We're United for Soccer!

Stop me if you've heard this before, but I think I may have mentioned once (or twice, or a million times) what raging soccer fanatics my boys are (yes, all three of them). If they're not at their official practices or games, they might be found kicking a ball around the back yard or running drills or watching FSC (FOX Soccer Channel, for the uninitiated). Of course, while doing so they must also earnestly, thoroughly discuss such colorful topics as: strategic pass placement, effective cross-goal shooting, and stealing the ball without fouling (or at least without getting caught...along with the ever-popular, lively side-topic we'll just call "how to dive to the ground and writhe around in apparent agony to draw a call whether the other guy even touched you or it was actually entirely your fault in the first place.") They spout off names of European players the way--ahem--normal people might discuss their own family members. La Liga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), Premier League (England)...so much to analyze...I'll be in the other room reading, if you need me...

But, if they get this much of a kick (ha ha...sorry!) out of sitting on the couch and taking in games on the screen, imagine their delight when a Soccer Mom friend of ours arranged for some of Derek's team to attend a match between D.C. United and Real Salt Lake at RFK Stadium this past weekend. Having never been to a real, live MLS event before, this was pretty exciting in and of itself. But wait, there's more! The kids would have the opportunity to scrimmage--on the actual field--against a similar-age team before the pros took over at gametime. Super cool! So we followed our Fearless Leader (otherwise known as..."Tom") in a caravan of family cars, into the wilds of the District of Columbia. (And anyone who suspects I might be exaggerating for narrative effect has probably never traveled in our nation's capital. Just take my word for it, I'm being perfectly literal.) However, all seemed to be going according to plan...until the Flat Tire Incident suffered by none other than Leader Tom. Fortunately, if you're going to shred a tire in a questionable section of Washington, D.C., it's shows brilliant foresight to do so when surrounded by a veritable Pit Crew of other Dads who can leap from their vehicles and help you install the spare in record time. (Although one of the 11-year olds did innocently observe, "It's like NASCAR...only slower!")

Inevitable D.C. travel-trauma behind us, we arrived at the venue in plenty of time for the U12s to warm up by sprinting madly around their designated section of the turf. I wonder if the 6th-graders imagined the stands full of screaming fans, chanting their names and waving banners while the boys ran, passed, and shot on the field. We parents on the sidelines did our best to simulate a raucous crowd, yelling encouragement while snapping photos to commemorate their early brush with sports glory. Actually, the boys seemed to take the attention in stride, coolly going about their business and focusing on the scrimmage...except Derek's one hoping-for-a-SportsCenter-highlight moment, when he scored a goal...and blew kisses to the camera. What an unabashed ham. Then the buzzer rang on our sweaty mini-players' 12-minutes of fame, and they vacated the field to make way for the paid sports guys. Since we had 2 hours to kill, we then removed our adrenalized horde to the parking lot for some good old fashioned tailgating. The kids continued to run amok, the adults enjoyed snacks and conversation, and a rollicking good time was had by all. As luck would have it, the thrills continued unabated during the match, as the home team scored 4 goals in the first half to take a commanding (and as it turned out, insurmountable) lead. Vamos United! (as they evidently say...see, you can learn things when watching internationally-loved sports!)

I'm telling you, anyone who firmly believes that "soccer is boring" would come away with an entirely different perspective if they joined our gang for an outing! And when we recover from this one, we just might go again...sometime!