Soccer Mania

I am not a soccer fan. Never have been. I appreciate the athleticism required to play, but I’ve had limited exposure to the sport and like most sports where scoring in minimal, I find it a tad boring.

I think my dislike of the sport started in 6th grade. In small town, MT, we didn’t have rec soccer for kids, so any soccer experience I had came from PE or the playground. In 6th grade, I was the goal. Didn’t matter where I was on the playground, the ball was kicked at me. 12 year olds are lovely people, aren’t they? Needless to say, my first experience with soccer was not a positive one. A few years later we had to play soccer for 10th grade PE. This girl and I went to kick the ball, missed the ball, kicked each others foot, and had to have our ankles taped up for the rest of basketball season. Again, not an awesome experience.

All of this led to my surprise that I was actually interested in the World Cup this year. Perhaps it was because it’s in South Africa and I’ve been there, or perhaps it’s just because I appreciate athleticism and dedication to sport in almost any form. Somehow, I’ve gotten sucked in to being a soccer fan during the next month.

I blame the guy who sits next to me. He invited me to participate in a pool, similar to how we do March Madness. Being the only girl that was invited to participate, I felt obligated to accept. Plus it’s always more fun to have a horse in the race. I found myself filling out a bracket (is it even called a bracket?!), picking my winners based on nothing that had to do with soccer. Currently I’m only 4 points out of the lead. I’m sure that will drop considerably, but I’m enjoying this moment.

Not only did I fill out a bracket, I started reading articles about soccer. I’ll admit, I started with the “5 Hottest Guys of the World Cup,” and “Extravagant ‘WAGS’ of Soccer,” but just now I clicked on an article reporting on the status of the US’ goalie, or “keeper.” See how I’m already picking up the lingo!? I even watched the game against England, surprising myself considerably when I jumped off the couch to celebrate the US goal, pitiful as it was.

I’m unlikely to become a full-time soccer fan anytime soon, but with the World Cup only every four years, it’s something I feel I could enjoy without having to become too die hard. Or even understand the game. Who knows, with PTown getting and MLS team next year, maybe I’ll be turned into a real fan yet.