2006/10/16 12:11
Stop With the Kicking
I covered soccer (both men's and women's) for my college newspaper for about a semester in 1997. My articles never got published, though, mostly because I didn't really know how to file correctly but also because the teams weren't any good. Lobos men's soccer may be nationally ranked now, but boy, did they stink up the Western Athletic Conference in 1997. Still, getting into every game for free was enough for me to appreciate the sport, and over the term I actually started to understand it.
There are two levels to understanding soccer. It's not hard to get that one team is trying to put the ball in the other team's goal, and if they do it more than the other team, they win. After that, though, it's a sheer scale to get up to rules like offsides and substitutions and penalties and the like. There's no in-between, like in many sports; with soccer, you either know it or you don't. And I don't. Man, I'm not even close. But it's still fun to watch talented teams.
So when SMU, the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, played a conference game at UCF, I felt like I had to go. It wasn't just my history talking. One of my oldest friends graduated from SMU, and he had a particular affinity for this soccer team. The Mustangs had also played at UNM earlier this year, and the Lobos handed them their only non-win (a 1-1 tie). Besides, I'm always willing to support my local teams, as long as the tickets are free.
You can imagine my surprise when the Golden Knights (3-7-1) jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first half. This is the top-ranked team in the United States, after all; a piddly non-power like UCF certainly shouldn't even be competitive. SMU eventually came back to tie the game, but I was gone by then as some genius decided to close the concession stand before halftime. (Note to whoever's in charge: Free tickets beat no tickets, and your audience is more likely to buy a hot dog then, but you must make it available.)
I wonder what it means that the only blemishes on SMU's record came against schools to which I'm connected. Could it be that I have some higher soccer powers? Am I a constant cause for good to whatever collegiate home team I back? Is it possible that these powers can only be activated by my departure? Does it not then follow that UNM's ascent to the NCAA final last year was also related to these powers?
Nah, it probably just means I'm a self-centered dork and I think too much.
There are two levels to understanding soccer. It's not hard to get that one team is trying to put the ball in the other team's goal, and if they do it more than the other team, they win. After that, though, it's a sheer scale to get up to rules like offsides and substitutions and penalties and the like. There's no in-between, like in many sports; with soccer, you either know it or you don't. And I don't. Man, I'm not even close. But it's still fun to watch talented teams.
So when SMU, the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, played a conference game at UCF, I felt like I had to go. It wasn't just my history talking. One of my oldest friends graduated from SMU, and he had a particular affinity for this soccer team. The Mustangs had also played at UNM earlier this year, and the Lobos handed them their only non-win (a 1-1 tie). Besides, I'm always willing to support my local teams, as long as the tickets are free.
You can imagine my surprise when the Golden Knights (3-7-1) jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first half. This is the top-ranked team in the United States, after all; a piddly non-power like UCF certainly shouldn't even be competitive. SMU eventually came back to tie the game, but I was gone by then as some genius decided to close the concession stand before halftime. (Note to whoever's in charge: Free tickets beat no tickets, and your audience is more likely to buy a hot dog then, but you must make it available.)
I wonder what it means that the only blemishes on SMU's record came against schools to which I'm connected. Could it be that I have some higher soccer powers? Am I a constant cause for good to whatever collegiate home team I back? Is it possible that these powers can only be activated by my departure? Does it not then follow that UNM's ascent to the NCAA final last year was also related to these powers?
Nah, it probably just means I'm a self-centered dork and I think too much.
