscripted nature of these games we watch is always capable of providing something new to be surprised by. No matter what you think you know about what you might expect to see, there’s always something that happens to pay you back for the time you invest in following along.That is the reason many watched so intently. That’s why many were sad to see a team they didn’t know very much about just two weeks ago, bow out. It is why many felt a sense of joy for their accomplishments, even though they had no great connection to them.It is why so many people love sports.