The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I love the sport and I felt there was a need for a league”
Soccer, I’m not gonna lie, has got its issues here in the United States of American Football. And in a world, or at least the world of the United States, where goals are the, er, goal, soccer leaves a bit left to be desired. Twenty-two players kick a ball around for 90 minutes, only two can use their hands and games can often end in a 1-1 tie, or 1-0, or even 0-0. Ouch!
I get it—it can be a bit tiresome to watch and it is a strange sport.
When you’re born, you immediately start grabbing things with your hands and things are put into your hands. One doesn’t reach for one’s binky with their foot. Though it is a great way to get said binky closer to you than rolling over on your stomach, spinning around and reaching for it. If only we were born with opposable big toes.
So to play the game, somewhat adequately at least, you need to shun all that’s been forced upon you during some of your most formative years and think differently.
To understand the game is an entirely different beast.
Why kick the ball backwards when the goal is in front of you?
Why kick it to the sides when the goal is in front of you?
Why kick it at all?
Why not just pick it up, run straight-ahead and barrel it into the goal?
That’d be pretty cool, actually. (Note to self: Contact Major League Soccer and suggest new rule about picking the ball up and barreling through people.)
Oh wait—I think that’s called rugby.
Anyway, isn’t it ironic that in almost every sport, at least the ones popular in the U.S., your footwork is the foundation upon which success is built. Sometimes a big guy can make do with brute force and ignorance but even the Fridge had some moves. Joe Jacoby was a damn good offensive lineman and not just because he was six-foot-six, 330 pounds, but he moved his feet.
It also helped that he was six-foot-six, 330 pounds.
So here’s a sport, soccer that is almost primarily footwork yet gets no respect, at least in the U.S.
Sure they wore tiny shorts in the first attempt to bring it to America, the North American Soccer League, but so did the NBA.
Oh wait—all of the best players were, God forbid, foreigners and we’ll ignore the fact that America was built on the efforts of “foreigners.”
But I digress.
And, yes, they do dive a lot, claiming injury only to be miraculously cured by some mystery spray. I’ll give you that, but what about the DL in baseball?
“So and so is on the DL for two weeks with a strained subcutaneous abdominal flexor.”
I’ve watched baseball, grew up watching the Orioles before, during and after Cal Ripken Jr.’s rookie season. I’m pretty sure that you can rehab a strained subcutaneous abdominal flexor shagging the occasional fly ball in the grass during two weeks of games in a 162-game season. When at bat, just act like you’re going to swing. Pitchers are such head cases anyway you may just walk and as we all know, a walk’s a run.
“Good eye, good eye.”
The athleticism of soccer is somewhat difficult to catch. Subtle moves are lost on the big screen and wide-angle camera coverage. Not to mention the rapid fire decisions that need to be made. I’d say that a soccer midfielder makes more split second decisions in a 90-minute game than a linebacker does in a 60-minute game and more than a shortstop makes in a nine-inning game.
Perhaps you’ve noticed I haven’t touched hockey. That’s because hockey kicks ass.
So there you go. Now that you’ve wasted your time reading this, at least you weren’t watching a soccer game, right? Let’s be honest, trying to convince a skeptic about the attributes of soccer is like a Dead Head trying to explain the attributes of the Dead’s music. Because all that the skeptic saw was a band of uglies making noise without noticing the subtleties. And I don’t blame anyone for not liking soccer or the Grateful Dead. Hell, I hate both, at times, as well.
Soccer is gay, the Dead sucked.
Yet, despite the skepticism that is entrenched in the U.S., the sport is blowing up, relatively speaking, that is. Attendance is up, Major League Soccer continues to add teams from cities throughout the country and the sport is even gaining strength amongst the youth in Crested Butte with kids’ participation at an all time high.
That resurgence has a rippling effect that can now be felt among the adults in the north end of the Gunnison Valley. So much so that local soccer enthusiast Drew Canale and Crested Butte Recreation Program coordinator Lauren Alkire are putting together an indoor soccer league starting in January.
“We’re bringing it back and I’m really excited about it,” says Canale.
Local indoor soccer got its start years ago in Jerry’s Gym. Jerry’s Gym posed numerous safety hazards. First, there’s a two-foot-high bench that runs the length of the two sidelines. In addition, on one end there’s a low ceiling and on the other, a stage. Suffice it to say, it’s a miracle that the only major injury suffered over the years was a broken leg, albeit a pretty severely broken leg.
It was during those Jerry’s Gym years that the first indoor league was formed, and a fairly successful one at that. But, as time wore on and players wore down, the league disbanded.
Since then, indoor soccer moved to the larger gyms available at the Crested Butte Community School and pick-up indoor soccer started gaining strength. Several of the South Americans who worked for Crested Butte Mountain Resort started showing up and the scene was a veritable melting pot. The past two winters, indoor soccer tournament fundraisers were organized and both were huge successes fanning the flame of soccer fanaticism once again.
This year, indoor soccer has taken off with as many as 25 players showing up consistently for drop in play the past month. Starting on Monday, January 7, indoor soccer ramps up into a full-blown coed league in the Crested Butte Community School (CBCS) gym.
“There has been a growing interest in soccer, particularly indoor soccer,” says Alkire. “We couldn’t be more excited to add another program as an alternative to traditional winter sports.”
Canale grew up playing soccer outside of Philadelphia, played some in college and has been an enthusiastic supporter of adult soccer and youth soccer in Crested Butte for the past seven years. He believes the talent is peaking this winter and the town is primed for an indoor league.
“I love the sport and felt there was a need for a league,” says Canale. “Honestly, the level of soccer is better than I’ve seen in years.”
Most important, women are back in action among the indoor ranks.
“The women who have been elusive in past years are coming out in numbers this year,” says Canale.
While the official organizational meeting has not been held, Canale already knows of three, possibly four, teams formed from four different municipalities in the Gunnison Valley.
“We got a Crested Butte South team that will be formidable, a team from Mt. Crested Butte and I think we’re going to have at least one Gunnison team as well,” says Canale.
Both Alkire and Canale would like to see at least six teams formed by the start of season. There will be an informational/sign up meeting at the CBCS gym Monday, January 7 at 7:45 p.m. Each team will play four players at a time and there must be one woman one the floor at all times. League night will be Monday nights and each team will get two games per night, each lasting 16 minutes. The season will last six weeks and conclude with playoffs and some serious hardware going to the winning team. The cost per team is $100.
For more information check out the Crested Butte Parks and Recreation website or contact Drew Canale at [email protected].
