A thread in the NYRA forums about gym reminded me of some experiences of mine in PE class, and indeed in all sports going back to when I was quite young.

In elementary school we had these raucous soccer games during recess. One part of the playground had a very small field set up with goal posts at either end. The length of this pseudo-field was no doubt less than the width of a regulation soccer or football field, but it was the place to be. Lots of kids from the playground (boys mainly) would participate in these epic battles.

It was soccer, but… with a twist. It wasn’t exactly an organized match. No captains, no picking teams, no positions. Heck it was probably 20 on 20 (or 25 on 15) for most of the ‘games’. Small field, lots of people, it was pretty chaotic. Part of the twist is also that all the bullies and best athletes always picked to be on the same team. Sadly that isn’t very unusual, but more on that later. The last twist was the game didn’t always respect the rules of soccer. It wasn’t uncommon for one of the bullies to pick up the ball and walk straight ahead towards the opposing goal with all his teammates walking around him in a pack beating down anyone who got in their way.

Usually that “anyone” was me.

I didn’t stand for it. I was always on the other side in these competitions, always the leader of the opposition. I was the guy rallying together all the misfits, outcasts, and honorable athletes into the team that played fairly and confronted the bastards on the other side. We usually lost.

I wasn’t the best athlete in the world, but I played my heart out. I was also always our team’s main cheerleader, driving everyone on, encouraging them to keep fighting. Sometimes my team would get a lead and then all the bullies and jocks would switch to our team. Sometimes I’d welcome them and take it as a sign of my success, other times I’d just switch to their old team and keep fighting. Sometimes it would pay off and we would actually win.
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