The World Cup is over, strange as that might seem, and it won’t be back for another four years. Four Roar staffers look back at what’s been an exhilarating month of soccer–the ups, the downs, the heartbreak and the happiness–and attempt to summarize their feelings.

THE ACTUAL SOCCER PLAYER | Austin Coats, sports editor

I sat relaxed on a consuming red couch, relieved that after four long years the World Cup shone on the television.

The Brazilian national anthem played. Brazilians in the Arena Corinthians (and throughout Brazil) sang vehemently. The music stopped. Brazilians sang still. David Luiz roared.

I turned to my friend with a look of crazed astonishment. “Wow,” I said,”That was intense!”

This theme would continue throughout the World Cup, and now it has come to an end. Heroes have been glorified, villains despised. The great goals, the cheeky goals, the pathetic goals (looking at you, Ghana), all of them now on scorecards, digital or tangible–history. The magical moments — Kyle Beckerman momentarily transforming into some kind of beast and leaving Raul Meireles on the ground with a broken…beard? James (pronounce it correctly, please) Rodriguez’s insane volley. The Flying Dutchmen with their graceful headers and assaults on the corner flags, while leaving the former champs biting the dust on the fields, spray painted a deceptive green — nothing will ever present itself the same way, not in soccer.

Brazil built a stage similar to those Shakespeare presented his plays in, expensive and a danger to burn down. Coincidentally, the (metaphorical) play produced was somehow Shakespearean, as if the man came from the grave and wrote the script himself. But how does the audience depart now that the curtain has closed?

Mostly with sorrow. The MLS’s season currently plays on, and more popular leagues continue in the fall, so soccer hasn’t left for four years, but the World Cup has. International and club competitions differ past the obvious. The clubs that players represent change, a homeland never does. Clubs only provided external attributes. A player’s nation is their identity, defines how they act, how they react, and–most importantly–how they play this game. This explains why David Luiz and Gigi Buffon take their national anthems so seriously, the tension felt through the television set when Brazil, the hosts and kings of soccer, went to penalties with Chile, and Messi’s dissatisfaction when he “accepted” the award for player of the tournament. Messi, in fact, exemplifies the distinction because while he has achieved so much at the club level, the most important trophy has evaded his grasp in quite possibly his best chance.

So many want it to last longer than this or come back sooner, and they say goodbye with reluctance. Their only comfort is acknowledging that the effect of the World Cup wouldn’t be the same if it were longer or had a more concise separation between each one.

But while Lionel Messi might be unsatisfied with the 2014 World Cup, I am satisfied. Four years is long, obviously, but this tournament has given me so much joy, rage, emotion, inspiration, et cetera, that I can’t really take anymore — I’m questioning my sanity now that it has concluded. So now it’s done, history, exeunt, and that’s OK.

THE LONGTIME CASUAL FAN | Shilpa Saravanan, editor-in-chief

I said all along that Germany’d win this World Cup, and I’m so pleased that they did just that. Insofar as a team can deserve a title, the Germans did.  But I also said that Germany’d steamroller every team they met, and Germany didn’t do that at all. (I say a lot of things.) That’s why this World Cup was such a delight to watch: every side looked vulnerable at times, and (almost) every side looked really, really good at times, even if those times were brief.

I’ll remember a lot from this World Cup–Robin van Persie’s magnificent goal against Spain comes immediately to mind, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, so does Bastian Schweinsteiger’s broken and bloodied visage–but, sappy as it sounds, I’ll remember it foremost as the World Cup that got me excited about American soccer again. I wasn’t super into it in 2006, and I wasn’t in 2010, either. (The orange-clad Netherlands had my heart. It’s okay if you want to judge me for choosing a team because I liked its uniforms: I came for the orange, and I stayed for the insanely talented Dutch attacking trio.)

Admittedly, I didn’t think the U.S. would make it out of its 2014 group alive…but you know what, this team made me believe. And then they pulled it off–messily, yeah, but they did it, and this country’s reaction was beautiful. So here’s to soccer in America. (As so many have said, it’s here to stay.)

THE PART-TIME SOCCER ENTHUSIAST | Haley Mitchell, staff reporter

As if the months of pre-World Cup hype, increase in soccer-themed ads, and special edition FIFA Coca-Cola cans weren’t hint enough, every four years I turn on the TV some day in June, make the stunning realization that, “Hey! The World Cup starts today!”, and proceed to become engulfed in the beautiful game for the next month. Ultimately I return to Netflix marathons and an irregular sleeping schedule, but until then, from sunrise to sunset, I my primary actions are eating, sleeping, and watching soccer.

The beauty of soccer comes from its simplicity. It’s been around for more than four thousand years, and the world is still captivated by a good game of fútbol. This World Cup was no exception. It was exciting from start to finish–from the flying dutchman’s goal to Germany’s five-goal upset in the first half of their semifinal game. But beyond the actual sport, the World Cup brings millions of people together worldwide.

For me, that’s the best part. Seeing such a diversity of people united in a mutual love of the beautiful game.  It’s when an entire stadium resounds with the singing of a national anthem. It’s when players offer a hand to a fallen opponent. It’s when an entire nation is unified in the face of a defeat, and even then celebrate their players for having come so far.

So maybe I’m not a year-round soccer fan. I’ll watch a match every now and then, but it’s not like I’d go out of my way to watch the entirety of a game. The World Cup is worth every hour I spend glued to the TV screen. I don’t just watch for breathtaking moments of sheer brilliance and prowess–I also watch for the sportsmanship, the patriotism, and the honor of supporting our nation. The rest will follow.

THE EMOTIONAL ONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT SOCCER | Sydney Garrett, staff reporter

This World Cup inspired all sorts of things in all sorts of people. Pride, patriotism, elation, anger, procrastination, heartache, and so on. I felt many of these emotions during play, but I never really felt sad during the cup until Brazil played without their beloved Neymar. (Yeah, sure, it was depressing when the United States lost to Belgium, but a loss of that sort was basically inevitable.)

Brazil was destroyed by both Germany and the Netherlands in a way that was not enjoyable to watch. Both matches ended with booing. Of course, Brazil should have been a stronger team, Neymar or no, but regardless, it was heart-wrenching, and kind of embarrassing, the way that the team looked so out of their element. I think, above all else from this World Cup, I will remember the way I felt seeing such a strong team brought to their knees.

Having soccer withdrawals? America’s own Major League Soccer teams play through the rest of the year–find a team to support here and catch matches on ESPN and ESPN2.