First things first lets acknowledge the glaringly obvious oxymoron in the title because… well… that’s what I’m going to talk about today.
I play in a social Indoor Soccer team as a way to stay somewhat active and as a scarcely satisfactory substitute for not having the spare time to commit fully to a more serious Soccer team/club.
Tonight we had our last game for the ‘season’ so naturally everyone was pretty amped to go out on a high note. The team I play in has had a good run winning all our games bar 3 with the remanded boiling down to 2 draws and 1 loss.
History aside however, tonight I was floored when the referee cautioned me for kicking the ball “too hard” because one of my shots on goal struck a young lady in the ankle. Excuse me? Literally speechless (a rare occurrence for me) I was startled into apologising for something, as I look back now I’m not the slightest bit sorry for. I love trying to kick the leather off the ball, shit even the team and spectators love seeing a shot crash full force into the back of the net or even just bounce off the wall (note that the ball is more of a big fuzzy tennis ball thing and not actually made from leather), its all part of it. Rest assured it was not some malicious attempt to injure your team-mate… I actually was trying to score a goal.
In a game that is essentially 8 sweaty people running around trying to kick the ball at 2 other slightly less sweaty people and I am forced to aim for a target that is 6 feet wide and 3 feet high the best option is to try and drill it in low and fast. Apparently however in social competition (there’s that oxymoron again) I’m expected to hold back and go after victory half arsed.
I am fully aware that it is a “social” thing.
Most teams know each other personally
The games are frequently played in high sprits (read tipsy)
There is no sledging of the opposition defence as they try to mark you
Girls aren’t tackled roughly buy the guys (half the time the girls are actually rougher)
If someone gets hurt the game stops immediately
We all just have fun!
But now with the social covered its time for the “competition”
We keep score
The winning team gets a prize and bragging rights
Girls are given 2 points if they score
When you weigh things up like that I realise that it’s actually the social aspects I enjoy the most. Get rid of the prizes. Forget the score. I honestly wouldn’t care. Running around with a few mates and having a beer should be made compulsory. But then the foundation of sport is destroyed. We play because we know there is some reward to it all.
Social Competition has managed to bridge two arenas while at that same time managing to fall into a hole where it is beginning to discourage competition. In the sublime and utterly flawless words of the great Tana Umaga, “This is rugby, not tiddlywinks!” (You can sub in any sport you like where rugby is. (And yes pun intended)). It’s a sport. Shit happens! If I kick your foot be assured it’s an accident. If I hurt you, I will help you up. And regardless of what transpired in the last 30mins I will shake your hand.
Social Competition is still a competition. Social Competition doesn’t mean going out half arsed and just having a kick around, I can do that without a ref. Social Competition means regardless of the outcome we can all still share a beer and be friends. And if I did something in the game that means I need to buy you one, shit I’ll do that too.
