Bend It Like Beckham...Or Something Like That

So, I know this kid.

I am a huge fan of his. HUGE, I tell you.

And on Saturday I witnessed something completely awesome and educational: his first soccer game.


Noah "David Beckham" Rymer, the first one in line, warming up for his soccer debut.

Now let's back up a minute. Oklahomans are not known for their soccer skills. Instead, we pride ourselves on football and football. Case in point: I was once on a soccer team called "The Huggabunches." And I wore a pink t-shirt and black shorts and soccer shoes and barely made it through one game before I realized that running that much was overrated and I would much rather be a cheerleader.

However, Colorado is a different place. We wear Birkenstocks. We don't fry all of our vegetables (darn it). We hike...or at least some do. And here, "football" actually refers to the game of soccer.

So, when Noah decided to join a soccer team, I realized that this Soccer Aunt was going to have to learn a few things in order to keep up with the current trends of Colorado kindergartners.

However, after approximately 7.3 seconds into the game, I realized that there isn't a tremendous amount of skill or strategy that is needed, per say. Rather, the goal is to find the ball and kick it. And kick it in the direction of a goal. Hopefully your own goal, but whatev.

While watching the game, I also noticed a variety of other things that were happening simultaneously on the field. Such as:

Kicking dirt

Falling down because it seemed cool

Pulling your jersey over your head while you are supposed to be tending the goal

Yelling to your parents (or grandparents) on the sideline

Running over to your parents (or grandparents) on the sideline to ask for a snack

Crying

Jumping

Pointing

Clapping

Singing

Staring off into space

And so on...

Of course there was a lot of kicking and running going on as well.

And even though no one was "technically" keeping score, Noah's team totally won 4-1. And Noah did an awesome job for his first game. Once, he yelled at us as he was running by, "hey, did you guys see my kick?" Of course we did. It was the best kick of the day.

So the first game was a complete success, dirt-kicking and all. Seriously, I am so proud of this kid. And I look forward to many more "football" games in our future.