Am I Nuts?

I just did something crazy. I joined a soccer team. Now, to be honest, it is an ‘over 35’ league, so it’s not like I’ve just made the Olympic Team. But for a guy who hasn’t played in a game where the score matters since Ron Jaworski was the Eagle’s quarterback, this is a big deal.

Why am I playing? Because I’ve loved the game ever since I was a kid and, at 49, I’m running out of time to play it. It’s also good exercise, in a wind-sucking, knees grabbing, hamstring twisting sort of way. But as a pastor with very little connection to folks beyond the confines of the church, I want to be able to connect to men in their world, to try to make some friends with unbelievers, and ultimately to share the Gospel. Soccer players, especially over 35’rs, are an odd mix of guys of all kinds of nationalities who are zealous (or perhaps desperate) to play a kids’ game until they drop. It’s a world where you’re either one of us, or not, and if you’re one of us, its friends for life. I’m looking to break in to that world.

The good news is that we play on Sunday nights, which is really only time I could do this. And we don’t have practice, which saves both time and wear and tear on the body. And we’re playing on a new state of the art artificial turf field right near my house. So given all these reasons, it would be sin not to play, at least according to my logic.

We’ve played three games so far. Our team is called ‘White’, which is not a racial thing, its just that we haven’t come up with a better name and that’s the color (or non color) of our jerseys. Soccer players are notoriously averse to leadership – they’re a lot like artists, or democrats. So our team is kind of a cooperative arrangement. Hence, we don’t really have a name, we have a functional description.

So what am I learning? I’m learning about fear mostly. Fear of pain, fear of injury, did I mention pain? The list of pain possibilities at my age is endless - a snapped Achilles tendon, torn ACL, concussion, contusions (whatever they are). I’m learning that when you’re 49, you should probably start stretching before you play. I’ve learned a really interesting thing about recovery after a game. There is the day-after stiffness and joint pain, and then there’s the day-after the day-after pain, which comes from the way you favored your painful parts and now other things are out of whack.

I’m also rediscovering the fear of man – high school variety. I want to be accepted by these guys, which means I feel like I need to impress them, even though I’m one of the slowest and oldest guys out there. I wonder, ‘How can I be an effective witness if I’m a terrible player, writhing in agony with an Addidas logo imprinted on the side of my face?’ Perhaps there’s a ‘fool for Christ’ angle I can work here.

So far I’m holding my own. We’re 0 and 3, but getting better every week. And I’m having a great time. Updates will come as the season progresses.

By the Way, if you want to check out some of our team in training, check it out here. I wasn’t there for this shoot, but I coached some of these guys.