When Games Matter: "The Equalizer"

Last updated on: June 14, 2011 at 3:27 pm by Drew Dixon

When Games Matter: "The Equalizer" 2011-06-14T15:27:14-06:00 Drew Dixon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When Games Matter is a weekly exploration by Drew Dixon of meaningful moments in games. Operating under the assumption that games do in fact matter, Drew seeks to highlight those moments that have much to say to say about who we are and the world we live in.

I coach a boys club soccer team–in fact one of the very best teams in the state of Alabama. Last weekend my boys team represented the state of Alabama in the Region III Presidents Cup–a tournament in which all the Division 2 State Champions from the Southeast play against each other. My boys team won the right to represent our state by winning the Alabama State Cup in dramatic fashion last year when my keeper saved the final shot in a Penalty kick shootout in the final game of the tournament.

When we began the tournament we knew we had our work cut out for us when we drew games against, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma (Florida and Georgia being very good soccer states). Our openning match was against Miami Beach Soccer–a team made up of Brazilians, Cubans, and Columbians all with immaculate touch on the ball and the speed to match.

When the Miami players took the field, you could sense their confidence–they were here to win and no team from the middle-of-nowhere Alabama was going to stop them. However, from the kick off, it was a very back-and-forth game. Miami controlled the majority of the possession–but my boys were able to produce several deadly counter attacks. We managed to pass the ball around Miami’s defenders pretty well–in fact we were able to find through-balls to our forwards on several occassions that produced good chances on goal. When Miami had the ball they looked to switch the field quickly and when they did they would often switch it right back which made it very difficult for my defenders to recover and defend back-side runs on goal. While we managed to contain these attacks in the first half, early in the second half one such play produced a 1-0 lead for Miami when my boys failed to pick up a back-side runner.

What Miami probably didn’t expect was the way in which a group of boys from the back-woods of Alabama would respond to a 1-0 deficit. The next 30 minutes belonged to Fusion F.C. and just a few minutes after going down–a quick counter attack that involved precision passing at midfield and a well-timed through-ball to the wing produced one of the most beautiful goals I have ever witnessed as a soccer coach as my winger struck the ball first-time from about 30 yards out. The Miami keeper could only look on as the ball curled into the net on the far post.

In soccer we call this type of goal “the equalizer.” Its the moment when a team that is down collectively proves they are equal to the task of coming back from behind. Unlike many other sports, goals are special moments for soccer teams. This was a special moment for my boys–they embraced and congratulated each other because in that moment we had proved ourselves equal to a very good team from a city 15 times the size of our own.

We finished group play with two ties and a win–tying Miami to win our group–the tie-breaker went to a penalty kick shootout which we lost after 10 kicks. Miami would go on to win the tournament. I can’t help to think that it could have been us–we could have been regional champs playing in the national tournament in Phoenix. It wasn’t to be, but we won’t soon forget the equalizer and the determination with which we played to get it.

Previous Post

June 14, 2011

What Do Christians Want From Lebron James?

Next Post

June 15, 2011 Making Sense of "Culture Making", Part 2: Worldviews and Cultural Change

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz