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Our School’s First Football Team. London 1960.

kevin raymond

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 The first few games? We strolled “em”
So our confidence was high
We won two-one, three-nil, and kinda showed “em”
That we were a pretty decent side.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Our expectations started rising
As we did up the league
Which was not at all surprising
With a bunch of praying nuns behind our team.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Then our carefree style came crashing down
With one almighty bang
As the league champions came rolling in to town
And that, as they say, was that.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 I’ve never felt so scared before
Stood alone between them upright sticks
Nowt I did could halt the score
From that bunch of brilliant skillful kids.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Some of me mates from school had, had enough
With twenty minutes on the clock
Four nil down and getting stuffed
“Sir I’m almost sure I’m injured, please sir, can I come off?”.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 But Sir was having none of it
“Get back on yer feet and play
If we were winning, you’d be swanning it”
Yeah but when you’re getting easily beat,
That’s a whole new different ball game!

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Seven nil, it ended up, and in deep despair
I slouched off the field shot-shocked
They were firing shots in from everywhere
My poor fingers swollen hot

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 “Three cheers for the winners”
Our captain shouted loud
With tears of defeat from us naive beginners
As we slumped wearily, and dejected from the ground.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 Us bunch of kids had a painfull lesson learnt
As we trudged home across the park
No-one told us, you could get yer fingers burnt
When yer played this football lark!

© Kev 2008

Notes

Our convent school had never had a football team, so the nuns, bless them all, hired a trainer, of sorts, to get us in shape for a crack at trying to win the league or some such madness, with the schools very first football team.

Opening few games of the season? We were invincible, this football larks pretty plain sailing….then we played the team who had won the league, the year before. Who (the other team) were playing another kind of game, on a totally different planet to the one we were mucking about on.

They seemed like giants and every rocket shot, that hit me, felt like it was gonna put me in the hospital. I ached all over from some of the ones I managed to stop. My uncle Stephen,(in the team as well) God bless him for trying to stop me from bursting into tears from the shame of such a painfull, devastating defeat, even asked me if I wanted to come out of goal and let him have a go after the seventh one flew in!

So,for a bunch of care free eight year olds, a real painfull lesson was learned on never ever taking anything for granted, especially if it’s to do with the beautiful game of ….football. Where all men, women, boys and girls were not equal…..no matter what they (our teachers and the nuns) tried to tell us, someone will win and someone will have to sadly and painfully lose. That day it was …us

Which is the always hardest part, of our great game, to accept.

peace

kev

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/our-schools-first-football-team-london-1960/?shared=email&msg=fail