Have you seen Bend it Like Beckham? It's an incredibly funny and candid movie about a young Indian woman's love for the game of soccer.

i love and respect soccer above all sports. i mean, it's the common thread that people all over nations the world over share. it is awesome, isn't it ?
it's a common language that everyone speaks, a common passion, one love. the only other thing we all enjoy the same way is food and perhaps the bottle and even tea & coffee, but even with those, there's a ton of variety.

and although there's only one rule book, there seems to be a ton of variety in how the game of soccer is played, too. my favorite people to play with are Latinos. I love their attitude, graciousness, love for the game and the people who play it, their sense of fun and sportsmanship, not to mention their skills are usually phenomenal.

i got my coaching license for under-8 kids a couple years back to move boy up the waiting list and get him on a team with his schoolmates with the promise of coaching any practices or games when the coach was out of town. shameless, i know.

all that being said, i am not nearly as skilled as you may think. but i can hold my own in a game or a scrimmage. i recently started playing again myself. joined a league, and all that. i'm not sure what i think of the league.

playing with americans as an adult has been a different experience than what i'm used to i think. i can't really put my finger on it and i definitely don't want to make any sweeping generalizations (like i already haven't!) but i have to say very simply, i'm not having as much fun with it.

many of the folks in the league just picked up the game in the last few years, so it's not quite in the blood and heart. and i guess i miss a certain "mind" for the sport that i learned from foreign coaches who i was lucky to have as a kid.

i don't know what it is. but i often find myself frustrated. i don't want to blame anyone for it. but i do want to get to the bottom of it.

i was really pms today at the game and kinda lost my temper. it really bothered me that people were not respecting the ref's calls and every tough call became a debate.

people's true colors really do come out in the heat of competition, don't they? even a friendly group of over-thirty-year-olds can turn into a whining, petty bunch of babies when the call goes against them and there's a penalty kick at stake.

i scolded everyone right there. "why even have a ref then if we're not going to defer to him?" geesh! first rule of soccer, the ref is lord.

the penalty-kick call stood and they needed a woman to take the shot. so i said, "fine I'll take it" and wouldn't you know, amidst all the controversy, i scored my first goal since i've been playing in the league.

then i got home and realized i'd been PMS and it all made sense. Ah-so... that's why a got so upset. i really couldn't figure it out. but anger is the best cure for the nerves.

also to note, i notice that even though it's a league, i really miss there being a coach calling the shots and telling folks what to do. without a distinguished leader, everyone's telling everyone else what to do or, more often, nothing at all and there is a breakdown of communication and organization. i find it frustrating because it means it's not so great a game. it feels like a waste of time and effort.

anyhow. it's good for me to run around and it keeps me out of trouble. most days anyways.

i may look around for another league/weekend game. i dunno.