11am... no, 10:45am... emmm, how about 10:30am...? That was the proposed time for kick off of the traditional New Year's Day match. It only happens once a year and everyone was looking forward to it. For once, the young men arrived punctually with (amazingly) the correct number of players and this attention to detail was carried on to the pitch during the first half.
The Boyz dominated the first few minutes of the first half so much so that they went 1-nil up on no time. It looked as though this could be the year that they finally defeat their great-granddaddys. A tremendous midfield worked the ball forward to Stevie "Tea Cosy" Little who scored the perfect opening goal. The crowd roared their appreciation at the good play and Jonny "Waster" Martin was heard to shout his saying of the moment, "Back of the net!".
Things looked good for the young men for a while after this with the defense playing superbly to keep front-runners Rick "What Was On My Head" McKee and Jonny "Slicer" McMahon at bay but it wasn't enough. Ken "Hoarse-play" Alexander played dirty and shouted as loud as he could to try and scare the younger of the young men and was able to get the ball up front were Jake "JC?!?" McMahon was boaring through to.
Gav "The Man" Todd made numerous great saves but unfortunately he couldn't get them all... there was the five that got away... each time "Waster" Martin was haunted by the line "Back of the net" (but it was his own).
Pete "Sky Blue Shirt" McCausland kept hopes alive for the younger chaps with a goal late on in the first half which completely outfoxed the opponent's goalie but, alas, it wasn't enough. Even in the land of Rod two isn't greater than five. Not even the late arrival of Christoper "Alexander" Perks could help the Boyz enough to score again.
So, as it was, tradition laughed at the young men as it does every year. They turn up with smiles on their faces looking for their first win against the gray hair and bum fluff that is the Old Men but they leave with nothing other than a hand shake and (plastic) glass of orange juice. Is life always to be so unfair?
With every participant already looking forward to the battle again next year the only question left unanswered is: will tradition rear it's ugly head once again? Or will it have stayed up too late and slept in... allowing the brave young men to run to victory for the first time...?
These questions are what make life interesting and can only be answered once a year on New Year's Day. So, until next year...