-^-for posterity-^-

soccer, soccer, soccer. while the eagles were disgracing themselves against the buccs, the education department and i were annihilating the economics department.

it was hot yesterday. we were out of shape. most of us were old and half of us weren’t wearing shoes. the economics department was younger, leaner and generally more amicable.

for some reason, this game was taken very seriously. we had two referees even though there were only five people to a side. we had lines painted in the grassless earth with crushed limestone. we had whistles and goals and even uniforms. i wore number four and pushed the collar up in order to look that much faster.

the game started and we ran and sweated and pounced in every direction imaginable. i played defense and kept kicking it up to our fatter, slower front line. they would run a bit and occasionally fall. their bodies would slide in the dust and everything seemed much more dramatic and exciting then it really was.

everything was over emphasized by the crowd. every kick elicited an "oh!" or an "ah!" the economics department had many an opportunity to score but our balding goalie always found a way to fall in their path or push the ball out of bounds.

at halftime we were deadlocked. brows were furrowed and sweat had poured through us. we stood on the sidelines and strategize. i listened and looked interested but understood little. two older members of our team took the halftime break to smoke a cigarette. i've never seen a stranger sight: two old, balding men with small paunches, completely covered in sweat, breathing heavily and, all the while, sucking dryly on a cigarette.

the second half began with a roar from the surprisingly sizeable crowd. this is where the education faculty would shine. we had the stamina. we had the maxi. we had that special something that can't be defined or described that pushed us to the top. the economics department couldn't handle us. too many long nights staring at obscure charts and graphs had dulled them. too abstract. this was real.

two fluke goals put us up early. we cheered and hugged each other like brothers. we danced in a circle causing dust to swirl about. the crowd loved it. we scored one more by the end and we collapsed on the sideline. three to zero. the education department had come through.

i woke up this morning felt like i had slept under a small pile of bricks and rubble. my knees were scabbed over and my legs were oddly heavy and lethargic. tomorrow we play the agricultural department. oh, they're going to be tough. too many days spent out in rice paddies researching strange bugs and plants has made them animalistic. i'm sure of it.