It’s odd in my life I have been eased into soccer. I played soccer one year when I was in 4th grade. Then my cousin David was playing in Sacramento when we moved there. My chemistry teacher in high school was the soccer coach. Then I started watching my brothers play on club teams, and then in high school. It was fun to watch and I started to realize this was one of the biggest sports in the world. All over the world kids grow up knowing only about soccer. They don’t play basketball, baseball, hockey or volleyball. There are small pockets of these sports around the world but they are not that big of a deal.
When my daughter Paige started playing soccer my wife started getting into it. A couple of years ago we started getting free satellite and we had access to all kinds of soccer. We started watching Barcelona play. Lionel Messi was amazing to watch, and then we started seeing other players that I had heard about. Rooney, Christiano Renaldo and then I began to learn many more. Diego Forlan, Mezzit Ozil, Danny Alvez, Iker Cassias, Ibrahimavic, Van Persie, Chicarito, Marcello, Cesc Fabragas, and others. I started to learn about teams and managers(coaches). I also learned about the leagues and tournaments. Once I got a decent job, we even bought some season tickets to our local club here in Salt Lake, RSL (Real Salt Lake). I know now why they call this the beautiful game. There are big egos, big money, and fanatics that behave very badly. However, 99.9% of the whole deal is beautiful.
Sometimes I wish that I had the exposure to soccer when I was eight. I wish I could have been inspired with the vision of what soccer in the US would become. I could have been part of it, not just the admiring spectator. I am now drawn to the game.
This morning started with going to Paige’s Impact Cup, finals game. Her team had earned the right to play in the finals because they beat a much better team. They lost in the finals, 0-2, but they played hard and it was fun to watch. I shot video of the game and you can see that online.
Then we had the opportunity to watch the USA soccer team play Cuba. USA won 4 -1. It was a double header and Costa Rica played Belize. That game concluded with Costa Rica 1 and Belize 0. Costa Rica should have had more goals, there were several misses by inches, and the goalie for Belieze was brilliant.
The other thing I had to deal with today was my Leaf. I got it back from the dealership. I had problems a couple of time charging on public chargers. It would charge for about 1/2 hour and then quick charging. I took it in, the dealership gave me a loaner car for a couple of days and they got it fixed. It’s nice to have my car back. I really enjoy it, it’s got some pickup because the electric motor is much better at getting the power from the engine to the wheels. I am hoping the technology improves and we will be able to, in the very near future, be able to drive exactly like gas cars. In the first month I only saw 3 other Leaf’s on the road. This week I saw five. I am sure there will be many more on the road soon. It’s nice now because charging is free in most places.
Until tomorrow.
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