The FIFA world cup is here and at the moment that seems to be the sport of choice. I was never a football fan and cricket was always my game of choice. The Asia cup and India's tour of Zimbabwe seem to be overshadowed by football for now. Now as most of you know already, I have not played any active sports since my 10th grade. I have had my moments being a part of the school cricket and hockey team, but that was way back in the days when I was healthier and more fit. So in this world cup, we have had out first self goal by Denmark and this incident quickly made me remember a one off football match I played while in college. Now does anyone remember Andres Escobar from Columbia, who was shot dead after he scored an own goal due to which Columbia lost to USA 1-2 and also resulted in their elimination? Ouch. Well, I have not been shot yet.
In the college halls, the competition was always between the four blocks A, B, C and D. We had cricket, football, badminton and a host of other stuff. Now some of us seniors get to choose which block we want to reside in so it always ends up that a bunch of like minded people end up in the same block. A majority of those in A and B blocks consisted of Tamilians and a few other out station guys. C block had a majority of Tibetans and a lot of them from the North east. D block had a lot of Mallus who were mostly PG students, with sports being the last thing on their mind. Then came the time for the annual football tourney. The lots were drawn and for the elimination round A block was slated to play B and C block would play D. The winners of both games would face each other in the finals.
With the kind of team composition we had we surely never fancied having a chance. We however hoped to play either A or B block so that at least we would not be humiliated by C block who were the strongest with a good composition of Football loving guys from Tibet, Nagaland, Mizoram, Nepal etc. We accepted out fate and we decided to have a good time and we made a joke of how we were going to be slaughtered. The whole hall laughed even before the game started because it was a clear case of the strongest playing the weakest. Since we never had uniforms, we agreed that we would toss the coin and one team would play topless, so that we could differentiate each other. As luck would have it, my D block team had to play topless. That was mentally upsetting. Imagine a bunch of pot bellied hairy mallu men running around topless in a football field. Not a pleasant sight. Anyway, off goes our t-shirts, and the whistle blows and its game on.
Few brief minutes into the game we came to the agreement that we would not just fool around, but make a proper game out of it. We decided to not try and score any goals because that would be impossible, but instead we would all stay back and defend our goal with all we have. We wanted to make C block work hard for the numerous goals they were going to hit. So according to plan we stayed back and played very defensively. My position was defence anyway so I stayed in and around the goal post and occasionally wandered towards the half way line. Our strategy was paying off and by the time the half time whistle blew, the scores were still Nil. We couldn't believe that they had not scored anything. So we exchange sides and the second half gets under way. We decided to stick to the same strategy and just continue defending.
Unbelievably we were defending well. Though we never ventured out much into their half, we defended well using unconventional styles and tactics. Those watching the match were amazed that the scores were still nil. The frustration was beginning to show on the faces and in the game of the short tempered C block guys. With each passing minute they became more and more frustrated. We were counting down to the finishing whistle and though the scores were Nil, this would indeed be a huge victory for us. It did not really matter that we might get murdered during the penalty shoot out. With less then five minutes for the game to end, came my moment of glory.
What happened next happens all within a matter of five seconds. So try imagining this in slow motion. Someone from C block kicked the ball towards our goal, from quite far off, even though there was no one near our goal to receive the ball. The ball crossed almost everyone and it was headed towards me. Behind me was the goalkeeper and then the goal post. Since the ball was not directly aimed at me, I had to turn and run to catch the ball, which had now passed me and was heading towards the goal keeper, who would have safely caught the ball. However, I continued to run behind the ball, towards my own goal post. I was determined to gain control and kick it back or even kick it out, before the goal keeper had to catch it. What if he missed, was the thought on my mind. As it neared the post, I realized that it was too late to stop it and kick it back to their side, so I decided to kick it out, away from the goal post. I must have had bad aim, or I must have been wearing my left shoe on my right leg. The kick did not deflect the ball enough to take it away from the goal, but it did deflect the ball enough to move away from my own goal keeper and rest safely behind the nets. There was silence for a while.
After a brief few seconds, everyone realized what had happened. C block had a goal to their name, thanks to me. I sat down with my head bowed. Within a few minutes, the final whistle blew and the we had lost 0-1 to C block. They did not know if it was worth celebrating or not. They won, and yet not by their playing. If was a rare sight to see both teams walk out of the ground with their heads down, though one of the teams had won. About what my teammates had to say to me after the game; well, that's another story. For now, lets enjoy the FIFA world cup.
In the college halls, the competition was always between the four blocks A, B, C and D. We had cricket, football, badminton and a host of other stuff. Now some of us seniors get to choose which block we want to reside in so it always ends up that a bunch of like minded people end up in the same block. A majority of those in A and B blocks consisted of Tamilians and a few other out station guys. C block had a majority of Tibetans and a lot of them from the North east. D block had a lot of Mallus who were mostly PG students, with sports being the last thing on their mind. Then came the time for the annual football tourney. The lots were drawn and for the elimination round A block was slated to play B and C block would play D. The winners of both games would face each other in the finals.
With the kind of team composition we had we surely never fancied having a chance. We however hoped to play either A or B block so that at least we would not be humiliated by C block who were the strongest with a good composition of Football loving guys from Tibet, Nagaland, Mizoram, Nepal etc. We accepted out fate and we decided to have a good time and we made a joke of how we were going to be slaughtered. The whole hall laughed even before the game started because it was a clear case of the strongest playing the weakest. Since we never had uniforms, we agreed that we would toss the coin and one team would play topless, so that we could differentiate each other. As luck would have it, my D block team had to play topless. That was mentally upsetting. Imagine a bunch of pot bellied hairy mallu men running around topless in a football field. Not a pleasant sight. Anyway, off goes our t-shirts, and the whistle blows and its game on.
Few brief minutes into the game we came to the agreement that we would not just fool around, but make a proper game out of it. We decided to not try and score any goals because that would be impossible, but instead we would all stay back and defend our goal with all we have. We wanted to make C block work hard for the numerous goals they were going to hit. So according to plan we stayed back and played very defensively. My position was defence anyway so I stayed in and around the goal post and occasionally wandered towards the half way line. Our strategy was paying off and by the time the half time whistle blew, the scores were still Nil. We couldn't believe that they had not scored anything. So we exchange sides and the second half gets under way. We decided to stick to the same strategy and just continue defending.
Unbelievably we were defending well. Though we never ventured out much into their half, we defended well using unconventional styles and tactics. Those watching the match were amazed that the scores were still nil. The frustration was beginning to show on the faces and in the game of the short tempered C block guys. With each passing minute they became more and more frustrated. We were counting down to the finishing whistle and though the scores were Nil, this would indeed be a huge victory for us. It did not really matter that we might get murdered during the penalty shoot out. With less then five minutes for the game to end, came my moment of glory.
What happened next happens all within a matter of five seconds. So try imagining this in slow motion. Someone from C block kicked the ball towards our goal, from quite far off, even though there was no one near our goal to receive the ball. The ball crossed almost everyone and it was headed towards me. Behind me was the goalkeeper and then the goal post. Since the ball was not directly aimed at me, I had to turn and run to catch the ball, which had now passed me and was heading towards the goal keeper, who would have safely caught the ball. However, I continued to run behind the ball, towards my own goal post. I was determined to gain control and kick it back or even kick it out, before the goal keeper had to catch it. What if he missed, was the thought on my mind. As it neared the post, I realized that it was too late to stop it and kick it back to their side, so I decided to kick it out, away from the goal post. I must have had bad aim, or I must have been wearing my left shoe on my right leg. The kick did not deflect the ball enough to take it away from the goal, but it did deflect the ball enough to move away from my own goal keeper and rest safely behind the nets. There was silence for a while.
After a brief few seconds, everyone realized what had happened. C block had a goal to their name, thanks to me. I sat down with my head bowed. Within a few minutes, the final whistle blew and the we had lost 0-1 to C block. They did not know if it was worth celebrating or not. They won, and yet not by their playing. If was a rare sight to see both teams walk out of the ground with their heads down, though one of the teams had won. About what my teammates had to say to me after the game; well, that's another story. For now, lets enjoy the FIFA world cup.
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