Fall Soccer Game 11/6

This is perhaps the most embarrassed I have ever been after a game. I don't think anyone truly walked away from this game with a good feeling and I certainly hope our opponents felt like crap. After a game like this one does have to ask oneself if playing is really worth this. If our league has gotten so out of control that teams like Big Dough are welcomed, then I don't want to continue to be a part of it.

I am deeply troubled by the lack of emphasis on sportsmanship that plagues most sports leagues these days. As younger players have entered our league, I have encountered more and more trash talking during games and have seen way too many cheap shots during games. There are notable exceptions and there are lots of players who play hard and with class. Perhaps the DCJCC should disband the league for a year and start again with people who are a little less intense and more under control.

If anyone cares, here is a recap:

First half, Mocha welcomed the return of Stuart Bassin and John Knapp for guest spots in the game. For the sake of everyone, these are the only two names I will be mentioning in today's recap. Our opponent, nicknamed Big Dough and wearing dark blue, showed up en masse about 3 minutes before the game. Having only seen one or two of them in previous years, I question how many of them were really members of that team.

Early in the half, one of their strikers was fouled (as he was pulling the shirt of our defender) and this started an altercation. Tempers flared between the two and one of our defenders (Defender B) appeared to me to step in to break things up. A player from their sideline (possibly Ron Artest) came in swinging and landed a number of punches to the head of Defender B. Ron Artest apparently wanted to fight everyone. After things settled down, the referee red-carded Ron Artest and Defender B. Somewhere along the way, Big Dough scored 2 goals since I happen to be the suckiest goalie on the face of the earth. Halftime score: Big Dough 2 - Mocha 0.

I should perhaps explain another interesting aspect of the game. For once, our team had a full complement of players. We started the game with 4 female and 12 male players, which meant we would be able to field the full 11 players (3 female, 8 male) the entire match. Big Dough, started the game with 2 female and 11 male player and therefore would only be able to field 2 female and 8 male players for the match.

After the melee (I still can't believe I was at a match and playing where a melee occurred), we were able to field 3 female (+1 sub) and 7 male (+3 subs) and Big Dough was left with 2 female and 7 male (+1 sub) as Ron Artest vacated the field with his criminal buddy who may or may not have been Stephen Jackson.

The second half saw Big Dough displaying considerable delay tactics to run out the clock and found their players considerably weary due to the fact that they had fewer subs and were outnumbered. With about 10 minutes to play, one of their guys who wasn't the goalie, caught a ball with his hands to keep the ball from going in the net. This earned him an automatic red card and gave us a penalty kick and our first goal. They now had to field 8 players against our 10. We added two more in quick succession and the game mercifully ended. Final Score: Mocha 3 - Big Dough 2.

One of our players thought we should have ended the game when it was tied at 2-2. In retrospect, I believe that would ahve been the correct course of action. I originally thought the game should have ended after the melee when it was 0-0. Perhaps it was better that the game finished giving everyone a chance to cool down. Perhaps we all should have just walked away and thought about what it really means to play recreational soccer.