The triumphant final of the Hawks soccer tournament will forever be known as the Mud Bowl.  It was a legendary ending to an amazing tournament when I was 12 years old.  A bunch of non-competitive soccer players from the same school would go to achieve greatness against a competitive soccer club and walk away from the day as winners. It was David versus Goliath and we did not back down from the fight.  The legend of that day and the bond we formed will forever live on in the minds of my fellow teammates.

The Hawks were a soccer team formed by buddies at my local elementary school.  We signed up for soccer in Kindergarten and were placed on our team by the local Blue Valley Recreation office. We did not request to be on certain teams it was done by chance and boy did we hit the jackpot when we got placed on our team.   Most of the players did not know each other before being placed on this team.  The team decided that we should be named the Hawks because the mascot for our elementary school is the Hawks.  However, as fate would have it our head soccer coach was a Missouri fan and he decided that our colors would be black and gold not red and blue as the school colors were.   He could not in good conscience pick blue and red and be named the Hawks with the Jayhawks being long-time rivals of the Missouri Tigers.  However, we soon realized that yellow and black were not the best colors to be in soccer.  

The reason why these were not the best colors in soccer is that the soccer officials and the two sideline judges are on the field every game and they wear black and gold.   I would say the officials looked just like bumble bees. They wear black shorts and yellow tops.  Of course, we looked like we had a team of bees flying around the field.  I guess looking back, maybe it was an advantage since we blended in with the head judge and line judges on the field.  I always remember not liking that we looked like a bunch of bees but maybe it helped us out because we blended in.  It was a form of camouflage. 

It was apparent right away that the Hawks were special.  We dominated like Jordan dominated in basketball. We had so many great players. We all fit together like a puzzle.  So many different pieces but somehow we fit all together. We had a goalie that stopped everything that came close to him even though he was always undersized.  We had lightning-fast forwards that moved across the field in a flash and could shoot the ball at any angle with precise precision. They could aim the corner kicks right across the goal and hit in the back of the net.  Our midfield had players that could defend like a mama defending her cubs and could play up and score if needed.  We could run, run, run all game and never get tired.  This was a huge advantage.  Our defense did not look like much but it was wrong to underestimate us.  We were under-sized and I played on defense and had glasses.  I know people did not take me seriously. They thought I did not pose a threat but I liked when they did not take me for much. It was an advantage and I took all they gave me and more.   My defensive teammate was small but mighty. He was not real fast but boy was he good. He always seemed to get in the way and knock the ball away from the opposing team's forwards.  He would stick his soccer boot out and every time he would knock it away. It was unbelievable. He was the most frustrating player to play against. We were a wall that nothing could get by and we took pride in our defense.  

Through the years, some players moved away but never did any of our players moved to a competitive team and we never cut a player from our team.  We were family.  Other teams we had played for years, slowly lost their “top” players to the competitive teams.  The Hawks did not.  We were in this together and no one seemed to be really interested in changing teams.  We were friends and teammates and we did not want to break up the team. It was like a contract that we signed in blood.   It was an us against the world mentality and we thrived.  We did not win all our games but we won more than our fair share. Our coaches decided that it was time to play in some tournaments and challenge ourselves.  

We were unsure of how we would do in the tournaments but we were unfazed. It was like a group of infantry soldiers preparing for battle. We were not going to back down.  We always did well in the tournaments that we entered.  We would lose sometimes but we were usually in the championship game.  Teams became frustrated by us. Our legend grew within the soccer community. Teams knew we had no professional coach or training so how was our team succeeding?  Sure our coaches knew soccer and our head coach had coached his older son but we were just a recreation team full of kids from the same school. We were not supposed to be this good. We did not have matching bags or fancy warmup suits.  We arrived on the field and usually, we were not the first team to arrive. I remember vividly showing up to most games and the other team had been there for a while and they were already practicing. They would stand and stare at us as we trickled in and slowly gathered to warm up.  Our team was against the world and we thrived. 

At the end of most practices, we had a routine and we never changed from that.  All of us would line up and we would practice penalty kicks. The coaches had a plan but we just saw it as a fun way to end proactive.  Little did we know that this routine would enable us to achieve our greatest achievement as a team.   It began as a fun way to end the practice. It did not matter if you were goalies or defensive players, everyone took turns taking penalty kicks.  This was my favorite part of the practice.  It was a chance for us defenders to show the team that we can score goals as they do.  We would laugh and joke and always have fun but we also knew that we were showing our coaches who were really good at penalty kicks. Regular season games never end in penalty kicks so we were really practicing for tournaments. This would come into play sooner than we realized. 

We played probably two tournaments a season.  There is a spring and fall season in soccer.  We would play regular season games and then we would also play some tournaments.  The infamous mud bowl would occur when I was twelve and on Memorial Day.  It was a tournament for the ages. This one memory I hold above all other memories when I look back on my childhood. 

The month leading up to our tournament was unusually rainy.   We often played in the rain but most of the fields had been converted to turf so we rarely had rainouts because grass fields were all but eliminated. If it was not lightning out, we were playing.  It could be downpouring and we were playing.  At this age, we loved when it rained.  The more rain the more fun it was to play. We would get so excited for rain and were always challenged to play in those conditions.   Our parents, on the other hand, did not enjoy watching us play games in the rain. It was like being tortured.  I remember my Mom, praying for severe lightning so it would be canceled.  She would tell me about how games were always canceled when my older brother played.  There were no turf fields so the rain would come and many games per season were canceled. To my Mom and Dad’s credit, they were at all my games and would stand out in the rain.  All our fans were great.  They screamed and yelled for us and always made us feel like we were superstars. 

We signed up for the Memorial Day tournament and our coach told us that this would be a very big challenge. There were some really good teams that had decided to play in this tournament.  Immediately, we looked at each other and said we were up for the challenge.  This tournament was played at Leawood Park.  Leawood Park is one of the older fields in the area. The other little-known fact about this area is it is in a flood zone.  My brother worked for the City of Leawood for one summer and that area is always underwater.  You can not build many things in flood zones.  The two main things placed in flood zones are golf courses and city parks.  This area was no different and this city park had soccer fields nearest to the river that ran through the park.  These fields were not in great shape and we did not play at these fields very often.  They were dirt and grass fields.   By the end of May, the fields had been used a ton by tons of regular season games.   The places that are most prone to giant patches of dirt on a soccer field are the area in front of the goals and the middle of the field.  We knew that the fields were not the best.  If it did not rain, the fields would be fine but mother nature had another idea.  It decided to rain and rain and rain this weekend. It was like the sky had opened up and dumped all the rain directly on those fields. It was a torrential downpour and our tournament was in jeopardy. 

It became pretty clear from the start of the tournament that there was one team, the Legends, that was going to be our main competition.  It was a competitive team that seemed to have all giants on their team. They looked like a team of high school kids.   We were set to play all the teams once and the top two teams would play in the championship.  We beat the other two teams easily. It was not a very big challenge.  The Legends also beat the other two teams.  We had to play each other before the championship game.  The game was super early in the morning and we were missing some of our key players. We had a conflict and some of our players had a baseball game.  We also knew this game really did not matter.  If we lost this game, it did not matter because we were already in the championship game.  The championship game was the prize and we wanted it.   The Legends beat us by two.  The final score was 4-2. The whole game they were very cocky and were bragging the whole time. This made our team very angry.  I thought to myself, just wait. We are missing some of our best players.  We gathered around in the huddle and vowed to beat them in the championship game.  We all said,  “We are coming for you.” 

The championship game was set for the next day on Sunday.  That night, a huge storm came through and dumped truckloads of water on the fields.  I woke up expecting that the game might not happen.  I was afraid that the road to get to the fields was underwater.  I leaped out of bed and ran downstairs to find out from my Mom if the game was happening. I was overjoyed when she informed me that the game was on. I jumped up and down and ran upstairs and quickly put on my uniform a full two hours early. This game could not get here fast enough.  It seems like time had slowed to a crawl and we would never leave.  Finally, we left the house and made our way to the field.  

As we pulled up to the field, I knew that the conditions were not ideal. As I looked across the field, I noticed that there were giant mud puddles in front of each goal and in the middle of the field. I knew this game would be a challenge but I knew our team was ready for this moment.  In warm-ups, the ball would plop in the puddles and stick.  You would have to grab the ball out of the puddle and wipe it clean because there would be mud all over the ball. At times, the ball would skip through the water and mud and  I would block it and mud would splash and splatter onto my yellow top.  It would not be the last.  

The game started and the battle had begun. We were soldiers battling and we wanted to be the victor. The Legends were not taking us seriously because they had beaten us the day before.  What they did not realize was we were short players the day before.  We had laid a trap and they had fallen into it.  We needed to capitalize on them not taking us seriously. The game went back and forth.  We had to stop every once in a while because the mud was caked on the soccer ball and was causing issues.  This was not a good time to have glasses.  One, it was humid and muggy and my glasses kept fogging up and two, the mud was getting on my glasses and I had to wipe them off often. I would take my glasses off and reach down and wipe the mud off of them.  The game was tied.  It was tough to score and our defense was playing well. Our wall was holding.  At the end of regulation, we had a chance to win but the mud puddle kept it from skipping through and going into the back of the net.  Time expired. We exhaled and slowly walked off the field getting ready for overtime.  Most games would have ended in a tie. But this was a tournament and there can not be ties.  My Dad was thrilled. He loves to joke with me that soccer is a dumb sport because there are ties.  He loves baseball and is always giving me a hard time about soccer scores like 0-0.  We laugh about it.  Today would not be the day that a soccer game ended in a tie. 

There would be a twenty-minute extra time for sudden death. The first score would win.  This upped the stakes of the game and honestly made me a little nervous. The nerves made my stomach feel like it was tied in knots. The Hawks were not used to extra regulation and in the back of our minds, we knew it might end in penalty kicks.  If we could make it to penalty kicks, we knew that we were prepared. First, we had to make it there.  To say that our team was covered in mud was an understatement. My blonde curly hair was not so blonde anymore. It had streaks of mud throughout it and my uniform was drenched in mud.  We were soaking up the moment.  We were so happy.  The moment was not too big.  We fought hard and at the end of the second regulation, it was still tied.  The game would go to penalty kicks.  We were screaming and hollering as we jumped off the field. This was our time. 

We were all in a huddle and staring at each other and our coaches.  The time had arrived for our coaches to pick who would participate in the penalty kicks.  We all stood and stared at our coaches. We need five players. I knew that I would not get picked.  Penalty kicks were never my strong suit and I was not one of the five best so I was sure that I was not getting picked. Even though I did not get picked, I was not upset. I was happy for my friends that did.   We had some great choices.  The coach picked Miles, Zach, Tenay, Grant, and Charlie.  They were ready,  but I am not sure my heart was. It was racing like a racehorse coming around the bend at the Kentucky Derby. 

The other team had their five picks and we had our five picks and everyone was covered in mud.   It was time to make history. We would alternate kicks.  The Legends got to kick second in penalty kicks because they were the higher seed. We had prepared for this moment since we were little.  That time spent at the end of practice was finally going to pay off. We were calm and prepared.  There was no way we were losing this battle.  After three penalty kicks each it was three penalty kicks for them and three for us.  The strategy was to start off with our best players because we wanted to make sure we got ahead or kept even.  On the fourth kick, they missed. I smiled a grin as wide as a Cheshire cat.  We had them.  I knew all our time spent on penalty kicks was going to pay off.  Charlie and Grant were left.  I was very nervous about them but I was confident. Charlie made his kick so the pressure went all on Grant.  Grant was a good player, but not great. He scored some goals but mostly played in the midfield passing the ball to the forwards.  I was confident in his abilities.

He set up and remained calm.  He took aim.   We all stood at midfield waiting anxiously.  It was so quiet. Everyone on the sidelines was as quiet as church mice but you could sense the nervous energy from the crowd. The other team was confident.  This was a huge pressure moment and they felt they had a chance. We had not missed one yet and it seemed our chances of missing one penalty kick was high. Grant soared the kick past the outstretched hands of their goalie and it landed in the back of the net. We threw our hands in the air and ran towards Grant. We formed a giant dogpile and we were all screaming.  The parents were snapping photos and jumping up and down.  

We had won the game in the most epic fashion against a team of competitive players. A little team that all still went to school together and were friends had taken down “The Legends”, the big bad competitive team.  We climbed off each other and I looked at my friend Miles and said “let's go roll in the mud.”  He did not skip a beat, we turned and ran to the mud pit and rolled in it like a couple of pigs at a farm. What fun that was!! We decided to get our team championship photo in front of the mud pit with a ball in the middle of it.  Why not?  Everyone was laughing and what a moment it was for the Hawks.  We all got our medals put around our necks.   The Legends respected us at the end, even as they were shaking their heads as they walked off the field.  I am sure their parents wondered,  why they were spending all this money on this team and the Hawks were not spending any and the Hawks won.   I chuckle when I think of this and how our little team was constantly taking down teams that thought they were better than us.  Our team won the battle and how sweet was the victory. 

Eventually, our team disbanded and some of my friends now play Varsity on their high school teams and some of us no longer play.   I have such wonderful memories of the Hawks and the mud bowl. I know that when we see those photos of us as twelve-year-olds in front of the giant puddle, with mud streaked in our hair and our jerseys that we would all say, that was one of the best times of our lives.