Lionel Messi might not be medicine, but he can feel like it. Watching Messi with a ball at his feet is a testament to the rest of our possibilities. Maybe we aren't so terrible, because he's one of us. He can make us seem better than we are.

He rewards so many different kinds of attention. Sometimes he is best seen from a distance. If you're far enough away from the action so that the names and numbers have disappeared, Messi will still be easy to spot. That's him, way over there, the man farthest removed from the play. That's him standing by himself.

Early in the game, he will also be the man who looks the most mentally distant, as though a spectator has invaded the pitch and nobody has bothered to chase him. He will be the one looking as though he's waiting for a bus, maybe with his hands on his hips, or with his hands running through his hair, or with his hands rubbing his eyes. He will be the only player doing more with his hands than his feet.

In Barcelona's last La Liga game, at home against Eibar on May 21, there was a moment when Messi amazed by just how little he seemed to be doing. It was an important match -- a win coupled with a Real Madrid loss in Malaga would have given Barcelona the title -- and Eibar had taken an unexpected lead in the seventh minute. The cauldron that is the Camp Nou steamed with urgency, and when Eibar lined up to take a corner kick, there was a palpable sense of concern.

Not from Messi. He was standing inside the center circle, watching the play but not really.

Then he took a step and became distracted by something under his feet. The ground wasn't quite right. While Eibar took their corner, unsuccessfully it turned out, Messi was crouched down, his back to the play, doing a bit of work on the pitch. In that moment, at least, he didn't seem interested in healing anything but the grass. He was concerned with only the smallest of fixes.