Soccer anyone?

Losing is not a problem, but I like to win just as much as the next guy.

So it was cool as hell to win a soccer competition yesterday at the IAMO Sommerfest 2005.

The day began with a "friendly" match between the lady researchers and the lady administrators. Sometimes these two groups butt heads, so the match had an air of excitement to it. The crowd wanted to see some blood. At least I did...

Both teams played well and thouroughly sportswomanlike, but the difference was in the goalies. The administrators had long before decided on who would play goalie, and the girl had trained for weeks in preparation for the match. She was intimidating and efficient, swatting away all the researchers' shots with her gloved hands.

The researchers' goalie, on the other hand, was like a hotel doorman – she let just about everything in.

Final score: Researchers 0, Administration 3.

There were four men's teams in the round-robin competition and simply put, I thought my team was gonna get spanked. I've played soccer for all of 6 months, and of my teammates, the only one I knew hadn't exercised since his baby was born a year ago.

The other teams were all stacked with talent – each one having a standout player who, when we play against each other, makes me look slow and stupid.

But the Ukrainian and the Belorussian boys on my team played well, and as a team we were able to set each other up for shots, play reliabe defense, and our goalie allowed only one goal in two games.

In the end it was the Danish goalie's stingy defense, the Belorussian boy's passing and attacking, the American's hustle and scoring, and the Ukrainian's footwork and hat-trick that brought us the trophy – a bottle of champagne.

And like the competitive fool I am, I remain completely full of myself.