The bell rang for lunch. All the kids in my classed rushed out of their seats and into the courtyard outside. I sat with a few other kids and ate my lunch inside (for some reason the rest had taken their lunches outside, even though there was no lunch room.)When I finished I went outside curious to see what was going on. Outside most of the kids were in the main courtyard playing soccer…with dress shoes and everything. Everyone played from 7th graders to 11th. Feeling a little left out, I went to the oldest looking one and asked if I could play. “Sure” he said in Urdu, then he announced to everyone else that I was on his team. By the time the lunch break ended, I was inwardly smiling and thought ‘Maybe things are looking up now’.
      

Just a few months prior I had moved from the U.S.A. to Pakistan which altered my life, though then I wasn’t feeling so positive about it. In my earlier visits to the country all I did was have fun with my cousins, only when I moved there did I realize living there was much different. Within a few weeks I was struck by typhoid and stayed bed ridden for a month. In around August I got rid of it, only to get jaundice for a week or two. By the time I was fully healed it was almost September and that meant school. In the beginning I was shy and maybe a bit timid but I opened up as time went on. Then came the fateful day when I asked the 11th grader Waseem if I could play with them. Waseem was playing as keeper so he put me at defense, the generic position for newbies. I was told just to kick the ball when it rolled my way and not to do anything else beyond trying to stop the offense. I played fairly well, despite wildly swinging and missing a few balls, and looked forward to each break so I could play. On Friday my class (8th grade) had Games which is basically gym, but it is in the same courtyard we had recess in. Every Games period we played soccer, nothing else. In two years of gym we only had around five to seven days where we played something else rather than soccer, so naturally that just gave me time to improve.
       

As time went on I got better and better. From being one of the last people picked I was in the top 5, right after the strikers. I was a shutdown defensive player and I put myself in the line of fire frequently, putting my body between the ball and the goal. That is what drew the attention and appreciation of not only my classmates but the senior grades as well. I would get hit in the face, thigh, back and almost everywhere with the ball and act as if nothing happened (note, the ball was being kicked at full force). I would collide with guys twice my size, get knocked to the concrete floor and just get back up. I’m not saying it didn’t hurt, it did and it hurt a lot but I just ignored the pain and walked it off. Luckily I have a hard head and heal quickly. I give credit to my mountainous warrior ancestors who passed down good genes to me. Because of that some of the seniors, for some unfathomable reason called me Mark Anthony. At the time I had no idea who that was and when I looked into the matter I was flabbergasted. I mean what exactly do Marc Anthony and I have in common?  I still don’t get it unless it was some sarcastic joke, I mean the guy is a singer and never did any action movies either so it made no sense; though later on I found out about a little known UFC fighter named Mark Anthony. At the end of the year I went to visit my dad in America (he had stayed behind for the Pakistan trip) and my love for soccer increased thousand fold. For that summer was the summer of 2014, and the Fifa world cup was just around the corner.
 

It was a strange coincidence that the year I started to play and like soccer, the very next summer was the world cup. I had seen the 2010 world cup when I was 9 and didn’t remember anything except that Brazil lost to Netherlands who in turn lost to Spain. My uncle had introduced me to soccer and his favorite team was Brazil (because Pakistan’s team never qualified) so it became my favorite too. At the time the only soccer players I knew were Messi Ronaldo and Özil. When I found out Neymar was on the Brazilian squad I was surprised because I thought he was Japanese or Korean. Once the world cup started, I was transfixed. It was the best sporting competition that I have ever seen. Though the end was a bit sour when Brazil lost and my brother’s favorite team, Argentina, lost too. After the world cup I started following soccer in the earnest. Barcelona had been my favorite team only because I knew Messi was there (and even though I had never watched a single match of theirs). I also started to follow the English Premier League, supporting Chelsea because the first EPL game I watched Chelsea beat Liverpool (that was a year ago). Then I found out there was a champions league so I proceeded to follow that also. By the time the visit was over and we went back to Pakistan I was a fully blown soccer fanatic.
  

The 2014-2015 year was a very good one for me. The Arizona Cardinals (my football team) made it into the playoffs again after 5 years. The blues had won the premier league and the trident of Messi Neymar and Suarez had lead Barcelona to a treble ( winning your league, your country’s cup and the Champions League) though immense credit goes  to Luis Enrique, their manager. On top of that we were going back to the US. I was very happy to be back in the states, though I left many good friends behind and had grown to love Pakistan. When I got into high school I made it a must for me to join the soccer team and I did. However transitioning from playing on a real field instead of in the street-soccer kind of ground was a big difference and my playing level plummeted. So I was on the bench for a lot of games. In time though I got used to it and started getting back to my old form. It was this year where I felt that I really started to play well and I began to start games. Before I went to Pakistan my favorite sport was football, with basketball a close second. Going to Pakistan changed all that. I still like football but I lost interest in basketball long ago. Now I have a new favorite sport and it will always be my favorite, soccer, the beautiful game.