Culturegeist - Confessions of the Pop-Culture Junkies

Law Weekly: FC GULC hopes to spread "soccer fever"

Photo caption: D.D. Davis (top-left) and Olisa Anweh (bottom-left) celebrate with their team after winning the indoor soccer league championship last spring. They currently are playing in the Law Center’s indoor league. (Photo courtesy: D.D. Davis.)

Note: A version of this article appears in the September 26, 2006, version of the Georgetown Law Weekly.

Soccer balls were literally bouncing off the walls. They were ricocheting off of the pads on the walls and off the curtain hung across the middle of the gym. The goals, nothing more than PVC pipe and netting, fell apart anytime a hard shot hit the post instead of the back of the net. Teammates standing at corners of the court shouted encouragement and advice at the players at the court before ducking out of the way of a fast-moving ball. Shins were bruised, and goals were scored. Indoor soccer had arrived at the Law Center. Intense was a common word heard during and after that match. In the end, the Well Hung Jurists topped Benfica by a score of 7 goals to 6, holding off a late charge from the team of 3Ls.

The indoor league, played on the basketball courts on the fourth floor of the Sport and Fitness Center, pits teams in a 5-on-5 match for two twenty minute halves. Unlike the outdoor variety, there is no goalkeeper; no players on either side can use their hands. Where you would find a sideline painted on the grass, there is instead a wall.

Chris Dolan, 3L is the captain Benfica, which is named for his favorite Portuguese soccer club. Dolan is enjoying the league, and his excitement shows. “I wish the season was longer, and I hope they do it again in the spring.” Benfica’s opponents in the match, Well Hung Jurists, comprise the core group that founded the soccer club here at the Law Center.

Georgetown Law is known, among other things, for its strong international presence. It might be surprising, then, that until recently, there was no club here for the world’s most popular sport. Of course, that all changed when D.D. Davis, 2L, and some friends started FC GULC, the soccer club. The FC moniker is a common mark among soccer teams around the world, standing for “football club” and typically followed by the club’s home city or neighborhood.

The core group of FC GULC formed last spring to compete in a post-graduate indoor soccer league at the main campus. The Law Center’s team defeated the Medical Center’s representatives to win the championship in that league. The core group of that team, including Davis, Eric Charleston, 2L, and Olisa Anwah, 3E, is still together, playing for Well Hung Jurists in the Law Center’s own inaugural indoor soccer league.

Soccer reached a new height in American culture last summer, during the FIFA World Cup. All sixty-four matches were broadcast in high definition on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. Unlike the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, when American fans were forced to wake up at two or four o’clock in the morning if they wanted to watch, the matches this year were shown in America during the late morning and afternoon, a fact that certainly helped boost the ratings. The excitement over the sport stemming from the World Cup extended beyond the television. “I think there’s a soccer fever in America right now,” said Anweh. He hopes that the soccer club can build on that momentum and increase its membership and its activity.

Not that the club’s membership is particularly lacking. At this writing, the club boasts 91 members. Outside of the intramural indoor league, the core group of the club also plays together in a city outdoor league every weekend. Because of this familiarity with the team, they seem to know where each other will be on the floor, making plays that look almost practiced.

The club and league might never have happened, though, had it not been for the efforts of Davis, who played soccer during her undergraduate years at American University. “D.D. is the engine behind all of this,” said Charleston, about FC GULC and the intramural league. “She pulled me out of retirement.”

Davis has been playing soccer as long as she can remember, as has Charleston. They each played for traveling teams when they were younger and then for their high schools. Anweh got a later start. His family moved from the US to Nigeria when he was five, and not having played soccer before that, he was behind the other kids. When he moved back to the States in high school, he was suddenly the class of the field. “They all thought I was really good,” he explained.

Of course, the club does more than field their own team. They hope to form more competitive and recreational teams to play, both within the Law Center community and in the greater DC community. They also plan to organize viewing parties to watch big matches. More than anything, they want to spread the love of soccer that they all share. Said Davis, “Playing soccer has provided a great opportunity to meet and interact with students from other years and sections. In addition to winning soccer games together, we have also formed many lasting friendships."

FC GULC is always looking for more people to play, especially girls. Students of all skill levels are welcome, from those who have played enough to have retired and come back to those who have never even kicked a ball. To get involved or find out more information, email D.D. Davis at dld25@law.georgetown.edu.

Labels: GULC, Law Weekly, Sports

posted by The AMT @ 6:47 PM