You're a soccer player, Charlie Brown!
You remember, when reading Peanuts, when Charlie Brown fatefully stepped up to the pitchers mound, only to get his clothing and shoes knocked off? This kept going through my head, when it happened to a woman today (my fiancé, in fact!): she blocked a shot in the gut... and her shoe popped off! I'm not talking the "I didn't tie it right fling" that you see with U-Littles - she took a shot, point-blank in the gut, and *pop* off came her shoe. She didn't get knocked over, her legs didn't jerk around - it was just like there was a spring on the bottom of her foot that sent the shoe flying.The vibrations! The vibrations!
I was very surprised in one game when I didn't need to pull out any cards. One of the teams in that game is very very good - they all have to at least have been division one college players (although they look young enough to still be), and have been playing together for a long time. Pretty soccer to watch - diving headers and all; but I thought their opponents might start getting frustrated. They actually scored the first goal, but then gave up the next eight; the final score was 10-2, and it could have been higher. I mean, one nutmeg is understandable, but they were running a clinic on burning your opponents out there. The other team was getting frustrated in the first half, but were fine in the second. There was a team I used to play against, that we knew we'd have no chance against whatsoever; we played for our own goals: not to give up more than ten goals a half - maybe they did the same.
On the final game of the night, I did book a player - I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it or not, but his attitude sealed the deal. He brought his leg up high and got a woman solid - but it was, in my mind at least, a definite foul and borderline card. But he starts whining about the call, totally unrepentant, totally uninterested in the crumpled up person next to him. If referees are allowed a few seconds leeway to determine if there's an advantage or no, I say we also have a few seconds to determine if the player understands the seriousness of his foul or not. Not getting it? Let me give you a little help, this special "clue" card comes in two colors, have the yellow one.
I LOVE the last paragraph of this story…it is SO true!
Jerry - 03 February '05 - 02:00