Try and imagine, just for a few moments, that you are a soccer player. All eyes are on you. The goal post is 6 feet away. You could feel the adrenaline rush. Your stomach feels knotted and your heart starts to palpitate. Everything turns into slow motion. It’s only you and the ball. It all sinks in, this is now or never.

You gave your best shot and kicked the ball with all your might. Then something dreadful happened. You slipped, fell, and landed on your butt. Do you know what this painful scene looks like? It’s not pretty. Your team members shook their head in benign amusement and you flushed in humiliation. Ouch. I know what you’re thinking; it’s a cliché. Well, I hate to break this to you but here’s the deal, life’s a cliché! Anyway, not the point I’m trying to make.

This incident is possibly the most embarrassing moment in my entire life. In my defence, I was a bit nervous, to say the least. Soccer to some people is a game of intensity where winning is everything. The black and white checkered ball lifted off the grassy field, soaring like a phoenix through the bright blue sky. With the luminescent light coming from the horizon, no question, it’s a magnificent sight. Unfortunately, I never understood the beauty behind it. Then again, there are many things that I do not understand, like the story behind Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter for instance…

Soccer has always been a tricky sport for me. It’s a funny old game, I’ll say. I have fallen countless of times. Once, during a P.E lesson, I slipped and fell. (Back then, toppling was a habit of mine) Oddly enough, my P.E teacher thought that I was trying to do a Maradona move. What’s more, he even gave me a pat on the back. Sigh, good times.

Perhaps it’s got to do with my eye and foot coordination. Perhaps it’s got to do with my bad stamina. Or, perhaps it’s got to do with being a soccer dummy. Which reminds me, my Soccer for Dummies should be lying in my room somewhere…