"I MISS THE GAMES"

     I miss the games. Having dedicated almost the entirety of my time on earth trying to become the best soccer player I could become, I currently find myself completed with my college career, without knowledge of when my next game might be. I imagine the sadness that creeps into my mind every single day due to my competitive career being over is the same sadness that every proper player since the creation of the game has felt as age and circumstance rob them of their talents. Regardless of whether this moment occurs at 21, or 30, or if you're lucky 40, there comes a time where the elements conspire against a footballer to make him abandon his craft, at least at the level they once could play at...

     I wasn't thinking about the beautiful game today until I stumbled upon the above clip from a tremendous movie, "Looking For Eric". Although the clip portrays a fan lamenting his passion dying out through age and lack of funds to attend live matches, I know his pain all the same. There was no place I felt more alive, more free, and more happy than on a field, with the ball at my feet, the field sprawled out before me. Now, I find myself trying to spark these emotions back from a dying flame when I watch Manchester United play, or when I'm playing in a five-a-side match. 

     But I know it won't come back. The fire won't burn like it once did.

     I wrote this blog not because of sadness, but in gratitude of what the game gave me. It gave me a scholarship to college. It gave me a way to escape my inner deamons, if only for 90 minutes. But most importantly, it gave me happiness. And it gave me purpose.

     For these reasons I grimace at what has become of many modern footballers. Carlos Tevez would rather  sit at home in Argentina, demanding a move to another location he will ultimately hate, instead of getting back on the field. Wayne Bridge, for almost two years, collected a pay check at Manchester City with no intentions of getting on the pitch. I almost feel sorry for men like these two because there will come a day when they will be in the same position as I. They will regret the decisions they made. They will wish they could turn back time, if only for one more game.

    Futbol is meant to be played with passion. Players are supposed to live and breathe for the game, a simple game which has given so much to so many. For these reasons, I hold in the highest regard players like Eric Cantona, like Wayne Rooney and Diego Maradona. These are all flawed men, but when on the pitch they played with the wild, scorching fire inside them that men are supposed to play with.

     Remember, everyone who reads this and who is fortunate enough to still be in the midst of their playing career, that one day you too will miss the games...