I play soccer football football-which-is-what-Europeans-call-soccer. Saying I'm good is an understatement. Saying I'm awesome enough to kick butt is a better way to put it.
When I play soccer, the world quiets down and everything narrows down to that second where I make contact with the ball. The field is the only place where I feel confident-- and it doesn't matter how many people are watching, the noise they're making, their screams. All I feel is my feet thudding against the ground in sync with my heartbeat as I dash to get the ball. I've never missed a shot. The minute my foot swings back to hit the ball, the opposite shoulder drops down and as my foot connects to the leather of the ball, everything feels right. My ankle snaps my foot forward the ball briefly touches my instep and my shoulder rises into place as I hear the ball whoosh into the net. There is a poetic 'rightness' (for lack of a better word) on the field. The wind whips my hair, it cuts against my flesh but all that is nothing next to the feeling of pure adrenaline as my head joins the ball in midair. There is no jarring or shuddering in my vision when I run. Everything glides.
People ask me what I like to do; I can't put it in words. There is only that indescribable feeling of intense power when my foot meets the ball, that little hitch in my throat even when I know for certain it's made its way into the goal, the feeling of unadulterated happiness washing over me in the form of sweat as my team runs a victory lap around the field.
That is what I love doing.
I also love pranking people when they lease expect it-- say on the second of April rather than the first. Keeps things exciting. They call me a good storyteller. April Fool's, lovelies.
I'll be posting an interview with a friend who is passionate about the sport soon ;).
