ATTACK SAM!!!!!

The sun was shining brightly. The stage was set. The knockout match was between the favorites and a just-for-filling-up-the-numbers side. All football lovers thronged just outside the boundaries of the ground to witness the Lions pouncing on mere Amateurs. The Lions were a gifted team whose members boast of the best of skills, coordination and ability. The Amateurs had a flair for the game but nothing else to complement it. No practice, no coordination, no strategy. The result was easily predictable even before the match began. The Lions counted upon Sam, their main striker, to score the goals and to gain some practice for the other important matches ahead. The Amateurs were praying for their defense to have a lucky day. Two halves, twenty minutes each, penalty shootout in case of a tie, the match began….

The defender’s mind was racing. It was an uphill task, saving goals from Sam that is. He had to put up a fighting show for all the showoffs the previous night. He took on many supporters of the Lions, who predicted a 4-0 outcome, verbally, saying that his team would eventually win. All had a good laugh. But he knew he was not going to make life easy for the Lions. Our strength lies in defense, he thought. For that is the only thing a team can do without much practice. Four strongly built defenders formed an impenetrable ring. Did they? Sam was athletic, fast and efficient when it comes to goals. To stop Sam was their main aim. The match progressed. The first few minutes were turning out to be lucky for the Amateurs for the Lions couldn’t get many balls on target. Slowly the clock ticked over. It was half time and the score was 0-0. The crowd was disappointed with the Lions’ performance but they still had hopes of seeing many fly past the goalkeeper in the next half.

The spirit was high in the Amateurs camp. They were pleasantly surprised to have restricted their opponents thus far. When the second half began, they started playing aggressively. The defender started the ‘ATTACK SAM’ slogan. Whenever Sam got the ball, there was this loud, crisp and commanding ATTACK SAM audible even to the spectators. The goalkeeper was doing an amazing job. Many one-on-ones were saved and it lifted the Amateurs’ mood. With ten minutes to go, the Lions seemed desperate. Except their defenders, all the others were in the Amateurs half, attacking. The Amateurs had as many as seven defenders now. There was no question of the Amateurs scoring. They played for a 0-0 in full time and then anything could happen in the shootouts. The defender even headed an impossible ball out of the D area. Sam was stunned. Five minutes to go and things became quite exciting. The Amateurs started believing that it was their day. The Lions knew one goal would seal off the match. Two minutes to go and Sam got the ball. The defender knew he was the one up against him now. He went charging at him, in hope of stealing the ball somehow and ended up hitting Sam on his legs. It was a foul, just outside the D box. The defender had committed a costly mistake. Sam took the free kick that flew into the D and one of the other strikers put it inside the goal post easily. The match was sealed. The defender felt an excruciating pain in his ribs. He felt cheated. The Amateurs team left the ground with a heavy heart, tired, for they had given their best. The Lions were relieved more than anything else. Everyone congratulated the Amateurs for the spirit they showed. The slogan ‘ATTACK SAM’ became quite popular with the players themselves. The defender felt happy that at least they didn’t allow Sam to score any. He had to accept that all romantic fairy tales always do end in a tragedy. The Lions eventually went till the finals of the tournament and Sam was the highest scorer overall.

The Amateurs team (ICE dept): Saurab (goalie), A.R.Srivathsan(the defender), Vivek, Naren, Jann, Vijay (Captain), Maha, Sensi, Ajwad, Sohit and Devarshri.

The Lions team (EEE dept): Prashant Samuel (college striker), Sashi, KRG, Arjun, Aloe, Damal, Asim, Blade Navin (the goal scorer), Arun Laxman, Nikhil and Bong.

This match took place on July 16th, 2005.