Soccer Tournament

This Saturday (16 Sep 06), we played in a soccer tournament. Sally, the Pastor of Beauvoir Methodist, asked us if we would field a team. I asked folks at a dinner meeting if we wanted to play. Charley Burks jumped up for joy and said ... well, I can't write what he said, but I'll paraphrase it, "Yes, we would love to play a friendly game of soccer with the latino community".

Hands On volunteers - hard working, hard playing, cigarette smoking volunteers who have poured so much soul into rebuilding Biloxi that they have neglected their physical fitness - against teams fielded from the latino community, upon whose feet soccer balls are permanently attached between the ages of 2 months and 120 years?

Yes, your Hands On volunteers stepped up to the plate, I guess there's no plate in soccer, but I don't really know any soccer metaphors. We approached the soccer game with the same sort of enthusiasm and resolve that we approach all our problems with. Unfortunately, enthusiasm and determination do not make up for a decided lack of skill.

Perhaps against other Biloxi teams, we'd have done OK, but not against the 18 - 24 year olds Our Lady of Fatima fielded. They had a couple folks who should have been playing on some serious Division I NCAA teams. Anyway, we had fun.

The MVP of the game we played against Fatima was Eddie Sherman. He got off a plane a few hours earlier and agreed to be our goalie. Though 14 or so shots got past him, that's not his fault. They, the other team, were really good. Carrie said, "You arrived just in time." "What to get rockets launched at me all day?"

And launch rockets they did. Despite the score differential, one of the Fatima players (one of the best ones) came to Eddie after the game and asked if he would play keeper for them tomorrow (Sunday) in the final. "Why do you want me?" "That ball I kicked was going in, except you stopped it."

So, Hands On gets its props despite the loss. Better luck next year. Neal, Naomi, Brian Shingledecker, Meryll Davis, Nick Wilson, Krissy, Cassidy, and a few other folks whose names I can't remember, you all need to come back for next year's Festival Latino!!! We can win!

:: Chris ::