Sunday I had this awful pit in my stomach. The uneasiness flooded my conscience as the sifting sands of the hourglass emptied its last grains toward 10am. The game was deemed "on", but the comments on staying home if sick were also followed by discussion of social distancing - which footie isn't MEANT to encompass. It's perhaps the anti-thesis? It was an internal battle between the "should I stay" or "should I go"- and for the first in way too long, I cancelled my rsvp... (yeah & it hurt doing so in retrospect)...
Our other pickup group had pulled the plug on Thursday cancelling all future games and meetups. The umbilical chord was officially cut. Yet the day before, some of us managed to gather enough through whatsapp to make for an 8v8 game- almost as a potential last hurrah. The weather was too delicious to say no-and it was a very solid match of a familiar crew. And some players who had already committed to social distancing politely declined in absentia.
Games, practices and any gatherings over 10 have all been postponed for the time being. It's a ghost town out there. Eyeing Whatsapp shenanigans and woeful rapidfire texts on how long it may be before we get to go outside to do what we do and have been doing regularly for YEAAAARS.
When I first started this website, it was about NOT being able to play due to my own temporary physical limitations. I was NOT up to PAR noting pain in a certain ligament thanks to my knee. Sitting out for months ensued recovery, and the fever watching by the sidelines led to temptation and premature attempts to step back on the pitch. The road to recovery is always longer than we imagine, but suffice to say, I've been able to fuel that fever in other ways. And that was the initial purpose for starting this website. But I've since also resumed playing- and with those spring buds popping in my peripheral, just as anxious to start the spring season in a happy return and reunion with teammates, coaches, and our young players (BREAKS SLAMMING...) UNTIL this corona virus turned us all into footballers on a strict NO PLAY diet.
Never in my on and off of playing for way too many years have I imagined a day like this would come. WHERE this NO SOCCER madness would become a mandate- neither driven by weather, nor injury, or scheduling conflicts, but a GLOBAL VIRUS that is tapping at everyone's door. And to shut the door on every possible ambition known to any man or woman, and has left not only the champions to put a halt to their matches, but otherwise we are a very LEGITIMATELY lonely constellation of teamless players nostalgically contemplating WHERE the grass is greener -all from a mere distance. )o:
A FROZEN NO SOCCER EPISODE circa 12/11/2017
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