Trash Talk

Went to see one of M*'s last football (soccer) matches yesterday. He plays for the Judge MBA team. Most of the University of Cambrige teams that they play against are college or department teams made up of students who are around for two or more years. The Judge team has only been playing together since late September, and their schedule does not allow that much time for practice. This information is a preemptive explanation of why their team is ranked in the bottom of the second division.

Saturday's match was against Churchill College—a team ranked second in the first division. I showed up for the last half-hour, and the score was tied 0-0. This may have been the reason that players on the Churchill team, especially the goalie, were pissed off and spewing uber-crude taunts. I'm sure they expected to beat Judge by at least four or five goals. I felt myself physically reacting to their rants (increasing heart rate, tightening stomach). If this is how a University of Cambridge team behaves, I can't imagine some of the language dished out by the English club teams. The final score was 2-0 Churchill: the goals allowed once the Judge first string team called for substitutions. M* left the game during the last 10 minutes: his left leg sporting a nasty scrape and beginning to swell and bruise.