The popularity of
soccer has grown tremendously within the past few years in the United States,
but I have been a fan since I was four years old. I began playing soccer at age four and played
the sport until I went to college at age eighteen. It might not have been my idea to start
playing at such a young age, but it was definitely my choice to continue
playing on a club team and for my high school.
I watch soccer every now and then, and I truly love to play the sport
every chance I get.
I could not imagine
where I would be without soccer in my life.
Ever since I was about ten years old, I spent almost every weekend
traveling with my soccer team to different tournaments. From multiple different
states and all the way to Denmark, some of the most exciting moments in my life
have come from soccer. Many of my best
friends are girls who I have played soccer with since the beginning of our
careers. We have been through so many
ups and downs as a team that it is hard to not think of my team as family. From torn ACL’s and broken legs to an amazing
trip to Denmark with my team, we have grown so close as a group of girls and
our families that I feel like my life would be completely different if I had
never experienced these things. We have
all gone our separate ways since college, but it is so nice to see everyone
every now and then and reunite our mini family.
There are various
levels of devotion for fans of any sport.
Just like every other sport, soccer has extremely devoted fans who
follow every game and every player right down to who made what pass and
slightly less devoted fans who just enjoy watching a good game every now and
then. I would characterize myself as fan
whose devotion is somewhere in between the two extremes. I do not follow it religiously but I can also
name players and some of the stats in different games. My devotion might have been most noticeable
during the world cup last summer when I forced my friends who were on a cruise
with me to go inside and find a TV that might be airing the United States
game.
Although I am not
the type of fan that knows every fact about every player, I think that my
fandom is significant simply because of my love for the sport. People may say it is hard to sit and watch a
90 minute game where the score rarely surpasses 3 goals per team, but they do
not enjoy the small things about the game that make the game entertaining for
me. I take notice of the amazing runs
that players make down the field that don’t produce a goal but many people do
not even notice those moments. Don’t
get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy an amazing header into the back of the net and
watching the player celebrate just as much as the next person, but I believe
because of my history with the sport, I am able to appreciate the game more
than others.
My
most recent expression of fandom was with this year’s Euro cup. I was in Italy for the Italy v. Germany game,
and it was one of the coolest experiences.
It could be compared to a foreigner watching the super bowl with a bunch
of Saints fans. They were going crazy
and welcomed me when I participated in the celebration with them. Then I also got to watch the final game of
Spain v. Italy in a pub in London. It
was a completely new experience that I could associate with an old
passion.
No comments:
Post a Comment