I have been watching soccer for over 20 years. I really started to follow during the summer of 1994 when the World Cup was in the United States. The US was not a great team but were fun to watch. I became a spectator, and started to follow the national teams of Germany, Ireland, and the US. When I could find Bundesliga games, I would watch Bayern Munchen and Wolfsburg. I never had any desire to play soccer, that was far too much running.
Something changed in the spring of 2015. Some friends that I had made supporting out local indoor soccer team played in a co-ed league. They needed another guy to play, and as a joke my wife told them to ask me. “You don’t want an out of shape guy that has never played on your team” I told them. But there was something inside me that said “Hey, this might be fun.” After some thought, and a couple of beers watching a game I said “Sure, I will give it a try, but I am telling you, I am going to be horrible.”
Match Day 1 arrived. I had not done training, made no real preparations, just bought some shoes and shin guards. I showed up and was thrown right into the fray. I made it two minutes and 14 seconds before I wheezed out for a sub. I played a total of 24 minutes my first game, not bad for an indoor virgin. The next day was hell, my body hurt everywhere. My legs were throbbing and my feet were swollen. But I survived the game, and I was looking forward to going back the next game.
I have improved some, my fitness has improved a bit, and I am having fun. I have scored some goals, I have made some tackles, and I have fallen down many times. Aside from a suffering a concussion from being checked headfirst into the dasher boards, I have had no major injuries.
I am never going to be a pro, or even a really good amateur player, but it is never to late to start.