A Football Lost in Europe

September 1995

A European vacation with seven chums. I brought a football as such a thing is imminently entertaining to huck back and forth. Plus with the seven of us the hucking opportunities should prove robust. Instead, it proved to be a source of sadness.

We had purchased Eurail passes allowing us to ride the train through several European countries at no additional cost above this one time purchase fee. Each traveler toted a single duffel bag stuffed with his gear. The football was an accessory shared amongst the group and carried out in the open. By football I mean, naturally, the American-style oval brown leather with the white laces along one seam rather than the round football kicked around for use in soccer. American football, not futbol.

During the train ride from Munich to Salzburg we had stowed our gear, including the ball, on the overhead racks. The time came to unload ourselves from the train, which we did, but neglected to also unload the football. The mood became temporarily somber at the realization of having lost that lovable symbol of our American heritage. This sadness was not for ourselves for having lost the ball, but sadness for the ball itself. Yes, the inanimate object.

The ball is accustomed to being lofted with a crisp over the shoulder arm motion coupled with a deft flick of the wrist. American boys learn the motion at a young age to create the spiral effect. It will be found by a European boy unfamiliar with the intended throwing and handling protocols of this odd leather ball; ‘odd’ as it will seem to this continent. The finder will likely be reduced to tossing the thing underhand to a friend in an effort to play with it like some rugby ball. Kicking it won’t suffice as its movements upon the ground will be far too erratic to induce fun on account of its oval shape. The vast bulk of European boys probably haven't the ingrained over the shoulder muscle coordination needed for the proper lofting technique simply because its an unusual motion for any game on that particular hemisphere. Much like the handling skills for a soccer ball are familiar to European youngsters yet foreign to so many American youths. Soccer is king in most parts of the world. The charm and entertainment of a football is lost here.

The ball had gone from ownership where an eager collection of guys would be delighted to engage it, to the unfortunate reality of ending up a mere oddity in someone’s awkward hands. A sad ending for a ball of such sporting potential.

-klem