SOCCER
Man on, man on...where's our half backs, defence, defence!!!" The words and phrases I often scream until my throat hurts every Sat. morning on Westmount field while playing my favourite sport, soccer. I've loved it for as long as I can remember.
Soccer has been around for years. It was used in villages to pass the time since there was no television and most families were too poor to buy any special games to entertain their children. Time passed and the sport became more and more popular. It was no longer played on the rocky roads of a poor town, but a new sport in which famous athletes participated, creating the World Cup. Every 4 years, the World Cup comes around. It was formed from different teams from different countries and they each played against each other and beat the opposing team out of the league. For the final game you have your two teams that won their way to the top who play against each other until the final whistle is blown and you have your champions.
The most recent men's World Cup was held in France during the year of 1998. The final match was between Argentina and France. A shoot out led to a win for France and it was one of the biggest celebrations in the history of soccer. There is not only a men's World Cup, but women's one exists too. The most recent one was in the year of 1999 and the two final teams were China and the U.S.A. The game was won in a shoot out by the Americans. Their wide success got them on television, radio and in many ads in magazines, mainly for shoes, and on the front page of the Gazette. A study showed that ever since the women's World Cup, many more young girls have joined soccer teams in their home town. There has also been an increase of participation by girls in sports in school. This demonstrates what am impact athletes and sports have on young children.
Soccer has made an impact on girls and boys, men and women, all over the world. From the U.S.A. to Argentina and from Brazil to China, it is simply the dominant sport. It has to be the thrill of running faster than the wind, past your your opponents as you graze the grass, up the field to your final destination, hearing your the cheers of your teammates and the crowd, taking that kick in the net and having the feeling of satisfaction of protecting your teams honour.