Soccer Fever!

Soccer fever has gripped Doublecreek this week.  Well, that’s not exactly true – soccer fever is always gripping Doublecreek.  But this week the fever has taken the form of the DC Cup.  I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute, the World Cup is still two years away.”  True, the World Cup happens every four years, but at Doublecreek, the DC Cup happens every summer! 

This summer, the countries represented by the teams in the DC Cup are:  Italy, England, Spain, Jamaica, Brazil, Mexico, Germany and the USA.  Players are selected at random.  It’s not a totally blind draw, as we try to have an equal number of boys and girls on each team. We also have an equal number of counselors on each team.  The tournament is run as professionally as possible.  There is a referee (Austin W.), linesmen with red flags, and a set time to play.  We even have brackets to fill out.  We also require lots of water breaks! 

For at least one week out of the summer, Doublecreek has an international flavor.  Campers become identified with a country they may not know existed until they become members of the pseudo-national team.  For some campers, the DC Cup is also a quick geography lesson.

I don’t get to watch as much of the DC Cup as I would like, but the snipits I have seen are very entertaining!  The skill level of the players is as wide as the age range found on the field.  There are players who are very adept, while others are still learning.  But, it’s hard for the skilled players to dominate since we’re playing on a field (pitch) that’s one-third the size of a regular soccer field (pitch), with the same number of players going at each other.  But that doesn’t matter.  The campers are playing for the pride of their countries! 

What makes the matches compelling is that the campers really care.  Now it’s not a “do or die” atmosphere that you find in the real World Cup where losing coaches are fired or exiled if they lose.  Of course, with the DC Cup, that’s a moot point since we don’t have coaches.  We don’t have television or radio.  We don’t play with millions of fans hanging on every play or with announcers who lose their minds when their team scores a goal.  Now we do have announcers, usually a camper with a mike channeling their inner Chris Berman, in front of dozens of campers (some playing 4-Square, some dancing to music and some actually watching the game).  

Let’s stress the word, "game.”  The DC Cup is fun!  The team that wins has fun, but the losing team also has a great time.  I’m not sure what the winning DC Cup teams get for their efforts.  It isn’t fame or endorsements.  I think they get a free Sonic drink.  That may not sound like much in the professional soccer world, but let’s keep this in perspective.  Have a good time AND win a Sonic drink – that’s a pretty good deal!  And you don’t need an agent to negotiate it for you!

 -- Joe Ray

Here's the link to this week's video:  https://vimeo.com/225593676