Big Dome

With World Cup fever running rampant, I'm reminded of my high school soccer days. I originally wanted to play football because all I really wanted out of sports was violent contact. I went out for football my freshman year having never played before and not knowing anyone on the team. About half way through the all day practice they gave us equipment. I got pads but they couldn't find a helmet that fit me, my head was too big. The other guys called me Big Dome the rest of the day. I didn't go back.

After the football failure I went out for soccer. I knew the sport and some of my friends were on the team. I was a fat kid, didn't have much endurance but I had a good foot, a good sprint, and I was very aggressive. I was on JV all four years but I played up a couple times if they needed someone to come on and bust some heads.

I brought my thirst for contact into soccer which isn't a contact sport. I would slide tackle and check opponents with little regard for who had the ball or where it was. I vividly remember one time a guy had a break away and I sprinted towards our goal to catch him outdistancing my teammates. I knew I didn't have the finesse to steal the ball so I just flattened the guy. My dad said later "he was suckin' sod." Another time one of the other players was hassling one of my teammates, my buddy Aaron, he pushed him down, checked him, or was talking trash or something. I just saw red, charged across the field and tackled the guy after the the ref had blown the whistle. While I was pushing the guys head into the grass I said "You got a fucking problem meet me after the game." That was my first ejection. I waited for him in the parking lot but he didn't show.

My junior and senior year I held the NIC-9(our division) record for most penalty cards in a season. I may still. The school I went to didn't have great sports teams. Not only would we frequently get trounced on the score boards, the other teams talked a lot of trash. I figured if the other guys were going to win I'd make them earn it. Not through athleticism but through blunt force trauma. I got a yellow card in almost every game and a couple reds.

I don't watch sports and I don't miss soccer. But all the World Cup talk brings back the memories of a couple incredibly satisfying hits.