Football...Again!

Out of the many (and I do mean many!) things I have learned while living here is that there is one sport that can gets hearts racing, blood pumping and tempers rising.....no it's not American football...it is Football as the rest of the world knows it.....for my American friends...a.k.a. soccer.  This is just one of those times that I realized I was living in my own "American bubble" and didn't realize how much soccer really is part of the rest of the world.  I know the U.S. has a soccer team, but no one stays up for Monday night Soccer!  This sport is quite possibly the biggest in the world, and as a typical American, I was oblivious to this fact until I moved here.  When the world cup was held in South Africa last year...you would have thought it was in Nigeria. The amount of advertising and pride that the world cup for football (soccer) was going to be in Africa was so exciting to all the African people..no matter what country they were from.  In our old compound, when there was a game on...you could hear the drivers yelling at the small 12 in.x12in. (or 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm.....yes, my fellow American friends...the rest of the world also uses the metric system....something I struggle with every day I live here...I don't think I can ever get my American brain to figure out the metric system!) Anyway, back to the point at hand.....you could hear the drivers yelling at the television during the game.  I won't even tell you how loud it was when Nigeria played Ghana!!!!

This past weekend, Jeremy started his third season of Football, and he has really come a long way.  I was thinking how awesome for him that he was able to start playing soccer in a country which loves the game!  Click here to see pictures from his first season playing here.  I have to admit, though, it still doesn't sound right when I call soccer football...soccer is soccer and football is football.  I guess no matter where you live...your roots are always with you.:)

E Kaale!  ( for now) :)

Football

Here is the Soccer star!:)

Running towards the ball!!!

Saturday was Jeremy's second football game of the season. Or as we Americans call it...soccer.:) I was going to post pictures from his game last weekend...but couldn't believe that when I tried to turn on my camera last week at the game, I couldn't even take any pictures because the battery was dead. ( I was a very bad mom not being more prepared) Anyway, here are some pictures from Jeremy's game on Saturday. Better late than never! He is doing a great job. This year, he is actually running towards to ball instead of away from it. He even kicked it a few times.:)

Jeremy's Second Soccer Game

Today was Jeremy's second soccer game of the season. He did really well...he played the whole game. I guess by playing, I mean he was out on the field.:) He really likes his pal, Jake, on his team. They are also in the same Pre-K class together. They enjoyed picking grass and occasionally looking to see where the ball was going.:) At least they are having fun, right??!!

Jeremy's First Soccer Game

On Saturday, Jeremy had his first soccer game. We woke up and started getting ready. Thank goodness that this Saturday was Sanitation day. ( This is a day when the people in Lagos have to clean up the areas around their homes. if anyone besides police and doctors are found on the street, they will be arrested and taken to jail. Funny thing is, I didn't even notice a difference.) So, instead of his game starting at 8 a.m. (yikes!!!) it started at 11 a.m. I got Jeremy's shin guards and soccer cleats out. Immediately, Elizabeth wanted to put on the shin guards. She looked so funny running around the flat in shin guards and her sundress. Jeremy liked wearing his cleats because they made a tapping sound on the floor. When we had to leave, Elizabeth was not happy about taking the shin guards off.:) When we got to the field, Jeremy received his uniform, and Guy helped him put it on. Jeremy ran off onto the field ( he is the smallest one on his team) and started practicing kicking the ball into the goal with his friend, Jake. Guy and I were watching Jeremy and his teammates practicing when I noticed a small little girl in a pink sundress running out onto the field to kick the ball. It was Elizabeth!! I had to run out and grab her...she thinks she is one of the big kids.:)

When the game started, it was like watching a herd of tiny horses run on the field. They all just chase the ball around the field. Jeremy was hilarious, he kept picking up grass and looking at it in his hands and trying to show it to Jake who was trying to follow the ball. Jeremy paid no attention to the ball at all for a long time. Then, a light bulb went off, and he started to run in the crowd with the rest of the kids on his team. We were so happy to see him running around with the kids on the field. Then, all at once, Jeremy was crying. One of the children on his team had accidentally run right into his face. Needless to say, Jeremy was crying and didn't want to go back and play again. So, after half time, he sat out and and kicked the ball back and forth with Guy. Elizabeth, on the other hand, kept trying to run back out onto the field to take her brother's place. At the end of the game, Jake came over to Jeremy and told him that he had gotten hurt also, but he had stayed in the game. When I asked Jeremy if he would play again next week, he said," Yeah, I'll play soccer with my friend, Jake." So, will it be the makings of a future soccer star??? Who knows. But, for right now, we'll work on no crying during soccer.:)