I was only about 150 years too late ... Futbal

With the start of the World Cup, I can't help flashing back to that one special day back in 1975.

As a young boy growing up in the Bay Area in the 70's, our home was dominated by big three in sports. What three, you ask? Nascar, Golf and Hockey ... oops, wrong post. Football, basketball and baseball. I learned that sports were more than just the love for the game -- it was passion you had for your team. I lived in a home where the Raiders, Warriors and A's ruled the roost. Naturally, I grew up a Cowboys and Laker fan. I was an A's fan, probably because they won a lot when I was little and my Dad would let us skip school so we could go to playoff games and World Championship parades, but looking back I think I needed a reason for my family to keep me around.

I was usually thrown out of the house every Sunday in the fall, normally for about three hours. Yes, I rooted hard for any team playing the Raiders, and it never took long for me to get the boot. I was always welcomed back home with open arms soon after the game.

It was one of those Sundays after getting the boot back in '75 that I was milling around in my front yard and found a can. It was an Olympia beer can. Yes! Olympia beer. Lucky Lager only came in bottles. I started kicking this can around. I thought, "Maybe I can dribble it like in basketball, but with my feet." I was running around the neighborhood kicking this can. Up and down the street I went for what seemed like hours.

My older brother's friends came out on their bikes, riding in front of me yelling at me, throwing "Mike & Ikes," trying to mess me up. I thought they were a bunch of hooligans. Soon my Dad came out and said to me, "Son, you can come in now." I looked at some of the younger neighborhood kids and told them that I was going to dribble that can down to the gutter and kick it in so I could score a point and win the game I'd just invented. There were about 8 boys watching, and they ran to the curb waiting for me to come down and score. I remember right before I took the shot, looking up and seeing the boys pushing and shoving each other off that curb because they didn't have enough room to stand. I shot and scored ... game over!

As I laid in bed that night I thought about the game I had just created. My mind was going a mile a minute. What if I used a round ball instead of a can? It could be played anywhere. Grass, dirt, and/or pavement. I could use giant hockey goals. The teams would have to go back and fourth for a couple of hours before one team would be allowed to score. Because no one scored, I could have rowdy fans ... call them hooligans and have them throw anything they wanted at opposing players. It could be played on a very small, enclosed field where there wasn't enough room for fans to watch so they would have to fight to get in. It would be a sport for those kids that couldn't hit or catch a baseball; dribble, make a basket, or throw; catch, run or tackle ... football. Remember, this was the 70's and we had 7-Up (the un-cola) and I created this game that was the un-sport. The following Saturday, I was watching the Wide World of Sports and they were showing this game from England called "soccer." It was exactly like the sport I thought I created. I thought about the age of the earth, and realized I was only an eyelash from inventing my new sport.

World Cup starts today and just like in years past, I will put on my Red, White and Blue colors to show support for Team USA, but I'm once again pulling for that team from Brazil. I remember Stanfurd (Cal fans spell it that way) stadium in '94. Those fans really know how to party.

"Wise Guy"