SO there he was, The Offsider, pondering which path to take for his weekend run last Friday night as he sat beneath a pale yellow moon drifting in and out of scales of grey clouds borne from a powerful front heralding heavy rain, icy winds and a massive winter swell.
The phone call offering him a spot in the town football team as 5th choice keeper made his mind up. He knew accepting risked sacrificing other obligations but it was also important for The Offsider to prove - if only to himself - he could still hack it. He dug out his boots, which had cost all of $3 at the local flea market several years ago, and drove south on Saturday morning in persistent rain. A good day to be a keeper. He walked into the changing rooms to find everyone happy to see him. High fives, handshakes and raised eyebrows all round made him feel part of the family.
He ran out to play behind a central defensive unit featuring two footballers whose careers he'd really enjoyed monitoring over the past decade: Brazilian Vander Dos Santos and local lad Jared Olsen. Never tested once in the game and bored, The Offsider began offering false player of the day citations to anyone who gave him a back pass. Still inspiring to see the team employing the early passing game he'd always advocated, watching the youngsters step up, and how Olsen and dos Santos linked to protect their keeper. It was too wet to bring the camera out, even for an occasion of this magnitude, while his wife and daughter remained in a misted-up car thus missed most of what may have well been the last proper game he'll ever play. Having left at 9am to make the matinee kick-off, then staying for a quick beer and sausages and chips to make it home around 6pm, a nine-hour journey to stand in the cold wind and rain for 90 minutes had been worth every second.
It was fitting the match took place on the last days of May, The Offsider's favourite month of the year with its contrasting colours from sunlit mountains against storm-laden skies, while the sight of fallen leaves swept into the cool air by a sportsmobile rushing down a country lane led to faded memories of a child looking forward to the game every frostbitten Saturday morning in Wellington. The breath in the air, the smell of liniment, butterflies fluttering in his stomach and the clank of sprigs on the changing room floors while he laced his boots, trying to remain expressionless while the gaffer read his name out in the starting line-up.
It was also a time of year when the white-tail spider bite which had nearly killed him a year ago again begAn to flare again, as if one of the deadly little eight-legged blighters was nearby sensing his fear. He hadn't seen any recently but that didn't mean they weren't there waiting for the right moment to strike ... On the other side of the world, the various European football competitions he followed were being wrapped up. Manchester United deservedly crowned English champions earlier in the month but disappointment for The Offsider's Tottenham Hotspur in missing out on a place in next year's champions league, the situation made even worse with the spot instead taken by hated arch-rivals Arsenal. At least Spurs' wonder striker Gareth Bale was named EPL Player of the Year.