Adam Peacock writes about why you should sign up for your local football club this season.
So why play football?
Why play football? Why subject yourself to running around a hard ground in your spare time, trying to kick a ball like they do on the TV even though you’re no chance of doing what they do on the TV. On a consistent basis, at least.
Why subject yourself to pain the next day, when joints seize up and cramp disturbs you like a lightning bolt in the dead of night.
Why subject yourself to the pain of defeat when your effort deserved much better than the feeling of a loser. Losing sucks.
So why? Well, why not?
Firstly, winning is great. Winning is the best. Winning is fuel for the soul to feel good about itself, and you can recall that feeling at any time.
There is, of course, a bit more to it than that. Football draws you in.
“A good game is easy to learn but hard to master,” said Atari inventor Nolan Bushnell applies perfectly to the sport of football.
Personally, I tried to master it for over 30years, without much success.
From under 6’s with Beacon Hill Youth Club, those fresh Saturday mornings with frost on the ground and the odd team-mate who would rather pick at the cold grass.
Who cares. Was having a ball. The odd miracle would happen, like scoring a goal, and it made you feel like Christmas and Easter and your Birthday had all happened at once – never mind the kid on my team who got $1 a goal from his dad and never passed as a result.
Still have mates from the under 6’s. Not Mr $1, but other mates, lifelong mates.
As a teenager it was an outlet amidst the confusion of adolescence. We didn’t win anything, but mates were made, and 20 years later, they are still mates.
Work and family life constricts time but if you can find time, it’s so worth it.
Have a kick on a Saturday afternoon, never mind getting kicked, or accidentally kicking others. Just run around, try and win a game but most importantly: the esky full of beers and Pasito’s for the post-game deliberations.
Those days, sadly, are gone. A dodgy back means no more running which means from this season, no more playing football.
Watching, yes. Playing, no. Which is frustrating but not the worst because at least I get to go watch my mates from football, and son, play football.
So yeah, play it while you can. Find a club if you don’t have one and get involved. Go back again and again until you can’t. You won’t regret it.
