A couple of years ago, Little Chirp fell in love with soccer. All along, I have loved his enthusiasm, but I did not share it. I grew up in a rural area of Texas, and all of the focus was on football (the American version). Soccer players (from neighboring schools) would slowly begin gaining notoriety in our high school days, but that was more because the football (American football) coaches discovered that the soccer players made exceptional punters and place kickers. It was an unspoken rule on a football team that a soccer player doubling as the kicker was the only player on the team that was able to get away with having long hair. My own rural school has never had a soccer team.
I remember the summer before I started college, I dated another over achieving seventeen year old that was headed to college instead of a another year of high school, and he refereed soccer for extra money. He went to a larger high school near by mine, and he had played on the soccer team there. I didn’t date him because he played soccer, he was brilliant, and well at the time one of the most attractive guys that I had ever laid eyes on, but I swear it was mostly about his brilliance. I remember that it bothered him that I loved sports so much, and I knew nothing about soccer. One day, we were having an argument, not an aggressive disagreement, but a debate that would be better described as bantering than an fight. At some point, he pulled a yellow card out of his pocket. This was followed by a red card. Everyone cracked up. Aside from this, I had no exposure to soccer growing up.
I wonder if Little Chirp will be flagging a girl with a yellow card some day.
Little Chirp has a great build for a child his age, and he is quick on his feet, and one tough little guy. If he were growing up like we did back home, he would already be in a football uniform. He is often asked if he will be playing pee wee football next year. His response is consistent and matter of a fact, “My sport is soccer.”
Little Chirp’s dad and I debate that if Little Chirp had tried some other sport first, he would have chosen that one. To be completely honest, I have always wondered if Little Chirp chose soccer as his sport out of rebellion. We are a family OBSESSED with sports, but no soccer!
- Brainy Bird played pee wee football
- The entire family loves the NFL – I love the Cowboys, the boys’ and their uncles love the Texans, my sister is a Steeler’s fan (We are an accepting family.) We gather regularly with our close friends to cheer on the Saints.
- The boys’ Dad played division I college basketball and he is a huge college football, baseball and basketball fan.
- We all play and love golf. We watch it on television too.
- In high school, my brother was an all-star catcher in baseball and the center on the football team. I was on a state championship basketball team, and I played volleyball and ran cross country and track. Cross country was by far my best sport. My sister was an ace volleyball player and cheerleader.
- Every member of my immediate family has played in some kind of organized volleyball as adults.
- My brother is big on disk golf.
- We have good friends that are Canadian, and hockey is always on when we are hanging out with them. It is on at home too during the play offs.
- Little Chirp’s dad’s family loves the NBA, namely the Dallas Mavericks.
- We go to see the Astro’s play no matter how bad they are.
- I am still a runner, and Brainy Bird is FAST
- You can catch track and field on in our house from time to time along with figure skating, gymnastics, the winter Olympics, the X-games, and swimming.
- My sister even ventured out and tried to be a professional bowler at one point in our lives.
Have I mentioned that our family loves sports? Yet, until Little Chirp came along no one had any interest in soccer, and it occurs to me that he has picked it to be a rebel.
Little Chirp has asked me more than once why we never watch soccer on television. I initially dismissed this as “youngest child syndrome”. Then it occurred to me that I was breaking one of my own life rules, and that is to take interest and at least learn about things that are important to those closest to me. I only have a few life rules, so I felt bad about being in violation of one. I once watched the Boston Red Sox because of a significant other that was a fan. I can’t watch a little soccer for one of the most important people in my life? The more that I thought about it, the worst that I felt. Too be honest, I wouldn’t even know where on television to find a soccer game.
So, I did a little research…highly technical research. I called a good friend of mine that used to always be sporting a Chelsea jersey, and I asked him to tell me about the British premier league (BPL). Little Chirp has friends on his soccer team that are fans of this league. I had a few key questions – Is there a particular team that I should try to steer Little Chirp towards? Are there any teams that have issues around sportsmanship or players that are bad role models? Is there any reason why I would want to discourage Little Chirp’s interest in BPL?
Someone that I work with overheard me talking on the phone, and he offered up his favorite team BPL team. Another person overhead the conversation, and she offered up her favorite team. The common theme in all of their conversations was the same enthusiasm for a sport that I knew very little about. I have spent the past couple of weeks learning the rules of soccer, learning about the BPL table, and the teams.
On Sunday, we sat down as a family for the first time ever to watch a soccer game on television. Little Chirp chose the Manchester United vs West Ham game. His team choosing was quite sophisticated. I had information on three teams, and I tried to steer him toward Chelsea with the same failure that I had trying to steer him towards the Dallas Cowboys. He went with the black and red team (Manchester United). His backpack is black and red, his favorite jacket is black and red and his shoes are black and red. Additionally, Man United was not in first like Chelsea. He told me in his best “geez Mom” tone that he wasn’t going to choose a team just because they were in first place.
Wow! What a game. West Ham went up somewhat early in the game, and the game was nearing an end. I was so disappointed. I really didn’t want Little Chirp’s “team” to lose the very first game that we rooted for them. Then towards the very end of the game, Man United scored a goal, ending the game in a tie. I have not seen Little Chirp that pumped up in a very long time.
Later that evening, Little Chirp would be at his dad’s house for the night, and Brainy Bird and I were talking. The weekend was coming to an end, and it had been a great weekend. Brainy Bird said what I was thinking, “Uh, so I really had fun watching the soccer game. What a game! When is the next one?”
The next game is at 1:45 tomorrow. The boys begged me to get them out of school early to watch it….let’s not get too crazy! The DVR is set to record. I myself, having put in an all nighter for work on Monday, and having to be at work at 6 AM tomorrow might be sneaking out to a nearby pub about mid-afternoon tomorrow.
There are hundreds of things that I love about being a parent, seeing the world through my child’s eyes is on the top ten list – soccer – brought to us by Little Chirp 🙂