On a beautiful fall afternoon you can sit in Mile High Stadium and watch a Denver Broncos game. Or you can sit in a lawn chair right here in River City and watch a bunch of 12-year-old girls play soccer. Thanks to my friend Katie, I've become a soccer junkie.
Soccer is a very old game. Most reference books simply say that the game pre-dates recorded history, which is close enough for me. It is still the most popular game in the world and is probably played in every town in America by kids of all ages and both sexes.The girls are great fun to watch. At 12, there are short ones and tall ones and chubby ones and slim ones. And they're all beautiful. Some are natural athletes and some are not, but they have all learned to play well. For some reason which eludes me, most of them are named Megan or Katie or Emily. I wonder what was in the water 12 years ago. If I stand up and yell, `Good job, Katie,' I'm pretty safe. There are three Katies and a Caitlin.
I remember when these girls started playing in the third grade. They stood around in mortal fear that the ball would come to them and they would have to do something with it. They were polite and unassertive, as good little girls had been taught to be. They tended to apologize if they bumped into another player and were miffed if another player pushed them. Little by little they learned the athletic skills, and now at 12 they have also learned a great lesson for their future as women - you've got to defend yourself and fight for the ball. Maybe the newfound aggressiveness is partly the result of middleschoolers having more energy than they know what to do with. Soccer is a great way to vent it without getting in trouble.
Henrietta Hay
Cox News Service