Futsol Action!

Shortly after returning home from his mission, Catherine’s younger brother Shane decided to transfer up here to BYU-I from Utah State. It’s been such a delight having him around. I didn’t know him all that well before he left on his mission. While he was gone, Catherine and I started dating, got engaged and married. She’d occasionally say that something I did or said reminded her of Shane and that she was “excited for me to get to know him better when he got home”. Again, it’s been so nice having him around because I’ve discovered that we do have quite a bit in common and because of that, we’re pretty good friends (I’d say).

Since he’s been here in Rexburg, he’s gotten quite involved in the intramural sports program, particularly in soccer and futsol. Recently, he’s been playing in the intermediate futsol league and this past week they had their tournament. Futsol, so you know, is like miniature indoor soccer: the court, ball, goal, and teams are all smaller. Because the court is smaller, they score considerably more goals! We get a kick out of it (pun intended)! We’ve made an effort to make it to all his games this semester, not just to support him but also because he’s fun to watch; Shane is really a stand-out in soccer. As I said earlier, the tournament has been these past couple of weeks, and Shane’s team made it to the championship game that was played this past Wednesday. As a side note, the winner of the intramural leagues is awarded a T-shirt. For those of you who have been involved in athletics, you know that one of the best parts about invitationals, districts, or state is the shirts you get. T-shirts from BYU-I intramural leagues have become as coveted as the original G.I. Joe action figures; in fact, many consider themselves failures if they graduate from BYU-I before having been adorned with the robe of champions (the T-shirt)!

The championship game wasn’t all that one would have expected it to be. The opposing team was somewhat of a Cinderella story, making it through the semifinals by beating the better team. Fortunately for us, the clock struck midnight and the true colors of our opponents were revealed. Mustering little competition, the “Kamikazes” self-destructed in a 6-1 defeat, that one goal being a miracle! Shane, and his “Gold Toe” teammates vaulted themselves to BYU-I stardom by winning the championship and gaining possession of an intramural T-shirt.
For Catherine and I, it has been really enjoyable being involved as regular fans at Shane’s game. Thanks for bringing home the championship, Shane! Here’s to you: Shane El Conquistador. Vene, Vide, Vince - He came, he saw, he conquered!