Football; Futbol; Soccer; many names for the same game. The “beautiful game,” a surname for the aforementioned sport, is a bit of a silent passion of mine. The sport is a dichotomy, a paradox, an irony that is hidden to the American public by prejudice and lack of intrigue. Soccer is a game defined by, not only a team’s skill, but by its perseverance mixed in with a little bit of luck.
If you watch a game of soccer, you will see what appears to be a ball being aimlessly knocked around the field, and then a couple times the crowd gets into a bit of an uproar as the ball nears one goal or the other, and then maybe, if you happen to be watching at the right time, the ball will go in. But what you are really watching is a ball being CAREFULLY knocked around the field in order to get defenders out of place, and then after a risky pass turns into an opening for the team on offense the crowd will begin to swell, and then the player who has this opening on goal can take advantage of his great positioning coupled with the luck required to make sure that the ball actually made it to his feet and this player can take a shot on goal, and MAYBE, if the player has struck the ball pure and aimed for the correct spot and caught the goalie out of position and the goalie is just a split-second behind on his save attempt and no one blocks the flight path of the ball, the miraculous slurry of events will harmonize and equate into a goal. More than half of the time, however, this is not what happens.
Soccer is a tug-o-war between two teams, and the rope is these special moments where mystique and wonder occur. How can you not love that?
7 responses so far ↓
President Makalele // July 22, 2008 at 1:38 am
Dear Johnnie Drama,
Football is fantastic. I wrote about it as well and I was stoked to see that someone else did too. It is really new to me in the respect of actually knowing teams and players as well as the game itself but I have found it very interesting in the past month. It was almost like I left Amherst, started work full time and played FIFA after work every night with my friend Gabe. We were making fun of how funny it was when you blatantly kick/throw the ball out of bounds or slidetackled the crap out of someone, not to mention the in-game commentators. This month not much has changed except that I won an auction for a Chelsea Didier Drogba jersey on Ebay while trying to convert my other friends into believers of football. FIFA showed me the way and as you may have read in my intro my work environment is flooded with football fanatics from all different countries, employees as well as guests. The hotel during the Euro Cup was nuts because these guys would be so into the games every afternoon and then when they were all done I would put the sox game on and pretty much get made fun of for not “being into the game” enough! The last time I played soccer I was in fourth grade but I am a man of many sports; hockey, lacrosse, bowling, golf, various other “games of skill”. I now thoroughly enjoy soccer with my better understanding of it both as a game and as a culture. I think I’ll go learn some chants and join a firm.
commsyr09 // July 26, 2008 at 3:54 am
Hi Johnnie Drama,
Haha, I feel funny saying that because I love HBO’s entourage, as I know you do from the comment you had left under Steph’s post!
So soccer really is a passion of yours. The way you describe it makes me want to put my shin-guards and cleets on and hit the field! I noticed you called this a “silent” passion of yours, I am not sure what you mean. Have you played soccer and stopped, do you still play, or by silent do you mean you have not played but are passionate about watching the game? I use to play soccer, unfortunately I wasn’t too good but I still watch the Euro and World Cups with my Dad who is an avid follower of the sport. The “idea” behind soccer is similar to that of basketball, hockey,and even football. Why is soccer your preference? From this past Euro Cup I have really taken a liking to both Spain and Italy’s teams. They are magician with their feet! Which are your favorites and why?
Singer12 // July 26, 2008 at 3:57 am
Hi Johnnie Drama,
I want to begin by commenting on your great choice of blog name; After the character from Entourage perhaps?
With regards to you blogpost, I have never before read such passionate writing about a sport. The way you described soccer, futbol was truly unbelievable, and it was hard to accept when I reached the end. I was left, however, with two unanswered questions when it was over. First, it was unclear if you were a soccer player? or if watching the sport was your real hobby. Also, I could not help but sense a bit of anger in your tone. Were you intentionally expressing anger for those who did not appreciate futbol in the way that you did?
Your writing was powerful. By the time I reached the last sentence, there was no doubt in my mind how well you knew, and how much you loved soccer.
Who really defines who we are?: The manifestations of tensionality « Deliver Me Summer // August 17, 2008 at 3:51 am
[...] Communication course, Johnnie Drama decided to write about soccer and how much he loves it in The Beautiful Game. Now when one thinks of something that they love, they usually speak in a tone that conveys that [...]
Who Really Defines Us? Manifestations of Tensionality « Johnnie Drama’s Weblog // August 17, 2008 at 5:32 am
[...] Communication course, Johnnie Drama decided to write about soccer and how much he loves it in The Beautiful Game. Now when one thinks of something that they love, they usually speak in a tone that conveys that [...]
Who really defines who we are? - The manifestations of tensionality « Commsyr09’s Weblog // August 17, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[...] Communication course, Johnnie Drama decided to write about soccer and how much he loves it in The Beautiful Game. Now when one thinks of something that they love, they usually speak in a tone that conveys that [...]
Who really defines who we are?: The manifestations of tensionality « Beaver32’s Weblog // August 17, 2008 at 2:36 pm
[...] Communication course, Johnnie Drama decided to write about soccer and how much he loves it in The Beautiful Game. Now when one thinks of something that they love, they usually speak in a tone that conveys that [...]