skool day Football

Those were the days when we enjoyed pure unadulterated childhood days. We were not influenced by the media to a large extent. We loved to what we liked and not the celebrities promoted. The game of football at school is one such example.

Football at school was a totally different ball game as to what it is today. We get 2 or 3 physical educations per week and it was loved by everyone. Our PT master gets to choose what we play and sometimes he asks for votes too. Football was one of our favorite choices. (Cricket was never in the menu)

We had our own rules for football. The weakest link in the class gets to be the goal keeper. If any kid is sick or just returned from sick leave he will be goal keeper by default. We had a concept of ‘goalie change’. Just when the opponent advance to the post, the most talented player in the team will shout ‘goalie change’ and replace the weak keeper. Also during penalty kicks we do the goalie change.

Talking about penalty kicks; we had no D line. During penalty kicks the distance from post to ball will be measured by foot. Often this distance is debated upon and negotiated between the teams.

We never knew how to pass the ball around properly. The ball was kicked around the ground randomly and claimed and kicked by anyone. Often all 20 players would surround the ball and it would look like a mob in fury, from a distance.

And ya! Actually there would never be 11 players in each team. The class would be divided equally. Sometimes 7 and sometimes 20 on each side is a common sight. The teams would often be the two sections of the class.

To make things simpler and his life easier the PT master never told us about off-side. We were happily running around with the ball. But hand ball and bullying is a serious offense. Free-kick will be granted on spot. And ofcourse there would heated arguments about the exact coordinates of the foul spot.

Our matches are always high scoring matches. We have scored upto 10 goals against each other. We were not used to half time, instead we run actively in the ground continuously for about 1 hour or more.

Most of the time our PT master is the referee. He finds himself a comfortable tree shade and sits on a chair and would whistle if there is a goal or foul. Sometimes we appoint one of us as referee.

Toss is an important factor for us because only half the ground has sun shade from trees. The winner chooses the coolest side for his goalie to rest. We never had fancy Jerseys, shin guards or football shoes. Yet injuries were rare and we enjoy healthy game every-time on the ground.

I truly, madly, deeply miss those golden days and the fun we had at field. Today football to me is limited to the tv. The maximum exercise would be me jumping from my sofa and whistling when my favorite team scores.

(My first post from WordPress for Android)