Soccer

(In an attempt to push my overly open post about weddings, marriage and crushes further down the page I will recount this adventure breifly.)

I am not a soccer fan. In fact I published a list in the church newsletter "Top 11 Reasons Football is better than Soccer"

Despite this I had a good time watching Graham (a middle schooler and friend from Saturn Road) play 'keeper.' (I'd have prolly called him a goalee.) He is very good. He plays on a team that is entirely Hispanic and the parents were a riot. They would yell (in Spanish) and cheer (in Spanish) and whistle (in Spanish). They were very into the game it sucked you in. His parents brought their rodent to the field, it got wrapped in a blanket. Somehow the weather drops to 50 degrees for the first time, whenever I decide to be outside at 9pm.

Graham played a great game, I was really impressed by his natural reflexes and fearlessness. If a ball is kicked at me very hard I crumple into a ball and start to cry. Unfortunatly Graham's team, the cyclones, lost a tight game 0-1. The trouble with being a keeper is the pressure. If your team wins, others remember those who scored goals and not you. But if you lose, everyone remembers the one that got away.

I was happy to be invited and proud that Graham blocked so many goals, he also directs his defenders like some kind of general. After one block his sister was heard to say "He's a genius." Praise like that from an older sister is rare and worth twice as much as anything I could add. Good game, Graham.