Sometimes, I shudder at the state of humankind. Last night I played a late rec-soccer game on the Lister Hall fields. Our team plays in the semi-competitive division of the intramurals and were obviously outclassed against the team we played against. Fine, that's all fine and dandy. It was tied 1-1 after the first half but then the other team scored 5 unanswered goals to win the game. Good for them.

But it was the actions of a couple of their team members that really had me shaking my head. One of the players in particular, wearing a Beckham soccer shirt nattered throughout the second half ... including comments involving the word "pussy" and stuff like "I don't want to make you guys cry". Well, I'm crying all right ... crying out that something isn't right. It is a friggin' rec soccer league! These actions don't belong in a rec soccer league ... one that has in its name "recreation" (I would argue these comments don't belong in any league).

One of the guys on our team commented that I must not play much soccer. He said that this sort of thing is normal. Why the hell is something like this considered normal? It makes me seethe with rage that for all I can tell is impotent. What exactly am I going to say that will change things? Nothing. In fact, anything I say will just be mocked with more of the same. Ugh. I enjoy playing soccer for fun and some good natured competition, but when players make it a place to act with unsportsmanlike qualities, I stop having fun and start wondering what's going on.

Heraldk