The Spark − 5 August, 2007
Today was a full day. I'd gone to sleep late last night because I played a late night soccer game with the Momentum crew. Today is a full day because last night energized me.
We were down 5-1 after the first half. The thing was that we were not losing the game. We just were doing a pathetic job at winning it. We maintained possession early on and kept it throughout the half. But it just never materialized into any meaningful goal-scoring. What's worse is our defense tended to be caught by surprise, usually in transition, and let in some pretty weak goals as a result. By the end of the first half we were demoralized.
I've been feeling out of shape lately. I've gained some sympathy weight with Steph being pregnant, had my fair share of beers, and haven't exercised as much as I wanted. Plus work is kicking my ass these days and the last thing that I want to do during the day is go for a run. It's no surprise that I'm out of shape. Something got into me last night toward the end of the first half though. It's a feeling I recognize. It's a feeling of responsibility. When it happens I don't get the sense of it happening. It's a completely passive experience even though I'm willing it to happen. Somehow I get this subconscious desire to take the weight of the team on my shoulders and power through the tough stuff. It usualy ends up in frustration. I tend to get very passionate about our games. And I hate to lose. So when I get this way in a situation like this, not recognizing the emotions that are taking over my actions, it can get a little scary. I turn mean at times. But last night was not mean.
Toward the end of the first half I just started wearing myself out. Like I mentioned, I'm completely out of shape. So it only takes me a minute to get winded when I'm out there. But for those fleeting minutes I played my heart out. The funny thing is, it was all for naught. I had two or three really good efforts toward the end of the half. On two occasions I managed to get myself into one-on-one opportunities with a defender and got close to scoring. Then I set up a nice give-and-go opportunity that was inches from being a goal. But the bottom line was that instead of being a selfless, calm, relaxed and thoughtful player, for a minute or two I had turned into a possessed, wild monkey.
We finished the half down by 4 goals. And nothing I did in the last few moments of the first half made any improvements on our position. But somehow I think the team was tuned in. Andy plays more passionately when I do. He gets angrier and runs harder. Reid, too. And when Andy and Reid get fired up, it's showtime. We ended up winning the game 7-6. Reid had two goals, I think. Andy had a pair. I had a goal. And Bruno had two as well (with his first being the lone goal in the first half). While I didn't have an outstanding game and still felt as if I could have been much better if I were in better shape, I was able to channel my desire into something more productive for the team, I feel.
After reading this over from the beginning, it occurs to me that I'm taking credit for the win. That's not the case. Reid, Andy and Bruno won the game for us. But I think somehow they fed off my desire to win. I think the whole team recognizes that even an impossible situation just takes a concentrated effort from each of its members to achieve a goal. Whether we were conscious of it or not, we just needed a spark for igniting that desire deep within ourselves.
Reid and Andy and Bruno don't need sparks. They always show up to win. So maybe it was just me who needed the spark to be a part of an impossible come-back?
We were down 5-1 after the first half. The thing was that we were not losing the game. We just were doing a pathetic job at winning it. We maintained possession early on and kept it throughout the half. But it just never materialized into any meaningful goal-scoring. What's worse is our defense tended to be caught by surprise, usually in transition, and let in some pretty weak goals as a result. By the end of the first half we were demoralized.
I've been feeling out of shape lately. I've gained some sympathy weight with Steph being pregnant, had my fair share of beers, and haven't exercised as much as I wanted. Plus work is kicking my ass these days and the last thing that I want to do during the day is go for a run. It's no surprise that I'm out of shape. Something got into me last night toward the end of the first half though. It's a feeling I recognize. It's a feeling of responsibility. When it happens I don't get the sense of it happening. It's a completely passive experience even though I'm willing it to happen. Somehow I get this subconscious desire to take the weight of the team on my shoulders and power through the tough stuff. It usualy ends up in frustration. I tend to get very passionate about our games. And I hate to lose. So when I get this way in a situation like this, not recognizing the emotions that are taking over my actions, it can get a little scary. I turn mean at times. But last night was not mean.
Toward the end of the first half I just started wearing myself out. Like I mentioned, I'm completely out of shape. So it only takes me a minute to get winded when I'm out there. But for those fleeting minutes I played my heart out. The funny thing is, it was all for naught. I had two or three really good efforts toward the end of the half. On two occasions I managed to get myself into one-on-one opportunities with a defender and got close to scoring. Then I set up a nice give-and-go opportunity that was inches from being a goal. But the bottom line was that instead of being a selfless, calm, relaxed and thoughtful player, for a minute or two I had turned into a possessed, wild monkey.
We finished the half down by 4 goals. And nothing I did in the last few moments of the first half made any improvements on our position. But somehow I think the team was tuned in. Andy plays more passionately when I do. He gets angrier and runs harder. Reid, too. And when Andy and Reid get fired up, it's showtime. We ended up winning the game 7-6. Reid had two goals, I think. Andy had a pair. I had a goal. And Bruno had two as well (with his first being the lone goal in the first half). While I didn't have an outstanding game and still felt as if I could have been much better if I were in better shape, I was able to channel my desire into something more productive for the team, I feel.
After reading this over from the beginning, it occurs to me that I'm taking credit for the win. That's not the case. Reid, Andy and Bruno won the game for us. But I think somehow they fed off my desire to win. I think the whole team recognizes that even an impossible situation just takes a concentrated effort from each of its members to achieve a goal. Whether we were conscious of it or not, we just needed a spark for igniting that desire deep within ourselves.
Reid and Andy and Bruno don't need sparks. They always show up to win. So maybe it was just me who needed the spark to be a part of an impossible come-back?
Comments:
wade1j (August 9, 2007. 11:17pm)
You want to talk about Spark!, I once went 3 for 4 with 9 RBIs, 3HR, 2 of them were grand slams..... I was playing out of my mind.... We lost 19 to 15. The other 6 runs were more than we had scored all season. Hahahaha
kga245 (August 9, 2007. 11:25pm)
I live for days like that.