Sports, Netting and General Enjoyment

Well, it’s not chasing a greased pig around a field, but I suppose regular football is more humane. A lot less squealing as well.

Truth be told, I always enjoyed a good greased pig chase, back when I was in the other realm. Wizards weren’t expected to engage in such frivolity, especially since physical activity of that sort carries the risk of wrists injuries and such, which would make certain spellcasting tricky. So we got to sit on cushions in our special wizard spectator box, snacking on crackling and sending up fireworks from our fingertips to cheer on our teams.

Things are not so different here, I suppose. I went to my first soccer game last weekend, and much of the same things happened. Soccer is a game played with a ball, a soccer ball, and you must kick the ball into the netting, the soccer net to be precise. I was invited by some work friends, after I let slip that I’d never even heard of soccer. At first I thought they were going to point the fingers of accusation and declare me to be a secret wizard, for who hasn’t heard of insert thing?? Instead, they invited me to a game, being fans and all.

It was very nice. Also, very windy. The people kicked the balls into the net, and sometimes they kicked the ball into the net but they were stopped by the other people. I never thought that non-magical sports could be any fun, but the energy was quite infectious and the snacks were hot and satisfying. There were no fireworks- apparently they are bound by special tenets in this place- but there was cheering and such.

I should like to sample other sports. Apparently there is one known as tennis, where a smaller ball, a tennis ball, is hit with an implement, a tennis racket, over a net, tennis netting. It sounds a little bit like Ogre Ball, except played by humans, without the boulders and a lot less collateral damage. Also, tennis is NOT bound by special tenets, under pain of banishment.

-Dav