Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 7:52 pm
When thinking of a party for the competition draw, one may envision bright lights, a stage, maybe even a red carpet and some celebrities; a night full of champagne wishes, caviar dreams, and as much panache as the cameras can take.
If one were to send a team full of teenagers to the Cup of Harmony, the draw party may look a little different. A room, a TV, a bunch of kids dressed casually, and some pizza and soda -- a break from the training diet, a little easier for growing kids to get away with.
But for now, the pizza would have to grow cold, as if it were being saved for breakfast. The room’s attention was focused instead on the TV wheeled into the room.
“Legalese will be in Group K…”
Arturo Aubry looked around at the crestfallen faces of his underage compatriots, and felt as if they had just been introduced to the concept of a grim man’s evening -- even if he was still at least a decade away from being old enough to experience one himself.
“Aw, Poafmersia! They almost made the World Cup!”
“And Eshialand! They’re really good!”
No mention of Guanacasteca, who also finished better in their group than Legalese, albeit on fewer points. This is going to be a tough group, Arturo thought, hoping his face would not betray the same.
Fortunately, his mind was occupied by a different emotion: confusion. Just one cycle ago, Legalese was on the cusp of qualifying for a World Cup -- they got in due to the situation in South Osettia, but otherwise would have fallen short had they not been taking on hosting duties in SO’s stead. Yet now, just four years later, here they were, playing against three nations that must be brand new to the occasion, and yet two of the three were ranked above Legalese.
He took a second to ponder the disconnect, before shaking it off as being so ridiculous, it couldn’t be true because it made no sense.
“Listen up, kiddos,” he said to the room. “We knew going into this that we’d be the underdogs. Hell, you’ve been facing that your whole lives. The first time you took the pitch, the Starblaydi side was so dismissive of you, they thought that four men could beat up on eleven elementary school kids. And what did you all do? You played them to a draw!”
“You know what to do when your backs are against the wall -- you push back and find your way forward. And these teams are just the teams to do that against -- both of the higher seeds like to attack as well, which means they’ll take some risks in the back, and make a mistake. What are we going to do?”
“Press the advantage!” The room cried.
Arturo smiled. Maybe I should get into this managing thing.
If one were to send a team full of teenagers to the Cup of Harmony, the draw party may look a little different. A room, a TV, a bunch of kids dressed casually, and some pizza and soda -- a break from the training diet, a little easier for growing kids to get away with.
But for now, the pizza would have to grow cold, as if it were being saved for breakfast. The room’s attention was focused instead on the TV wheeled into the room.
“Legalese will be in Group K…”
Arturo Aubry looked around at the crestfallen faces of his underage compatriots, and felt as if they had just been introduced to the concept of a grim man’s evening -- even if he was still at least a decade away from being old enough to experience one himself.
“Aw, Poafmersia! They almost made the World Cup!”
“And Eshialand! They’re really good!”
No mention of Guanacasteca, who also finished better in their group than Legalese, albeit on fewer points. This is going to be a tough group, Arturo thought, hoping his face would not betray the same.
Fortunately, his mind was occupied by a different emotion: confusion. Just one cycle ago, Legalese was on the cusp of qualifying for a World Cup -- they got in due to the situation in South Osettia, but otherwise would have fallen short had they not been taking on hosting duties in SO’s stead. Yet now, just four years later, here they were, playing against three nations that must be brand new to the occasion, and yet two of the three were ranked above Legalese.
He took a second to ponder the disconnect, before shaking it off as being so ridiculous, it couldn’t be true because it made no sense.
“Listen up, kiddos,” he said to the room. “We knew going into this that we’d be the underdogs. Hell, you’ve been facing that your whole lives. The first time you took the pitch, the Starblaydi side was so dismissive of you, they thought that four men could beat up on eleven elementary school kids. And what did you all do? You played them to a draw!”
“You know what to do when your backs are against the wall -- you push back and find your way forward. And these teams are just the teams to do that against -- both of the higher seeds like to attack as well, which means they’ll take some risks in the back, and make a mistake. What are we going to do?”
“Press the advantage!” The room cried.
Arturo smiled. Maybe I should get into this managing thing.