My First Trophy

saturday night was eventful. at 5:45 i was supposed to be a my work's christmas party in cedar hill, forty miles south of my home, off of highway 67. traffic was a bit troublesome on the way there and i was fifteen minutes late. that's not too big of a deal, but like me and unlike my church, everything we do starts on time. we had a great little tex-mex restaurant cater our party and i enjoyed good conversation and a competitive game of pictionary, men vs. women.

at 7:30 i quietly exited the party, stage right. the next party i was to attend was my church's christmas party that officially started at 7:00. as i hinted at earlier my church's events don't start on time. so it was okay for me to be late for it. i figured i would travel the forty some odd miles between the two parties in about thirty minutes, unfortunately it didn't happen due to a car accident on interstate 35. to catch up on some lost time i drove 80 to 85 mph the whole way there, and i arrived slightly tense from driving like speed racer at 8:15.

i love my church's christmas parties. we have a tradition of bringing something that we already own that represents or means something special to you. the gift giving, or in this case selecting, begins with a random person choosing a gift out of a pile of gifts around the tree. Whoever brought the gift then tells everyone about it and what it means to them. i really take this event to heart, but that doesn't make it any easier to part with something sentimental. i try to constantly remind myself how material objects are not as important as we think they are. this year i choose to give away my first trophy.

i received my first trophy at the age of eight for playing soccer. it was the fall of 1988 and our team wasn't good at all. i believe we won 1 of 8 games that season. thus, my trophy was a consolation trophy that was bought by our parents. i must say that it was the nicest consolation trophy i ever received. it stands about 14 inches tall on a marble base. it is topped with two plastic soccer players that are coated with a reflective gold paint. the middle or stem of the trophy was made of solid wood that had a mahogany finish. to the side of and 10 inches below the soccer players atop of the wooden stem was a plastic soccer ball painted with the same gold paint. last but not least, it displayed a brass plate across the front of the marble that read, "scramblers 1988" on the top line and "jason" underneath it.

to me that trophy represents the beginning of a joyful era in my life. it not only was the beginning of my five year, 10 season soccer career, but the beginning of my childhood career as an athlete. i would have played soccer longer than five years, but my dad said i could only play two sports at a time. at age 12 i was playing both soccer and basketball. in the end i made the decision to give up soccer so that i could play what became my favorite sport, baseball. all in all that trophy might not have been like other trophies which i have received. other trophies display achievement or symbolize victory, but there is just something about the first of anything, whether it be one's first car or first kiss. it might not be the best you'll ever have, but it's still your first, and that's something special.