"Oh it's happening... don't you worry."
That's what I'd said to a friend before things got rolling, and I was right.
We're on the soccer fields at the park. Each week, our rec team tries to get together for a non-league pickup game, too. It's super casual. Just an after-work, show-up-if-you-can kind of thing. We have a group chat and someone always kicks off the dominoes by sending out some feelers: "pickup today??"
I'm lucky; I live right across the street. So I respond in the message thread to encourage anyone who might've been on the fence but just needed a nudge. And, I can also sort of gauge attendance from my window. Today's crowd looked small before I made my way over.
As I was lacing up my cleats, a friend murmured that the few of us who showed up may just have to kick around or take some shots on net since we didn't have enough players for a full game. But I could feel it—people would show up... I knew we'd be able to play.
And now we were.
First there were four of us.
Then a friend of a friend showed up.
A few more folks had seen us shooting around and wandered over. So eight of us became 10, then 12. We ranged from teenagers to middle-agers, spanning genders and athletic abilities. Our goalkeeper wore jeans and sneakers, having not planned on playing soccer today.
So as I'm scanning the field, I see a teenage girl smiling while defending a guy in his forties. I see people who just met an hour ago laughing together. And I'm still impressed that everyone started by introducing themselves and shaking hands, or waving, and repeated names back to one another when they'd trickled in.
"HAVE ONE!"
Someone on the other team broke free and has a chance to rip a shot. There's no chance any of us can get there in time. One of my teammates is the one who shouted. Arms raised preemptively, they're absolutely beaming. When the ball hits the net, their hands spring skyward.
I'm grinning, too.
People and the power of pickup... right here in our backyard. It's happening.
When's the last time a group of strangers reminded you how good the world can be?
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.