faulker009

Like many kids 13 and under, I grew up playing soccer. And like most kids 14 and over, it stopped there. I did play on my fraternity’s intramural soccer team in college, but I probably did it to give me one more excuse to avoid going to class. In my town growing up, we had a team from the North American Soccer League, the NASL. The NASL was THE professional outdoor soccer league in this country from 1968 to 1984. We went to quite a few games, which were played in the same stadium where our NFL team played its games. The only difference was the NFL team would sell out the 60,000 plus seats, while the NASL soccer team would draw about 3,000. So if you chewed too loud on your popcorn at the soccer game, the goalie could hear it. We were told in the 70’s that with the amount of kids playing soccer it would be the next great sport in the United States. We were told in the 80’s that with the amount of kids playing soccer it would be the next great sport in the United States. We were told in ...

It’s time to play the game that’s sweeping the nation: So What Would You Do? A couple of days ago, I was playing a game of video baseball in the basement with my son.  He won 5-2 on an opposite field three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Cheater.  But I digress. As I’m headed upstairs, I notice that the area where my autographed baseballs are displayed looks a little empty.   As I go to check it out, I notice there are three balls out of their cases, sitting in the open air on the counter. One of the balls was signed by Joe Dimaggio & Mickey Mantle, one was signed by Pete Rose and one was signed by a bunch of people I couldn’t read. As I headed that way, I could hear my son gasp. These balls, handed down from my dad, hold some serious sentimental value, in addition to some serious financial value as well. So seeing them on the counter with no protection really freaked me out. So What Would You Do? Before you answer, here’s what I did. I used my outdoor voice, ...

Drive through my neighborhood on any given Saturday during this time of year and you will literally sees millions of kids playing organized soccer. Well maybe not millions, but it sure feels like it. My six-year old daughter is one of them. Sometimes I think she that just loves hanging out with her friends and doesn’t even realize that she is playing a game. Well actually, it’s not a real game. Since my daughter is only six, they don’t officially keep score.   They want to make sure that everybody goes home a winner. That should prepare her perfectly for real life, right? So I guess that means the goal she scored today didn’t really happen. But I’m glad that she has found an activity that she really likes.  She even enjoys the weekly practice, although a few days ago she almost wasn’t able to join her team. About 30 minutes before practice, when I was working on the computer, she came tip-toeing into the den with tears streaming down her face and a bump underneath her eye. “Wh...