1. My French ancestry helped me find my love for Les Bleus.

While it's more Alsatian than French (see the map above), I thank my ancestry for helping me discover my love for the French team. My roots are also the reason I cheer for England (and Germany to a lesser extent). I was so happy when France won the final because it gave me a little pride inside. If I can't support my birth country at a tournament, I will always support one that my family has history in.

2. France had a harder route to the final than Croatia.

While I'm not discrediting how hard Croatia worked (they beat Messi's Argentina 3-0!), they certainly didn't play super tough teams like France did. Croatia had to go to extra time and/or a penalty shootout during all of their knockout games. They scraped past Denmark and Russia on penalties, and beat England in extra time.

France, on the other hand, had a bigger challenge. They won all of their matches in regular time, against 2014 runners-up Argentina (4-3), South American powerhouse Uruguay (2-0), and a very strong Belgian team (1-0). I feel like based on their past performances, France deserved to win. I do appreciate, though, that the Croatian president sat with the fans during all of Croatia's pre-final matches and wore her checkered jersey (see above).

3. Croatia beat England and then France beat them in the final. Revenge is sweet.

My three teams (in order) are the USA, England, and France. Since the US didn't qualify, I was rooting for both of these teams, but mostly England. My heart was broken when Croatia went on to win against the Three Lions in extra time during the semi-finals. There was no way I wanted Croatia to win it all. France had to make it happen.

4. Their squad is young and full of potential.

The squad that went to Russia this summer is much younger and less experienced than the team that made it to the quarter-finals in 2014. Aside from some regular names like captain Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper), Paul Pogba (midfielder), and Olivier Giroud (striker), coach Deschamps brought in a lot of young talent for his World Cup squad.

The star of it all? Forward Kylian Mbappé. He's only 19 years old, which amazes me. It's like if I were playing for the USA in the Women's World Cup. With that being said, this team has a lot of potential and can continue to perform well alongside other top teams in the European Championships and 2022/2026 World Cups.

5. After heartbreak at other major tournaments, Antoine Griezmann redeemed himself.

After losing in the final of the 2016 Champions League with Atletico Madrid and the final of Euro 2016 with France, the young striker was caught in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. This time, though, after winning the Europa League with his club, he won the sport's ultimate prize: the World Cup. It makes me happy to watch Griezmann, as well as the rest of the French team, come back stronger after having their hearts broken just two years ago.

6. The French president dabbed after his team won.

I think this just goes without saying.