Buckle yourselves in for another protracted soccer rant�

Tonight we had a particularly intense battle against the team that has become our rivals. We ended up losing 7-6, mainly because we played almost the entire game with NO subs (which, in indoor soccer, with its hockey-like subbing, is essentially playing short-handed) until another guy finally showed with about 8 minutes left.

Aside from the sting of a bitter loss, I have decided I have a philosophical objection to the way this team plays. Tonight wasn�t the first time we have played where things have gotten chippy. In fact, I can remember this happening Every time we�ve played them going back to January. We are consistently two of the top three or four teams in the �B� division (this arena has men�s A, B, and C) not just this season but going back the last few seasons, but I feel like they play too much of a physical style.

I�m risking exposing myself as a hypocrite here, because I have always played a hard-nosed, scrappy style of soccer. There is a fine line between �aggressive� and �physical,� and �physical� and �dirty,� and I have often tiptoed, played around, and crossed over those lines to a point where I feel like I have an intimate knowledge of them. However, I also feel like indoor soccer is a game that does, and should, emphasize a more skillful style. That is why I like playing indoors, and have embraced it so warmly as the bulk of my playing repertoire (aside from the fact the weather is always decent, and the Fieldturf playing surface always in good shape). The rules also have a strict no sliding/no leaving your feet to win or play the ball provision, which further decreases the physical play.

I�m not advocating the whole �play nice� philosophy. I think that�s bunk. You can play clean without playing �nice,� which is something I strive for. Of course, I am also a Hothead, and I am Known for my temper, and I will be the first to admit I am hardly an angel. Tonight, even, I fouled a guy intentionally at one point, because I wanted to stop play, but got him a bit too hard and earned myself a 2-minute penalty.

But, on the other hand, it has become More than obvious, to myself and my teammates, that this team we played is too physical. That is their style, and they execute it well. They try to get under your skin, and get you off your game.

And it is a strategy that works, by and large, at All levels of the game. Not just in soccer, either, but it has always been a widely supported, and even admired, strategy in hockey and basketball. In football, too, defensive players are often lauded for being �dirty,� because in many cases it is their job.

But this is essentially recreational soccer. Sure, it�s a relatively high level of recreational, but we aren�t professionals, or even semi-pros or college players, we�re a bunch of guys who have to be at work tomorrow (speaking generally here), have kids, various responsibilities, and play because we Like to. And given all that, I just don�t think it is appropriate for a team to come out and play like they do. I think it goes against the spirit of the competition.

And granted, this is purely a philosophical objection, and I stand on the thin ice of potential hypocrisy with my statements. But there are tangible examples of what I am talking about, and they really only apply to a couple of players on that team. Most notably is their willingness to �charge� opposing players. Again, this is something that isn�t necessarily illegal, in the strictest sense, but is an example of what I believe is an �overly-physical� mentality. While running after a loose ball, they will make no attempt to pull up or otherwise avoid an impending collision with an opposing player if either they or the opponent has played the ball. This has happened numerous times, often a few times each game, and I am always left with the distinct impression that they have �followed through� in an attempt to embellish the collision as much as possible, often lowering a shoulder.

In the strictest interpretation, they can easily defend themselves as �playing the ball� and be perfectly right, but at the same time, I have an objection to their willingness to seemingly try to inflict injury on their opponents.

Of course, this is just one example. I have often been left with the impression that some of their players are a little �out of control,� which I think is inappropriate for this level of play. This is to say they tend to flail arms, elbows, and generally make up for lack of ball skill by �throwing their weight around.�

I couldn�t help but notice something else that happened tonight. The first half was well played, and most of the second as well. It wasn�t until late, the last 7 or so minutes, when fatigue had become a real factor, that things turned too physical and got ugly fast. This is perfectly logical, seeing as how a tired player is far more likely to rely on physicality over skill.

As a whole, my complaint isn�t about the refereeing, or any specific calls that were or were not made. Instead, as I�ve said, I have objections, on a largely philosophical level, to the spirit in which this team plays. And to be honest, I�m not sure what there is to Do about it.

I am sitting here, yet again, avoiding life. This is something I have been doing Far too much of lately, and it needs to stop, yet the more I promise myself I will stop doing it, the more I seem to do it.

I could, and should, be doing something like cleaning the house or looking for a job. Instead, I am just sitting here, and now it is after noon already. I can't shake the feeling that my life isn't something that is happenning, it is something that is passing me by.

I don't seem to make decisions any more. Instead, i sort of just remain indecisive until whatever it was just sort of slips by, gets forgotten, expires, or whatever. That is more or less what is happening to this summer, and the same thing that happened to the last two summers. Now it is the last day of July, and my life is slipping by (yes, I'm a poet!)

I have made real efforts to be productive this month, and at times have been quite succesful. However, since last Friday, with the notable exception of Sunday, I have been a useless blob. maybe I'll run downstairs right now and start cleaning... it needs to be done.

Sunday was a busy day for me, as I headed over to the Peninsula for a hike up Mt. Ellinor (short, but very steep!) as seen on POD. Also, as seen on POD, I headed out to catch the Sounders game at new Seahawks stadium, the first official event in the controversial $400 million football palace.

First off, I need to say my piece about the Kingdome. Sure, it was neat. Sure, it was an "engineering marvel." Sure, it gave Seattle the sort of architectual prestige (along with the Space Needle) that wanna-be "big" cities need to be "put on the map" (keeping in mind this is when seattle was a one-horse town, before Microsoft, grunge music and coffee).

But it was also a dump, in that it lacked style. I'm not naive, and I realize it was More than a sound building. At 25 years old, it was a fraction into its life expectancy, and it got a bad rap as being unsafe in an earthquake. Look, an earthquake wasn't going to bring that thing down. Those ceiling tiles that fell were not structural. Once that problem was fixed, it was perfectly safe, despite various exagerations from the Seahawks, Mariners, and stupid fans. But it was still a "cheap" building. It was a no-frills place, and it completely lacked atmosphere. Some would say that "atmosphere" was created during the heyday of the 'Hawks and the '95 Mariners, but that was a case of passionate, vocal fans getting behind their team's unprecedented success.

I don't want to turn this rant into a debate about whether teams really need these extravagant stadiums to be succesful. The Mariners got Safeco field, and have had their two most succesful years in franchise history. That is a simple fact.

It is also a fact that the Mariners weren't going to survive in Seattle playing in the Kingdome. There isn't really an argument to that statement, because those that are presented are really about problems with Major League Baseball and professional sports in general. Beyond all that, with the nicest summers in the nation around here, who the fuck wants to go Inside to watch a baseball game? Ultimately, a new baseball stadium had to be built to keep the Mariners.

As we all know, it went to a public vote, which narrowly failed. If this vote had been taken 2 months later, I'm sure it would've passed, but the vote coincided with the end of the regular season in 1995, before the effect of the Mariner's amazing run that year could sink in.

And, despite what some people will try to tell you, Safeco Field was built as part of the democratic process. Sure, the public vote failed, but the state legislature then decide to take the ball and run with it. It is the Job of our elected representatives to do this type of thing. They listened to what the people had to say, mainly that even though the stadium initiative failed, they wanted the Mariners to stay. What do the Mariners need to stay? A new stadium, and they came up with a plan to build it. I wish people would realzie that the state legislature decides what to do with billions of dollars of our money every year, and if every major road project, for example, were put up to public vote, nothing would ever get done.

So the Mariners got their's. Ken Bering, then owner of the 'Hawks, called the Kingdome inadequate, and he too demanded satisfation, or he would move te team. And, frankly, who can blame him. I hated Bering as much as the next guy, mainly for driving the franchise into the ground, but did you expect this guy to listen to months of Kingdome bashing by elected officials, Mariner's officials, and countless third parties in an effort to build a new baseball stadium, then turn around a be happy with the Kingdome? Yeah, I know Bering had his own selfish interests at heart, but we, the public, Gave him his position by invalidating the Kingdome.

When Kingdome improvments, or a new stadium, weren't forthcoming, Bering moved the team to Anaheim. A 12th hour agreement, after the team had started moving their shit, gave Paul Allen an option to buy the team. Paul Allen, in turn, agreed to buy the team if a new stadium was approved.

What we got, as fans, was a great deal. Allen's sole motivation was to keep the team in town. He put up what ammounted to ernest money, or a non-refundable deposit, of million of dollars to Bering to keep open his option of buying the team. Then he proceeded to "own" the team in a weird state of flux for a year, during which the 'Hawks became major free-agent players. Although on-the-field improvements remained limited, Bering was putting serious money into a team he didn't own. Furthermore, he agreed to pay for the cost of the statewide election, as well as a signifigant amount of the building costs.

I remember thinking that this was a deal we, as the voting public, just Couldn't turn down. It was too good. The problem was, Safeco field hadn't even opened yet and it's construction was mired in delays and cost over-runs, and in That context, building another brand-apanking-new stadium just seemed... stupid, foolish, and worse.

But there was more to it than that for me. Ever since I was about 9, I had dreamed of having a top-level professional soccer team play in Seattle, in an open-air football-type stadium, before roaring cowds. Of course, I knew we had the Kingdome, but even then I knew you couldn't play soccer indoors on astroturf (the first thing I'd ban if I were made commissioner of all sports!). I remeber thinking to myself once that we could even build a retractable-roof stadium, so we could have a grass field but still have the roof if the weather was bad. You probably think I'm full of shit, but I started dreaming of this scenario 18 years ago!

So I voted for the stadium, and as I like to call it, I was one of the "soccer voters." I still believe it was Us, the soccer people who jumped on board the project woth the promise of it delivering a first-class soccer venue, that pushed the vote over the top and allowed the initiative to (barely) pass.

So now its here. There may be issues with the "plastic grass," (the Fieldturf) but it is so much better than astroturf it isn't even funny, and I'm just glad the stadium is Here.