Soccer

Here we are again, my favorite past time - Soccer. The spring season came and went with a blink of an eye - or not since we had several rain outs. Our last game was today and we completed the season with a 5 game losing streak.

Although the team started extremely well with two wins and one tie, it went downhill from there. Of course we should have and would have won several other games, but it just did not happen... There is always the fall season to try again. At least we are playing soccer ...

UEFA Final

Berlin, Germany - Champions League Olympia Stadion

That really was an astonishing game of soccer. The most entertaining Champions League final for years. End-to-end excitement pretty much from the get-go. Barcelona deserved to win - they were the dominant team for the most part - but Juventus gave them a good working over for a sizable chunk of that second half, a period during which the result really was in doubt. It took a huge effort from Juventus to stay with a simply brilliant Barcelona team, and for that they should be applauded. Many wouldn’t have been able to hang on. Barcelona have their fifth European Cup, joining Liverpool and Bayern Munich at that mark on the roll of honor. Juventus now holds the record for final defeats, this being their sixth. But everyone should go away feeling proud. On top of the winner list is Real Madrid with 10 wins and AC Milan with seven respectively.

Diet and Sports

The initial 21 days of the diet are over, the result was an overwhelming success. Not only did I weigh in on the last day at 163 with a body fat mass of 21.6% but also my energy level went through the roof.
One event I noticed it the most is my weekly soccer game. I play the striker position since my endurance allows me to run "fast" (relative term) during the 90 minutes of game time. I did that before, but now it seems much easier, naturally because I'm 20 pounds lighter and did not loose any muscles.
The first game of the season was during my 500 calories a day phase so the result on the field was not very overwhelming. Today was a different story. My calorie intake went from 500 to 1,500 calories a day which makes all the difference in the world. This is called the stabilization phase. As a result I was "on the ball" today. Did not score but had a good effect on the game. We tied at 2 all, which is a good result considering that our opponent usually prevails. The difference today was the fact that the majority of players showed up and we had six substitutes, all good players. In the first half it was a give and take. Our team took over the midfield during the second half for the better part of the half. The result is a mixed bag, a zero all would have been all right too since both teams played their heart out. I'm looking forward to next Saturday ...

Sunday

Dinner Party

Team Lunch

Saturday in soccer heaven

Saturday rolled around, this time I was early since the field is only 20 minutes from the hotel. The field was still moist from the dew, the temperature was just right for playing soccer. Perhaps too cold for the Floridians but warm by comparison to us northerners.

Soccer Tournament Journey

It was this time of the year again. Seems just like yesterday that a consortium of players made the trip to Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Florida.

I'm looking forward to this event during the two seasons we are scheduled to play every year, especially in the fall. By then the fields are minefields and the main goal is not to break your ankle. The fields at the sports complex are like pool tables, straight, evenly cut grass, and, above all, soft. Even though the legs are aging along with the body, muscles, and energy, running seems much easier.

This year was not very different, after practicing on a mud field, bare dirt, artificial turf, and the last one on a mixture of ice and snow, the grass was just greener on this part of the country.

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Since I made the reservations way back in November I was not aware of the schedule which turned out to be an early schedule. In contrast to earlier years our game on Friday was scheduled at 3 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 am respectively. That meant rushing. My flight left at 11 am from Washington D.C. to arrive in Tampa, Fl at 1:30 pm.  An hour and a half before game time. The flight was on time, the pickup to the car rental was sparse but finally got me there at 2 pm. One hour left. According to the driving directions the estimated driving time from Tampa to Lake Myrtle Sports Complex was 54 minutes. Though, traffic is always heavy on I-4 inland. I left the car rental in a Ford Focus (nice little speedster by the way) at 2:15 pm. So that required paddle to the metal in order to get there.

Now this is Florida, anybody familiar with the driving habits in Florida should agree that the left lane is for the slow traffic, therefore, stay in the middle or on the right side of any highway. With that in mind, I ventured out determined to make it on time. The majority of the way the speed limit is 70 mph; meaning 75 to 85 mph. After a lot of weaving in and out of traffic, avoiding the left lane and making sure I drive save taking the the obscure mindset of the other drivers into account I did in fact arrive at the sports complex at 3 pm sharp. Changing into shorts in the car, I grabbed my bag and hustled to the field.