In my 8 years of Brooklyn, the sea of pickup potential has triggered - if not escalated that yet to be clinically- diagnosed A.D.D. BUT if you have a certain window frame of time (or occasional exit trap), and have your logistics down pat, you could and should squeeze in a match. It's always a possibility burning on the horizon.
For any football oldie / goldie/ young'un: the fever is intense. There's also an unspoken challenge to see how many days of footie you can squeeze in 7 - without the body (& parts) giving out entirely. As an adult, your "game" is more likely to be dictated / cockblocked by your work schedule and list of responsibilities. But forget NOT that unemployment / lack of unemployment will avert one's gaze, and does otherwise factor in the long ass laundry list of factors that potentially lies between you and your next run.
Betwixt the weather, your mental sanity and scheduled pattern, many moods, hangovers, and wretched injuries, you will note that the revolving door of that pitch is largely dependent on a gajillion factors for the average footballer- and will therefore determine what players / teammates show or don't to the pitch. How many make it, and at what time. In LA, pickup was rare. Geographically traffic was always such a headache to gather / organize interested players regularly. In Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, it's everywhere- and proud to say I'm as a result all the more familiar with the greenish spaces around NYC than anything. Try a little pickup, and you'll find yourself sizing up fields with that fiah!
Where the intricacies of daily logistics are what feed the city, they also drive the local game. Pickup games are like mini pop-up events and while on the surface, they're a segue into your next __________. / portion of your day, on the realer, more objective side, there's the veni-vidi-vici- the stars they met for an interim light show, constellational powwow, and meet-and-greet- and they survived. Unscathed. And somehow changed the game and your thoughts about a lot of things.
After the Storm, Bushwick Inlet Park, Williamsburg BK 2017
In the cold, sleet, and snow, the #s are short- but after a storm, they will come in troops if not one by one- hesitantly lingering in the distance- if not attracted to that burning bush- it's inevitable if you want to play.
In the warmer months, it's an Indian summer, where you splurge on the hours- linger longer afterward- if not drunk with the sun, footie, and heat. And we're sadly forced to turn many hungry hearts away. It does however, make my internal fever burn- to see all the players come out by storm. Wickedly witnessing the opportunity in a place as transient as NYC, when you could yet be the next Waldo at a pitch near you...
And you can't help but smile- as you map your way around the earth with the people you meet, and the dots you connect with random faces for the love of one ridiculously amazing sport. (o: Oh and the snow? The troops respond in numbers- and those with their shovels to help clear the field!
Granted...with bad weather, bad attitudes, and a bad game, arguments and even fights have broken out. Too the injuries come- unnecessarily with a touch too much testosterone at times, but if you hang out long enough to get the antics and dynamics, you also experience a strange mobile episode of Cheers: a quirky returning cast of inevitable kin. Tension rides high, but don't take yourself too seriously- and don't be shy: politicking hoots and hollers- and silly shenanigans welcome. People may admire your boots, but we're here to play- and wear anything but cold hard cleats, please!
If you haven't been to a pickup game / found a league / team to play with, give me a day and window slotted time(s), as well as what coordinates and trains / forms of method you will take to travel to play, and I'll gladly provide coordinates and make sure you find some playtime. (o:
This is my virtual lemonade stand, and I'm your Brooklyn Virtual Pickup soccer Logistics Assistant Lucy....at your service... #HA #ALAORDEN .
Comments