What's the right choice?

So imagine that you traveled 2 hours one way on the last Saturday before the end of the holidays to watch your son play in a school soccer game against a team that is not even in their district. It is in the middle of the day and so it will pretty much take the whole day. The halves are usually only 30 minutes long and even though he plays the entire game, the four hours of drive time will result in watching him for a total of one hour. Should you go? Does he really care if you are there or not? There are a million things to do around the house and the Christmas lights are still up and need to be taken down, the cars need to be washed and the new faucet needs to be installed. But in the end you decide watching your son, who just happens to be one of the most scrappy and tenancious players on the field, is better than all of that other "stuff" so you go.

The first half is fun and you see him make lots of stops, some great passes and even some nice runs up the side. He even gets an assist and amazes you every time he mixes it up with some pretty big guys and comes away with the ball. Impressive! He is also surrounded by other great players on his team and so by the end of the first half the score is 4-0.

The second half starts and you look at the defensive line and don't see your son. You begin to question your decision but as you look towards the front line, you see him line up as a striker for the kick off. Well, this should be interesting since he has never played that position before. Defensive players rarely get an opportunity to score a goal from their position so playing up front is a rare opportunity. The ball is kicked off and they play it up and down the field and he digs it out from an opponent, pushes it up field but has no shot. He does however see the other striker making a run to the goal and passes the ball across the field and the other striker runs on to it and scores.

Everyone cheers and you think man that was a well played ball but will he get that rare chance to score one for himself? Time ticks on and he makes lots of runs but can't convert. Suddenly, you see him fighting for the ball from two opponents when suddenly, he digs out the ball, pushes through his opponents and drives down the field with no one but the keeper standing at the goal and two opponents in hot pursuit. You realize this might be it and you are silently saying please go in, go in - don't hit the post, don't go over the net, just go in. Your adrenaline is pumping (and your just watching), you see him strike it with his left foot (even though he is right footed) as the ball sails low and to the left. The keeper dives toward the ball but it is too late, it has already hit the back of the net and the goal has been scored!

So tell me, was it the right choice to go? Now if I had just remembered the video camera!!!