Personal Narrative: Why I Love Soccer

People would always tell me, “it’s not real”, “it’s just a game”, “why do you even care?” I wouldn't respond because they would never understand. Have you ever had someone just not understand something, no matter how many times it's explained? Yeah, well then I guess you see what I’m dealing with here. Ever since I was a child I have been interested in video games. I don’t know why or how I started to like it. I suspect it was probably because of my friends, they always played them. However, once I found them, I never let go. Gaming for me, puts me in a whole new universe, a place where I would be able to do anything I pleased without any major consequences. It’s an escape from reality.
One of the most influential games I have played is FIFA.
I started playing FIFA only a few years ago, but I still consider it my most influential game.
I always had a love for soccer, so when I found out about the video game version of soccer, FIFA, it was amazing. FIFA is a real-world soccer based game including all the top players in a majority of countries. To me, however, it was more than that. It was like actually being on the field next to my favorite players and competing for the world cup. I would build my own team and go into battle. I’m a competitive person by nature, so there was no room for error. My team started well, made it past the first round in a breeze, nothing new. Next came the round of 16, my first real challenge. I went a goal down in the first six minutes but tied it up right before halftime. After halftime, I went on a rampage and won 4-1. Next round was the quarterfinals. I played an opponent whose team was far better than mine, but I had more skill and finished him 3-1. In the semis, I had a player injured and had to sub him out. It was terrible, he was the centerpiece of the defense, and I ended up being down 2-0 at halftime. However, I pulled through and tied it just before the 90th minute. The game went into overtime and I scored a penalty to put my team through to the final. It was time for the final, the most important of all. A
loss here would be heartbreaking and unforgiving at best. The injured player from the previous game had returned and I was at full strength for the final. The first half was tense, no mistakes were made, it was goalless. Then came the second half, I opened the scoring ten minutes in, only for him to score right after I did. With the game tied 1-1 heading into the final 10 minutes, I knew I had to make a change. I subbed in three attacking players for three defensive players and went all out attack. He started gaining many chances because of my weak defense, but he didn’t score. Then, in the 93rd minute of injury time, I crossed it in of a corner and bicycle kicked it into the back of the net. The crowd went wild, I had won the championship.