Claire has really enjoyed her first season of soccer on Team Tornado.  She doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy the actual game of soccer so much, or at all.  She seems to enjoy just getting outside, running around, and socializing with her fellow Tornadoes.  And she seems to especially enjoy socializing with one teammate named Logan.

Claire and Logan really hit it off this week.  It started during pre-game drills, when they started chatting about something or other.  All I know is they were talking and giggling a little bit.  Once the game started, Claire continued to try to chat up little Logan.  When they were both subbed out for a break, I offered Claire a drink of water, as I always do.  She thought for a minute and politely said, “Uh, no thanks.  I think I just want to go talk to Logan.”  Logan was dutifully waiting through a short lecture by his dad about (not) focusing on the game, and then proceeded to wander off with Claire, who was waiting nearby.  I apologized to Logan’s dad about Claire distracting him, and he said, smiling, “It’s okay.  He doesn’t stand a chance.”

Logan is on the far left of the top row, over Claire’s right shoulder.

Once Claire and Logan were called back on the field, they were still chatting and giggling.  In fact, they just completely ignored the game.  The game was a mere distraction to them.  Somehow they ended up standing right in the middle of the field, gazing at each other, gently holding both of each other’s hands.  It literally looked like they were in the middle of their wedding vows!  Logan’s dad shouted, failingly, “Logan!  Focus!”  Right around that point, the soccer game, which was still going on around them despite their impromptu wedding, had an exciting moment.  Claire’s teammate Sullivan had blocked a kick on their goal and had delivered a strong kick down field towards the opponents’ empty goal.  The ball rolled right past Claire, who was still in the middle of the field, holding Logan’s hands, and his gaze.  Claire and Logan never even noticed the ball, which bounded down the field, within two feet of Claire, towards the other team’s goal.  The ball missed the opponents’ goal, but not by much.  It may have been the closest that the Tornadoes came to score that day.

At some point shortly thereafter, a whistle blew, and Claire wandered over to me to ask if the game was over.  I said I thought it was over.  It was the Tornadoes’ worst defeat this season, a complete loss, but I am sure for Claire, nothing could have been further form the truth.