The Final Whistle on 2008

By: Sean | December 31st, 2008

The fourth official has just indicated that there will only be a few more hours left in 2008, which gives me just enough to time to get in one final post before the final whistle. I’ve noticed that typically, end of the year posts tend to revolve around one of two themes: Recapping the previous twelve months or looking ahead to the next twelve.

As a newbie blogger with less than a dozen posts to my name, it seems snarky to try and rehash anything I wrote in the last three months…although you are welcome to retake the Weekend Warrior “Do You Got Game? Quiz” and see if you beat your score from the first time. Certainly somebody screamed out their club’s name during some lovin’ in the last sixty days? Anyone? Never mind. That leaves looking ahead to 2009, which is still kind of an unknown quantity for those of us in the recreational game.

As an adult team manager, I can’t really forecast the spring outdoor season. Sure, I know what the team will be called, but that’s it. I don’t know how your soccer associations work, but mine takes your team application and fee at a league meeting and then, almost magically, a month or two later there is a schedule posted online. It’s always a bit of a mystery as to which teams we’ll play. We have some promotion and relegation. Some squads can’t field enough players for a team and no-show, a few new teams sign up and get dropped into a division that seems reasonable, and the resulting table usually makes for some good surprises come Match Day One. Then there’s field scheduling. In Portland, soccer struggles to find enough pitches during the spring because we have to share our limited venues with other important sports, like lacrosse or (ahem!) softball. And adult kickball. After most every sport has a place to play until June, the fields then get allocated for soccer…usually youth soccer…which I totally support, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, Daddy just wants a place to slide tackle the breakaway striker, you know? To make sure the teams have enough plots of land for the adults to play, we find our matches scheduled on mid-weekday nights and I’ve found the predetermined nights will work well for most of my team but not everybody. Bottom line: Until the schedule is finalized, I really don’t know how many guys I’ll have come the first match of the season, but Manager Math tells me I need at least eighteen guys to guarantee I field eleven all season, so the recruitment goes on.

As a coach, it is also difficult to project what is in store for my daughter and her squad. Because of the awesome management of our youth club, I have a good idea who is returning to play, but the same field issues I grapple with on the adult side affect us on the youth level, so getting a place to play and practice is a challenge. My girl is also playing up a division (or two) and I haven’t seen the other teams frequently enough to recognize the tough games vs. the “opportunities for excellent sportsmanship” matches…and that’s fine. For my seven year old, it is still about the love of the game, making some friends, and learning skills. I can see her play taking her to that next level in the near future where wins and losses have a little more bearing, but not quite yet. Bottom line: Come the first practice of the year, we’ll take who we get, try to improve a little, try to laugh a lot, and finish the whole thing off with a pizza party.

As a football-loving fan in a baseball/basketball/NASCAR loving world, I can reasonably expect to not have a lot to say around the water cooler come March Madness. I can probably count on more double-takes at the mall when I wear my “Republik of Mancunia” t-shirt and another look of outright confusion when I sport the “Fletcher>Fabregas 4-0″ United-Arsenal Cup Fifth Round t-shirt. I can expect to continue getting up at 4:45 a.m. on Saturdays to watch live matches from Europe…knowing full well I could DVR them and watch them at a reasonable hour but also knowing that “just wouldn’t be the same.” As an amateur adult player, I can reasonably assume I’ll probably injure myself again some time during the upcoming outdoor or indoor seasons. I’ll try to do the right thing and not to be a d**k on the pitch, but beyond that…who knows what will happen? Which is why I love this game so much. I love the happy mystery that is ninety minutes of soccer. The same two teams could play each other a thousand times and every match would be different. The same two players could go for the same ball a thousand times and every outcome would be a little different. Bottom line: Do I know what will happen in 2009? Nope, but I’m so grateful it isn’t any other way.

For 2009 I resolve to figure out how to get my damn pictures and graphics to load up on my posts, a technical dilemma I’ve had since my Godzooky entry. Best wishes for a Happy New Year and my sincere thanks for reading (and commenting!) May all of your shots be on frame or, if you are a keeper, may all of your saves be spectacular efforts at full stretch…and oh, look. I somehow managed to rehash a bunch of stuff I wrote in the last three months. How very snarky of me.

Cheers!