[THE PITCH] To Torbjörn Nilsson, who is both my head coach and my Swedish
liaison//mentor, football is a game of numbers. He explains the field in
geometric terms. He talks of decision-making based on probabilities. In
meetings he demonstrates how to break each situation down to a solvable
equation. As I scribble down his
lessons in my notebook, I marvel at how he sees the game. I’ve never had such a
mind for math. In my understanding, football is not a graph nor formula nor an
equation. I see the world through metaphors, in imagery, as literary allusions.
The game has and always will be a story to me… my story…
[Setting]:
Clinging to the arm of the North Sea sits a rainy old-world
city I have come to love, not in spite of the many challenges it poses for me,
but because of them.
In many ways, Gothenburg feels like home. For now, it is my
home. And yet, being in Sweden doesn’t feel like “real life.” Six months after
I first suited up in my Kopparberg jersey, I am still captivated by its many
charms. Living here is like attending school…always pushing me, but also a
holiday…giving me endless reasons to smile. Playing football in Sweden requires the
straightforward discipline necessary to manage its harsh conditions, yet it is
a gentile and unmanageable play place. Like the Pacific Ocean of my California
home, it is both calming and invigorating: as exciting and inviting on the
surface as it is brisk and mysterious at its core.
[Characters]:
Perhaps this is the most important element of my Swedish
story. The people I have met here: my friends and teammates, our staff, and
even the strangers I will never know have taught me so much and changed my life
for the better. There is something about the Swedes that really allows me to
feel safe in my own skin. I find inspiration every day as I look around the
locker room and beyond.
Our team ranges in age, in football experience, in
English-speaking-ability, and in how much they value the game. For example, there’s
Mimi. She just turned 18, an up and coming Swedish striker with the potential
to be “the next big thing.” She dreams of going to college (the wild college
parties she sees on TV) and living in California. She’s a ball of energy and
enthusiasm… and she rides the young waves of emotion. As an experienced wave rider myself, I try to help her surf over
the inescapable rough currents that exists in the front line. There is Anita, who
likes to call me her “limb” because we have been attached at the hip for the
last five months. She has over 50 caps for the English Full Team. She played
for practically every WPS team in her three years in the USA. I respect her
opinion and appreciate her different perspective, so I go to her for advice and
constructive criticism. Then there is me…and I know I have as much to contribute
to Anita as I have to learn from Mimi. Despite our vast differences in
backgrounds, we are all in this together, happily connected. Although I am
sharing my own story now, we, as a team, are creating our future and, thus,
writing our story collaboratively.
[Plot// Stoppage Time]:
Like any good story, the plot has had a few unexpected
twists. Instead of ascending slowly towards a climax, my first weeks here
started BAM! BAM! BAM! (Big important games) and BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
(Disappointing losses). The re-building commenced, but the stage was set and it
was makeshift, as we had lost confidence. I was told from the start, KGFC is
not a team of stars, but it seemed without self-assurance, we weren’t a team at all. Still, we pushed through it
and despite the shakiness; the first half of the season was an extraordinary
experience, and I know I am a better player and person because of it.
Having returned from our summer holiday, the team is back in
business. While it is now impossible for us to win Damallsvenskan, with
SvenskaCupen and Champions League ahead of us, we have a lot to play for…and a
whole new slew of challenges.
I
woke up the morning of our Umeå game with a feeling that there is no end to
progress for a professional athlete. It’s a limitless climb; there is no finish
line. And yet, it seems, that there are countless beginnings…restarts, as it
were. I hoped and still hope that the Umeå game was one of them… the beginning
of the turn-around… the commencement of “a second season.”
It
was a beautiful day to turn around a season. The sun was shining (a phenomenon,
a teammate pointed out, that only occurs during Kopparberg games) … the
seagulls were chirping (waking me up at 6am)…
Final
Score:
Göteborg
FC 5 – Umeå IK 0
We
felt good. We played well. We had success. But as soon as the final whistle
blew, I could feel the future coming toward me… applying pressure where
joy should be. We had won so many games likes this before, just to show up at
the next game a different team; unable to post two solid wins in a row.
SvenskaCupen semifinal was 3 days later against Malmö. It would be a big test…
a test of our strength and determination… a test of our confidence.
Final score:
Göteborg FC 2 – LdB FC Malmö 1
[The ending]:
Will we continue to build…to get stronger…to reach our
potential? To borrow the lyrics from Natasha Beddingfield, “The rest is still
unwritten…”
RFL,
I think this was one of the blogs I found the most interesting. It's hard to imagine how a football player would experience playing and by what you said it seems to differ. For me (as a fan I guess or audience member)I would say it's a story as well, it's also something that helps me relax. For at least 90 minutes I don't have to worry about how to feel or express myself because there's no intent behind every action of the crowd. We're just there to support our team and have a good time and let our emotions out. Being part of something 'bigger than us' is a better feeling than 'there is just me'. Watching the story unfold on the pitch with a group of people that want the same thing is wonderful, which is what I wanted to express. Thank you for the interesting posts, keep it up!
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