A good friend tells us that unless you were born in Argentina and you are there right now, you can’t possibly imagine what is going on right now in Argentina.

Los Angeles. New York. Boston. They pale in comparison when it comes to celebrating a world championship.

Apparently, the entire country of Argentina has lost it’s mind.

Argentina win the World cup

Millions of fans swarmed Buenos Aires today to celebrate Lionel Messi and the entire World Cup-winning team. So many showed up that the originally-planned bus parade was stopped and helicopters had to be sent in to transfer the heroic players to the central Obelisco monument to continue celebrations as planned.

“The World Champions are flying over the entire route in helicopters because it became impossible to continue on land due to the explosion of popular joy,” presidential spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter. The day was declared an official national holiday, marking the first World Cup win in 36 years.

Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time. Fans and experts alike are already calling it one of the greatest games in World Cup and sports history, further cementing Messi as The GOAT.

The team may end up being named a national treasure before it is all said and done.

“The only way to explain it in a good or bad sense about futbol, and I’ve lived all over the world, is that nothing compares,” said Alexis Edelstein, one of our colleagues here at CALÓ NEWS who works remotely from Argentina.

He sent us these snapshots to share the love.

Enjoy Alexis!

Enjoy Argentina!

Alexis and his wife, Tara, celebrating the big wins with hordes of other fans in Argentina.

Daniel Vasquez is a veteran, award-winning journalist and writer. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist who grew up in newsrooms, having served stints at the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, San Jose...