I have been playing soccer for almost my entire life now.  I really love the game and competing against other people.  I also love winning.  What I don’t love so much is losing.

Today we played the Dunn School soccer team and lost, but as I was driving home from the game, I realized that I was not upset at all. I actually had a smile on my face.

For the first time in over a decade of playing soccer I finally realized what it means to play the game.  Playing soccer is not about one team winning or anything, it’s about two teams going out on a field and playing their hearts out.  That’s what happened today.  It was by far the most fun game I have ever played.

I was constantly smiling and making jokes with opposing players, and when it came to one on one with the ball, the competition was always in good spirits.  Both teams played extremely well and there was a true sense of healthy competition.

Before today I never understood why in professional leagues players from opposite teams would talk to each other and joke. To me the other team was always the enemy and there should be no fraternization.  But once again today’s game brought down my preconceived notions of camaraderie and I did speak with players after the game.

Overall although we lost, I myself, and I think the team as a whole, learned more today then we have all season, and from here on OVS will see a different team.