Football

I went on a long bike ride this evening. It was highly satisfying because most of my attempts at long bike rides in the past several weeks have been foiled by flooded trails. I made it all the way to the Birdland marina before I encountered an impassable trail. I elected to press forward on non-flooded roads through a less wholesome part of town instead of doubling back and likely arriving home after dark. Passers by gauked at me from their cars, including a couple of unwelcome cat calls. However, my jaunt through the east side had a particular perk.

I ended up at a familiar intersection where there is a junior high school with an open field with goal posts on either end for playing soccer. When I drive by this spot on my way to the east side clinic in the mornings, there is never anyone there, but I've always wondered if the neighbors ever organized soccer games there. I found out tonight that they do. When I biked by, there were at least 30 Latinos crowded into the relatively small field engaged in a game of soccer. If there had been fewer people on the field (the game was clearly already crowded with a few sitting on the sidelines), if there had been other females present or playing, and if I wasn't on my bike as the sun was getting lower in the sky, I may have thought about stopping to jump in on the game.

There is a group that I know of that plays pick up soccer in Minneapolis. Maybe I'll have to join them once or twice when I'm home in August. My love for soccer never dies. Summer nights like this one, seeing youth clad in pinnies, kicking a ball around a goal never fails to stir up nostalgia for the sport that captured my heart at a young age and still has yet to let go even though injury has taken me off the competitive field. I learned last fall that though I am not able to play soccer on the two hours a day six days a week scale that was typical in high school and my first years of college, that doesn't mean that the joy of playing will completely evacuate my life. Playing on the beach in Samara and at the OTS stations last fall were highlights of my time abroad. I may not be as fit as I once was, but I can hold my own in most company, and playing soccer can still highlight my life in small doses. It almost becomes more special that way.