I don’t necessarily feel compelled to address every interview I do but this particular one with The Original Winger was something off the beaten path for me and a great opportunity to sound off in a different realm. I can only see it being really of interest if you enjoy soccer/football since it is heavy on that end, but I do thank Brian “Dunny” Dunseth (time to drop some credentials!!!… former USNT captain/MLS player/current Fox Soccer Channel analyst) for the opportunity. I was never really much into soccer/football other than the tactical/technical side (which has changed), I actually hate watching it, so I think I have to offer some different insights on soccer/football culture.

But up until a few months ago, something that was so ingrained in me and such a huge part of my life was absent since I quit playing soccer/football. Not to say I wasn’t happy with the way shit was going for myself. But despite going from playing soccer/football as a big chunk of my life or some how organizing my life to accommodate the game, after my last season in Hong Kong, I was surprisingly able to put it down with ease. I’m not sure why it came so easily and it made me question, how much did I actually enjoy playing the game. Just a quick look back, as a keeper I think I loved the fact that it was a high-pressure position but ultimately I came to the realization that I just wasn’t good enough to play at a “high” level (even if it was only in HK). This can and could fuck with many people and even take the lives of those who get driven over the edge (RIP Robert Enke). But for me, disappointment was easy to wash away with a realist mentality. I have to give a shout-out to my University of Alberta coach Len Vickery, cause he’s the one that instilled a sense of quality and a need to be better in soccer/football but I inevitably carried over elsewhere. I can wholeheartedly say that I still hear those words echoed through my mind when I undertake any task haha.

After some pressure from my dad, I picked things up once again and joined a local league. A profound interest and appreciation came back quickly. Soccer/football has always been a huge thing for my dad. I may have been wrong, but I equated success in playing as success as a son. I highly doubt my dad would use this as a measuring stick, but I really didn’t care. I was probably a bit naive to think it was that simple, but I knew it held some weight. As I returned to playing, the biggest difference was the fact I didn’t play in goal and played the field I think; Something I hadn’t done since I was probably 10 years old or younger. I was after all looking to use this as sort of a weekly fitness session more so than anything. But it was like learning to play soccer/football all over again. A keeper is in my opinion an extremely specialized position and I think from a technical standpoint, aside from only a handful of basic techniques in in-step passing and driving balls with your laces, there’s little overlap. A keeper will rarely need to whip in a ball from the touchline with pace and swerve, or use the outside of his boot among other skills. This in addition to positioning, where to make runs and reading the game as an attacker all contribute to a new set of unfamiliar challenges. Over the last little while, soccer/football has become such a focal point for me. All that time I was spending in the gym seems to not be a lost cause any more haha and I have a reason to stay off the piss on weekends in anticipation of game day on Sundays. I’ve always been a student of the game so to say and I had to be cause I wasn’t going to get that far based on physical ability and talent and this whole experience has become this sort of new-found inspiration. Working hard and trying to figure things out for yourselves in a situation that has quantifiable results is what I deem fun. Progress is semi-trackable despite the fact the scoreline isn’t always indicative of performance.

As always, I some how find a way to inter-relate different issues. As I began to write this piece, I sort of wondered what made me so interested in getting back onto the pitch? Most of all, I felt a new-found sense of inspiration. I think it was the new set of challenges for me. Once again, not a revelation by any means, but maybe I can spell it out. For me (and I *think it has carry-over to other realms), anybody who doesn’t feel inspired, I think it’s a bullshit excuse for not going out and pursuing things in life. What you pursue and the subject matter isn’t necessarily the focus, it’s the active notion of going out and seeing what’s up. I got into a little spat with a friend a few weeks ago cause I called her ignorant for feeling un-inspired (I took her shit out of context too I think haha). Blunt… yeh I think so but I still stand by my words on the relationship of inspiration and ignorance. If you’re un-inspired, I think that a quick-fix is to find something that challenges you and is difficult, such as learning. I equate it to the the little genius kid who’s bored out of skull at school cause everything is so easy until they throw him into some university program and he cures cancer. If you know everything, about everything than perhaps you can assume the title of “officially un-inspired”… but until then, there’s way too much interesting shit in this world for you to go out and actively seek. Any industry cats that are feeling like things are stagnant need to just go out and see what else is on tap. I’m sure there’s a particular angle I may be missing or didn’t see but on the real… go check something new out today. You may not like what you see now, tomorrow or next week, but there’s bound to be something that will pique your interest and inspire you.

-Eugene