Ocular Fusion

The "thrill of victory and the agony of de feet" were everywhere apparent at this year's 2006 Alabama State Soccer Championships this past weekend in Huntsville. Dreams were made and shattered as match after match was decided in sudden-death "golden goal" overtime or kicks from the mark. The biggest thrill was watching the Lady Tigers from Number One son's Grissom High School take home their first blue trophy since 1999 in a thrilling 2-1 victory over arch-rival Oak Mountain. The game was dead-even at 1-1 after regulation and two hard-fought overtime periods and eventually was decided by kicks from the mark (more on that in a moment).

Among the teams whom I hosted for the tournament, one was eliminated in the semifinals while the other one took home their second championship in a row. For the girls team from Gadsden Southside High, it was their first Final Four appearance, and they arrived wide-eyed and eager to get on the pitch and show their stuff. The only problem was they brought only dark socks, and since they were the designated home team for their match, they were required to wear light-colored socks and jerseys. After checking with the head referee, who informed me that they would have to forfeit if they couldn't take the field in white hose, off I went with credit card in hand to make an emergency equipment run to Pete's Soccer Shop. I arrived with 19 pairs of new white socks moments before the team was to be inspected by the referees and sent onto the field.

The Gadsden girls lost 3-0 to eventual champion Briarwood Christian, but their 8th and 9th grader-laden squad put up a good scrap against the older and more experienced Lady Lions. And I must say, those pristine, white soccer socks looked mighty fine. Finally, I got to do something significant as a team host!

My other team was the Homewood High School boys team, the defending 5-A state champs. I had noted Coach Sean McBride's thick Scottish brogue a few nights before on the phone, so I figured that he probably knew his stuff when it comes to real football. His team went out on the pitch and proved my intuition correct, coming from behind in both of their matches to win their second state championship in a row.

But not without a few equipment problems of their own. Moments before the championship began, Coach McBride looked down at his feet and realized he wasn't wearing his "lucky Pumas." He sent word to his wife in the stands who then went and retrieved them from the locker room. Number Three son was standing by the gate to the playing area and he took the handoff from Mrs. McBride and delivered them to Coach just prior to the opening kickoff. After the match, Coach McBride assured me that he really wasn't superstitious, but that he just felt more comfortable in them than the other shoes. Yeah right. I'm glad they won, because that made the first of the teams whom I've hosted over the past four years to finally win a state title. Coach McBride, thanks to you and your crew for finally lifting the "Curse of the Eyeguy."

Words can't describe how it felt watching the Grissom ladies win a state title, so how about a little video instead. The first is of Madison Brakefield, a 5th-year varsity striker who has a throw in technique that you'll absolutely flip over. Madison has signed with Mississippi State, which means that she'll be taking her ninja act all across the Southeastern Conference come fall.

The second video is of Auburn signee Jessica Childress knocking home the winning kick from the mark to seal the title. Jessica was the foundation of the Grissom defense, but we all gasped when she injured her hip in Friday's semifinal. She arrived for Saturday's final taped tighter that King Tut, but she gritted her way through every minute of the game and overtime until finally, as the fifth and final Grissom shooter, she stood one-on-one versus the Oak Mountain keeper with the title on the line.

Say, who's that excited middle-age soccer addict narrating that video? The only way he could be more excited is if the Grissom boys got their act together and won a state championship before a hometown crowd next year.

The ladies have raised the bar gentlemen. Grrrrrr--now let's get to work and go get it!