In the beginning, there is nothing: then as the game begins thousands and thousands of fans are screaming and shouting, their aggressive chants arguing from one side to the other like waves of crashing sound, growls and insults rattling across the stands to build up confidence for their team and drain away confidence for the opposite team. At every chance scored or missed the fans are forever going crazy.
As all teams do, they put on a show for the fans with their fancy footwork and amazing long range and short passes which make the crowd start chanting – a cheeky noise which normally builds in a wave which ends in laughter that makes it look like a mockery to the opposite team. They start singing players’ names to keep them playing well, but sometimes the fans put their own team down by reacting badly especially when their team misses an important opportunity. However, all crowds are different – they might take it as a good thing where their team’s being positive by being on the front foot and creating chances, or they will react badly by hurling stuff on the pitch as their team keep missing chances and the crowd doesn’t think they can dig out a goal.
To me watching the games it always feels like the game is played at a fast tempo where there’s a lot of fast physical players with unbelievable talent zooming from one end to the other with the ball. The amount of challenges that goes on is crazy; there’s some really good challenges and some really bad challenges, but once you start to look into the game it’s like it goes in slow motion and you see everything in pure detail – the foul language, every drip and drop of sweat and rain you can only see when the floodlights are on. Most people in the world will probably say, “Oh it’s football, it’s just a game” . No it’s not just a game! It’s everything to the players – it’s their career. Every time they go out onto the pitch they have got to go through the abusive language (racism) and they are also at risk that their careers can end from one single challenge – just go and witness the amount of fitness you need to last the whole 90 minutes. The game’s intensely emotional; the the ups and down of emotions you have in one hour and a half is completely abnormal, and I leave the match feeling like I was on a never ending roller coaster.
From the player’s perspective:
As I come out of the tunnel, it feels like a long journey to success. I can hear the crowd roar; they can’t see us, but we can hear them. There’s a trickling feeling on your skin while you have butterflies in your stomach, and the prickling of sweat starting to appear on your fingertips as the rate of your heart increases. It brings me happiness as I’m coming out the tunnel because the crowd starts singing my name recording and taking pictures of me; they probably think we don’t notice, but we do. If we didn’t have to go onto the pitch so quickly I know I would make a fans day by giving them a free shirt or signing an autograph, because without the fans football will never be the way it is today.
The game starts, the whistle blows. The ball is streaking across the slick smooth grass. And every pass that’s made, you can see the little sprays of water as the ball cuts through the grass. You make space, calling for the ball to give your team mate an option before he gets tackled – but he wastes the opportunity.The crowd gets frustrated. I get frustrated. Our manager jumps out of his seat and starts swearing in a different language . My team mate gets injured; now he has to come off, all because he didn’t pass the ball. Now I have to go into a position I didn’t want to play in. My eyes roll; then I spit on the ground. The opposite team player sees I’m annoyed so he mutters a sly comment underneath his breath thinking no one could hear, so next time he get the ball there’s a high possibility a nasty challenge will be put upon him. The crowd goes wild – they love it. The opposite team hates it; I get booked then get subbed off. I take off my top and walk into the changing room consumed with regret, flashbacks of everything that happened in the game repeating in my head, thinking why did I do this? I’m panicking a little bit, thinking about the consequences and what the manager’s going to say. I might not get picked at all for the squad – I probably won’t make the bench. Anger starts to kick in . I throw my boots at the wall. See, football’s not just a game – it’s our heart and passion. Now my face is in my hands thinking about the worst that could come out of it.
Your sincerely,
Makai Byrne
February 18, 2016 at 10:18 am
Hi Makai,
Some feedback.
1) You need to check all the punctuation and spelling throughout the piece. It’s not accurate enough!
2) Focus on the five senses: what you can see, hear, smell and touch. You don’t need to cover all of these, but focus on the ones that you can. There isn’t enough description in the first part of your piece. The player’s perspective is better.
Mr O’B
March 20, 2016 at 11:37 am
Hi Makai,
This currently sits at 25/40 (D3). A C is one mark away.
The previous feedback still applies. You need to work on commas and separating sentences throughout your writing.
You should also avoid using ‘I’ in the first part. You can use first person from the player’s perspective.
Mr O’B