SujeongSeo 201101640/Playing soccer in the rain/Dec 27

Playing soccer in the rain is beautiful extreme sport. Imagine softly falling rain, an open soccer field, the smell of wet grass and you feeling the raindrops. It sounds lovely. However, if you're in there as a soccer player, things change. It's kind of battlefield. The rain block your view, the field is messed up with mud and it's too cold to feel anything. But you have to win with the conditions! Ironically, this situation makes the game more fascinating and I'm a big fan of it. I'll tell you about my first experience of a warfare in the rain.

A women's university soccer match was held in Ga-Pyeong and the weather there was very cold and wet compared to Seoul. Our team members all wore thick padding wear in early November. In the heavy clothes, we were trembling with the cold and fear. I scared of other teams which members are majoring in Physics. While in my club, no one's major is related to Physics so I knew my team is relatively weaker than any other team. Actually, we usually lost in official matches. Even though I'm not that skilled mid-fielder in my team, I really wanted to be of help to team members. The reason why I strongly felt in this way is that I saw my friends crying during last spring match. About that time, it was hard to understand why they cried because I thought we had joined it just for fun. But few months later, we shared each other's thought and then we all began to long for win.

We were mentally strong but the weather seemed to interrupt us. It was raining cats and dogs and the field was terribly slippery. With the worst condition, the match of us vs. Duk-sung Women's University started. Firstly, the view before my eyes was beautiful. The players were all wet like they were taking shower and some players seemed they were doing ballet. And I liked the feeling of raindrops knocking my shoulders. But few minutes later I realized that I totally misunderstood the situation. I started slipping on the ground again and again and I couldn't feel anything of my fingers or toes because it was freezing. It was really hard to control the ball and pass it accurately.

I was so embarrassed but also got excited. And every players looked like crazy. They pushed and tackled very aggressively but the referee barely blew his whistle. And then I thought, "Maybe this field can suit for me!" Actually I'm an offensive player and good at physical fight, but every time I had to be careful about the whistle and cards. But that time, the captain of my team made a sign with her eyes then I exchanged glances with rest of members. I started aggressively defend the best strikers and wingers in the opposing team. My soccer socks slipped down, the shin guards came away from my legs and the shoelaces came untied. The strikers and wingers, who I was blocking, started to use four-letter words but I just gave them bright smile. Eventually, the game ended in a draw. We patted on each other's back and we were happy as a team because all of us tried our best. We were so exhausted and I and some friends lied down on the wet grass. In the cold rain, I felt some kind of hotness in my mind.

This is the happiest memory I've experienced in this year. After the match, I had to be in bed with a cold for two days. Playing soccer in the rain is dangerous but the risky side makes players crazy and lively. I'm looking forward to do it again in springtime.