Sometimes I Think I'm Bigger Than The Sound

Today I'm gonna talk about the love of my life. No Nazir, I'm not talking about you.

Today I am going to talk about soccer.

Yesterday, I had 4 straight hours of soccer at NUS. There was beautiful, flowing, poetry-in-motion soccer from all sides. Except that crazy Thai/Myannmar team that played a horribly boring pump-long-balls-and-chase that threatened to butcher the beautiful game. I can't stand anything short of a fluid passing game.

On my side, it was happy soccer for so many reasons. For one, my best friends were near the top of their game Aizat was at his usual standards of Cesc Fabregas-distribution. Nas was at his Pablo Aimar best, marauding behind the attackers. Nazir's outside-left turns was one hundred percent effective. I shall stop short of comparing him to a professional footballer. Faizal was quick and nippy, like a nipple.

Meanwhile, I was laughing a lot because Nazir did a lot of stupid shit (non-soccer related. During a soccer game. That's Nazir for you) which I shall not disgorge in my blog. But at the same time, I found myself comfortable enough to express myself creatively and to use my pace efficiently in the game.

(ego trip alert)
I even scored a nice ego-boosting goal that summed up my ideals for soccer. Receiving the ball from Aizat in my own half, I shimmied past one player, who, in his attempt to stop me, kneed me in my balls. I hesitated, due to testicular pain. But the bigger picture was open to me: I was past him, and I could still go on. So I dribbled on, and play continued. Two defenders came up to me, and with a sudden burst of speed, I rushed between them, putting me one-on-one with the 'keeper. Calmly, I placed the ball beyond his reach, into the net. These are my ideals for soccer: that you don't let pain floor you, you go on for the team, and pace and composure can actually get you places, without having to showboat.

I also realised that when I play very very good soccer, I have a playlist in my head. They're a bunch of songs that somehow keep on playing in my head when I play. Sometimes, they motivate me, but most times they distract me. The motivational ones include Starlight by Muse, Cheated Hearts by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Far Away, By My Side by Peter Bjorn and John. Somehow, yesterday, a majority of the songs played in my head. It was good, yeah yeah yeah.

On that note, here's a reminder to self...

I need to work on my finishing. And I need to stay more focussed in games.