Sunday Post

I'm aching all over today. My ankle, foot, legs, shoulders and back are all whole body is aching. Why? Because of the ICT 7-a-side tournament that was held yesterday in school.

Before yesterday, I can't even remember the last time I played field football and the last competitive match I remember playing was 1 year ago. In the 3 years I've been in poly, I've gained 8KG as well (everyone gains weight in poly), so I was definitely not in top shape to play in a tournament. If my body size before was like Cristiano Ronaldo, now it's more like Wayne Rooney.



Before


After


Our team won the tournament last year, so this year we were feeling the pressure. That wasn't helped by the fact either that everybody was out to get us and we were drawn with the toughest teams. The only sucky thing about the competition was due to the huge number of teams (there were 11 teams in 2 groups) and only 1 field being available, we would playing all our games 2 hours apart. Meaning we would have to warm up, cool down, warm up, cool down several times.

But to cut the long story short, we managed win all 3 games (the other 2 games, semis and final will be played next Saturday) and got 9 points. I think we've more or less qualified for the semis but it wasn't easy at all. In fact, we had to resort to playing smart in order to win. Once or twice when we were comfortably in the lead, we chose to play out the time instead of playing the game. You know, like when they dribble to the corner flag to keep the ball or when the keeper slowly waits for the player to come before picking the ball up. Yep, we did that a few times. Haha.

Some people might say it's dirty, but I don't think so. First off, it's not infringing the rules, it's not unsporting like diving to waste time(a la Porto last season) and lastly it's just another tactic to try and ensure victory.

The funniest moment of the tournament however was in our 3rd match when the opposition had a goal kick. They kicked ball too far, right to our goal keeper's feet. At that point, we were leading 1-0 and were dead tired, so wanting to conserve energy and not risk anything, our keeper just stood there with the ball at his feet, waiting for the player to come.



This is how to make a save


Come and get the ball


But no one came. Instead, one of the opposing players bewilderedly asked the referee what was going on. "What's going on? Got a foul ah?", was his question. The referee told him to "go and get the ball". So as he ran towards the ball, our goalkeeper bent down and put his hands at the side of the ball in anticipation, ready to grab it at anytime. But suddenly, the player stopped, turned around and ran back towards his goal saying, "This is so lame". At that point I couldn't help but laugh out loud simply because I had never seen anything like that before. So he left his team-mate to run after the ball instead.

Let me sidetrack for a while here. The guy probably felt he was justified in walking away because he was being made to do something lame. But to me, that's just being selfish. When you play in a team, you play for the team and not for youself. By turning around and walking away, he was putting himself above the team, not wanting to do something which made him look stupid, choosing to save his pride instead. It may have been something lame, but we all do our parts to try and ensure victory for the team.

Sorry for talking so much about football, but I have nothing else to blog about. Haha. Anyhow, I found these interesting links.


The Crazy Rabbit
- This rabbit never gives up

The Fake Smiles Test
(via Indian Stallion)
- I got 10/20 for this one

The Effiel Tower is a hoax
- "The Eiffel Tower hoax is one of the first examples of mass suggestion Like most people you still may believe the Eiffel Tower exists!"


Hope you had a good weekend. =)