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Caption: Zambia’s Davies Nkausu runs with his national flag after winning the African Cup of Nations final soccer match against Ivory Coast at the Stade de l’Amitie in Libreville, Gabon, Sunday Feb. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Sunday evening, I stayed glued to my Facebook feed reading reactions and analyses from my childhood friends. Zambia, the country of my birth, was competing against Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations for soccer. The game was made more special as the Copper Bullets — the name of our soccer team — was playing in Gabon, where 19 years ago, a plane carrying our soccer team crashed, killing all on board.

I wasn’t able to watch the game, so relied on Facebook, stats on goal.com and Twitter to stay abreast of the action. When I learned we were in the penalty phase, all the posts in Facebook feed got tense. I could feel all my friends holding their breath around the world.