For the Love of the Game

This spring I have been playing on two athletic teams: an intramural basketball team and a city league soccer team. Originally, I did it to keep in shape, but I have quickly realized that playing only twice a week does not exactly keep my heart and lungs at the strength they had been back in the glory days of college athletics. But that is beside the point now. I have learned so much by being part of these teams, with the biggest lesson being that sports are actually fun! It's been a blast being able to be a normal student and experience these things in my last semester.

For so long, soccer ran my life. It was a job for me. Of course I cherish my time as a college athlete and I would not trade it for the world, but playing soccer every day became so monotonous. I no longer saw the beauty and joy of the sport. But I am now playing on a Division 5 (formerly D4 team that got demoted because we were getting killed every week) city league team. I got asked by my biochemistry professor, Jerry, to join his team because they were desperate for some talent. At first I felt almost obligated to do it, since he was my professor and he wanted me to play so badly; but after my first time out on that field, playing with other adults who were doing it just for the love of the game, not because they wanted to impress the fans or get a scholarship, I was hooked. (Plus, I must say, I was impressed by Jerry's skills. Who would think a biochemist would be athletic too?) We lost the first 6 games I played. We didn't score a goal until the 4th game of the season. And did we care? Absolutely not. We were laughing and having a great time, despite the embarrassing losses. It's a beautiful sight, my friends, to see people trying hard, getting stuck in, enjoying the competition, but not caring about the outcome of the game.

Now the other team I've been playing on is a bit more competitive. The soccer seniors formed a basketball team and signed up for the A league, even though half the team hadn't even played high school ball. We were division 1 athletes and we had Ashlee Pistorius (Miss Illinois basketball and soccer, for those who care about titles)...who could stop us? We rolled through the regular season. 3-0. Every game ended early due to the slaughter rule. We weren't the best shooters out on the court, but man we were scrappy defenders. The post-season tournament started last week, where we played Kappa Delta who was 0-3. Sorority girls in A league? Seriously? They only had 4 players for the first 10 minutes of the game. Did that stop us from playing with 5? HA! You kidding me? Once they got their fifth player, we picked up the intensity even more and pressed them the entire second half. They literally couldn't get the ball over half court. They all had little attitudes, so that made us want to pound them even more. Plus, we knew the competition in the next couple of weeks would pick up, so we wanted to get some good practice in. Well apparently after the game, the girls went back to their sorority house and complained about how we were all bitches and they decided to email our soccer coach to complain about it. Our assistant coach Lori Stephenson got an email the following day saying how disappointed they were that we claim to be Aggies because we are the antithesis of good Aggies. We were rude, overly competitive, and showed no class. They said they will never again attend an A&M soccer game. Oh well. Like sorority chicks really came to our games anyway. Their loss.

Last night was the semi-finals of the tournament. We showed up to find a team of 8 girls who were all decked out in basketball gear, swishing three pointers left and right, and actually organized in their warm up. While on the other side of the court, we were in soccer shorts, soccer socks, and wife-beaters with "Scrubs" spray painted on the front. I quickly noted that we were in for a tough game. The game started out in our favor, as we quickly went up 6-0. But that lead vanished quickly with some questionable fouls called and free throws made. We started off in man defense, but to change things up and hopefully throw them off, we decided to sit back in a 2-3 zone. BAD decision. The girls made 6 three pointers in the first half. We were down by 12 at one point. We started to cut the lead down, but then got our spirit knocked out of us when they made a mid-court 3 pointer at the halftime buzzer to put them back up by 11.

At halftime we made some adjustments, deciding to go back to man-to-man defense, changed up the substitute pattern, leaving me and Ashlee in while everyone else rotated, and talked the normal basketball talk: "We have to box out! Use that booty your mama gave you", or "Guys, we are the soccer team. We don't lose to nobodies. Pick it up!!" I had to be reminded by one teammate that it was ok for me to smile. But I was in the zone. The game face was on. I was ready to claw and scrape back into this game. Well that's what we did. We slowly started to put a dent in their lead, which was difficult to do because these girls actually ran plays and knew what they were doing. They had all played high school ball together. One time Mel held up two fingers while dribbling the ball down the court, just so the other team would think we had a plan, but it didn't work because we all just stopped and started to laugh, because we honestly don't have one set play. With 10 minutes to go we were still down by 5. It was a close game. The refs were calling everything the other way. Ashlee then gets a steal and dribbles the length of the court, gets fouled, and makes 2 free throws. We have a big defensive stop next time down the court and then Amy hits a massive 3-pointer to tie the game! The other team is forced to call a time out. We are going nuts. I was so into the game that I thought I was going to throw up at one point (I think it was a combination of being out of shape, eating 4 cupcakes before the game, and nerves). We ended up taking the lead off big lay ups by Ashlee, Kelly, and me. The last 2.5 minutes we were holding the ball, watching the clock run down. They were forced to send us to the free throw line, where we hit every shot (unlike a certain Memphis team who choked down the stretch). We ended up winning by 4 points. I felt like I had won the national championship.

Our confidence was high leaving that game. We were talking big, saying no one could beat us if we played like we did in the second half. But as soon as we turned the corner as we were leaving and saw who we are playing in the championship game on Sunday, our hearts sunk. Here is this team with Nike A&M shoes, shorts, and jerseys. They have a few black girls and a lot of height. Apparently they are the club team for A&M. Our hopes are doomed. I don't think a club team should be able to play intramural sports. That's not fair. It would be like the soccer girls playing intramural soccer. What's the fun in that? But don't kid yourself, we will show up ready to fight. They may be better players, but if we play with the heart that we did last night, we may just have a shot. But then again, it's not about winning. It's about the memories. We are having a great time, and I wouldn't want to step on that basketball court on Sunday with anyone else but the girls that I have fought and battled with on the soccer field for the past 3 years of my life.