About a month before each high school soccer season, I get
this horrible dread that pits in the bottom of my stomach. This is not to say
that I don’t like playing soccer, or that in every second of every game I don’t
spend 110% of my energy trying to outplay, outrun, and outsprint my opponent,
leaving them sputtering in a cloud of turflets. However, just before my first
practice each year, I have that same recurring nightmare of my coach saying “On
the line” in a thick, Russian accent.
Although my usual approach to this dread is to ignore the
problem and pretend that I’m not even going to play soccer until that first day
(which is hard to convince myself of considering I haven’t gone a year without
playing soccer since I was three), this year a Nike advertisement helped get me
pumped for the season (and yes, you can click on the words “Nike advertisement”
to watch the commercial).
Firstly, I am not trying to solicit for any brand nor am I
saying that my sole motivation for playing high school soccer is the sports
gear that comes with it. While the Nike logo is visible throughout the entire
sixty-one seconds, this advertisement also promotes the power and strength that
one can obtain by simply being an athlete. Despite the inspirational song that
plays in the background, I am not fooled by their attempt to depict working out
as fun. Running sprints, doing ladders, and crunching those abs is not fun. So
why do I do it? Why do I endure the horrible dread that pits in the bottom of
my stomach or get on the line after each practice? The answer is simple:
Because I’m an athlete. Because I want to win and if running sprints, doing
ladders, and crunching those abs is what I need to do, then I’ll Just Do It. And while I can’t say I’m
looking forward to all of the stress and the pain, at least I’m ready for it.
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