2025-02-14, 12:28 PM - Word count: 1008
Life in the Port Royal academy did not start exactly the way BigMac Johnson had hoped when he packed up and left to pursue potential glory in the SSL. When BigMac first arrived, he struggled to connect to many of the players, even the American ones that he should've had some common ground with. And the lack of tactical direction for their first match left him uncertain on what was expected of him, leading to a mediocre performance.
BigMac started his match day waking up an hour before sunrise, anxious for the match that he was hoping could help establish his presence as a prospect to watch in a draft class full of players in his position. To calm his mind, BigMac took a walk around the Port Royal academy campus, and after finding himself wandering onto one of the training pitches, he found a bench to settle onto so he could meditate. Closing his eyes, BigMac started to picture the match that would be happening later that day not far from where he sat. He saw himself flying down the wing and whipping a ball into Roger, his new (droid?) teammate he'd connected with quickly. Roger buries his shot into the back of the net and the two of them wheel off in celebration. BigMac pictured himself recovering from being out of position to put in a clutch sliding tackle on an Adowa Accra attacker getting ready to shoot into an empty net. Even though he didn't necessarily believe in the power of manifestation, BigMac thought that by picturing himself succeeding, when his body was running on pure adrenaline and energy he wanted to respond in a positive way by acting out something he had seen in his head already.
After returning to his room, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day, BigMac headed to some morning meetings in preparation for the match, as the academy was installing a new tactic after their failure in the last match and also hoping to incorporate Roger into the team well. After sitting in a fairly low block and playing defensive, they were going to go after the opposition, hoping to overwhelm them in attack. BigMac liked this plan much better, especially as he was asked to be making more forward runs, something he believed he was well suited to do.
At lunchtime BigMac (who holds off on eating his favorite food -- Whoppers, on match days) had a good time hanging out with his teammates as they joked about their performances in training the last week. BigMac had missed a defensive assignment while learning the new tactic and in an attempt to recover, put in a tackle on Badrick Blackwood V that surely would've seen him sent off in a match. Thankfully, Blackwood was fine and the two of them were able to laugh it off as an honest mistake.
Warmups in the afternoon were next, as excitement for the match built up. The Port Royal locker room was buzzing as they got ready for the match, and went out ready to take on Adowa Accra. As he ran onto the field, BigMac felt a sense of calm that he hadn't felt in the morning, knowing that he was in control of himself, and everything else was out of his control.* The match began and BigMac was ready to go.
Early on the match was back and forth, with BigMac playing disciplined in his role. In the 3rd minute he watched Kenderlin blast home a long range effort off of a corner, and the energy Port Royal had felt in training really started to be felt on the pitch. BigMac felt confident even as Adowa Accra responded with a goal of their own in the 11th minute. It felt like every time his teammates touched the ball, there was surge of energy and a chance was being created. All of this built in BigMac until the 23rd minute, when he received the ball in space near midfield. He knew this was his chance to take control of the game. And just like he had envisioned early that morning, a quick sprint down the right wing and a whipped cross landed directly on his teammates head, only unlike the meditation Kenderlin found the ball and buried the goal for BigMac's first career assist. As the celebration ensued, BigMac had a sense of confidence that this is what he was meant to do. He was going to pursue football with all he had, no matter where it took him.
The rest of the match flew by, as BigMac was able to put in a few more crosses, and even though some connected, none of them were able to lead to a goal. As the energy of the match built, BigMac got a little overexcited as well and took a few ill-advised shots from the edge of the area when he had some space rather than trying to make a play for his teammates. At the end of the match, Port Royal walked away with a 3-1 victory, and the locker room after the match was filled with a sense of joy and relief. BigMac knew that this team could do some special things together this season, and was saddened as the realization that most, if not all of these players that were becoming like a family to him, wouldn't be with him next season.
The celebration continued later into the evening, as most of the players went out to have some fun together to keep in high spirits. And after not too long, the drinks and full day had their bodies tired, so BigMac headed back to his room to get rested so he could continue pursuing his dream of making it big in the SSL. This day was only the first step in that.
*editor's note: I wrote everything before this point before the match actually went live, so any connections to the actual match are purely coincidental. I swear.
BigMac started his match day waking up an hour before sunrise, anxious for the match that he was hoping could help establish his presence as a prospect to watch in a draft class full of players in his position. To calm his mind, BigMac took a walk around the Port Royal academy campus, and after finding himself wandering onto one of the training pitches, he found a bench to settle onto so he could meditate. Closing his eyes, BigMac started to picture the match that would be happening later that day not far from where he sat. He saw himself flying down the wing and whipping a ball into Roger, his new (droid?) teammate he'd connected with quickly. Roger buries his shot into the back of the net and the two of them wheel off in celebration. BigMac pictured himself recovering from being out of position to put in a clutch sliding tackle on an Adowa Accra attacker getting ready to shoot into an empty net. Even though he didn't necessarily believe in the power of manifestation, BigMac thought that by picturing himself succeeding, when his body was running on pure adrenaline and energy he wanted to respond in a positive way by acting out something he had seen in his head already.
After returning to his room, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day, BigMac headed to some morning meetings in preparation for the match, as the academy was installing a new tactic after their failure in the last match and also hoping to incorporate Roger into the team well. After sitting in a fairly low block and playing defensive, they were going to go after the opposition, hoping to overwhelm them in attack. BigMac liked this plan much better, especially as he was asked to be making more forward runs, something he believed he was well suited to do.
At lunchtime BigMac (who holds off on eating his favorite food -- Whoppers, on match days) had a good time hanging out with his teammates as they joked about their performances in training the last week. BigMac had missed a defensive assignment while learning the new tactic and in an attempt to recover, put in a tackle on Badrick Blackwood V that surely would've seen him sent off in a match. Thankfully, Blackwood was fine and the two of them were able to laugh it off as an honest mistake.
Warmups in the afternoon were next, as excitement for the match built up. The Port Royal locker room was buzzing as they got ready for the match, and went out ready to take on Adowa Accra. As he ran onto the field, BigMac felt a sense of calm that he hadn't felt in the morning, knowing that he was in control of himself, and everything else was out of his control.* The match began and BigMac was ready to go.
Early on the match was back and forth, with BigMac playing disciplined in his role. In the 3rd minute he watched Kenderlin blast home a long range effort off of a corner, and the energy Port Royal had felt in training really started to be felt on the pitch. BigMac felt confident even as Adowa Accra responded with a goal of their own in the 11th minute. It felt like every time his teammates touched the ball, there was surge of energy and a chance was being created. All of this built in BigMac until the 23rd minute, when he received the ball in space near midfield. He knew this was his chance to take control of the game. And just like he had envisioned early that morning, a quick sprint down the right wing and a whipped cross landed directly on his teammates head, only unlike the meditation Kenderlin found the ball and buried the goal for BigMac's first career assist. As the celebration ensued, BigMac had a sense of confidence that this is what he was meant to do. He was going to pursue football with all he had, no matter where it took him.
The rest of the match flew by, as BigMac was able to put in a few more crosses, and even though some connected, none of them were able to lead to a goal. As the energy of the match built, BigMac got a little overexcited as well and took a few ill-advised shots from the edge of the area when he had some space rather than trying to make a play for his teammates. At the end of the match, Port Royal walked away with a 3-1 victory, and the locker room after the match was filled with a sense of joy and relief. BigMac knew that this team could do some special things together this season, and was saddened as the realization that most, if not all of these players that were becoming like a family to him, wouldn't be with him next season.
The celebration continued later into the evening, as most of the players went out to have some fun together to keep in high spirits. And after not too long, the drinks and full day had their bodies tired, so BigMac headed back to his room to get rested so he could continue pursuing his dream of making it big in the SSL. This day was only the first step in that.
*editor's note: I wrote everything before this point before the match actually went live, so any connections to the actual match are purely coincidental. I swear.
