A Tale of Two Games

It would be a gross understatement to say that my neighbor is like a father to me, so I took him seriously when he asked me to play in his first and perhaps last soccer match after he turned 60. However, Mauritania is a bit far away and I can’t leave the country for the first three months without being kicked out of the Peace Corps, so actually being there for the game was not an option. Instead, I arranged a game here to be played at the same time, which happened to be midnight, so I could be with him in spirit. Initially I was worried that it would be difficult to get people to agree to play so late, but I explained the situation and aside from the fact that they didn’t believe that you could be friends with someone that much older than you, they liked the idea. Really though, people here pretty much don’t need an excuse to play soccer.

We were six versus six, playing in the moonlight, because the electricity to the whole town shuts off at 11pm, on a patch of sand that had more cow patties than it did players. The other team scored three points early but we rallied and ended up winning the night with six points to their five. It was a very fun night and in the end I not only was able to be there in spirit but I actually started a tradition of late night games on the weekends (when there is enough moonlight).

Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/z.swank/JackSSoccerGame#