Soccer Fever....or Delirium...not sure which

SOCCER FEVER....(or delirium, I'm not sure which!)

OK, long story short, Parri and I have been wanting to start a women's soccer team for about 2-3 yrs. but it just has never worked out yet. So a couple of weeks ago we decided we were just gonna do it! There's a local indoor soccer place in Bremeton that holds all different leagues of play. We called a bunch of friends and in less than 2 hrs., had enough interest to put together a good size team! Our season doesn't start until June 5th, which means that we have some time to get into shape. Perfect. Neither of us has ever played indoor soccer and thought it might be wise to go down there and see the fields, kick some balls around etc.....So, we met up there this morning, payed our $3 and headed down to the field. There was 8 ladies there we didn't know, but looked like they all knew each other and were maybe there for a practice. No problem, there's more than one field--we're thinking. As we are down putting on our new, fresh-smelling leather shoes, some of the ladies come over and invite us to play a game with them. What???!!!?? "Oh no, thank you very much for the invitation, but neither of us has played for over 10 yrs., we just came down to kick some balls around". Well, those ladies were not about to take "no" for an answer, because they were short on players and didn't have enough. So, we get roped into a game. Parri and I exchange nervous looks, but decide to take our chances. I mean, how bad could it be?? After all two of the women are in their 60's and the rest are about our age, give or take. They assured us it was really low-key, just for fun. They were right, but someone forgot to tell that to my legs!!! 5 minutes into the game my lungs were on FIRE!! Parri came over and asked if my lungs were burning and if that was normal??? I said "when you are as out-of-shape as we are, it is." I almost quit at that point, but somehow convinced myself that I could just take it a little easy. (Easy isn't an option when a 60 yr. old woman is beating you to the ball!! ) My legs went to jelly 2 different times as I was running for a ball and I almost fell! NO JOKE! Even with Parri and I playing, we were short 1 player for each team, so there were no subs! We ended up playing for over an hour straight--sprinting! (well as close as I can get to it at this stage) We really had a great time and some of the old skills came back, (have you ever heard the phrase "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"?)but I have a feeling that I may have to spend the rest of the weekend in bed! I was breathing so hard after the game that as I was driving home, I almost had to pull over because I was getting light-headed, ready to black out. So there you have it, the utter humiliation of a former athlete who thinks they are still young!
(PS we are planning to go and play again next week :) )

Here we are with some our soccer friends a few months later....