The bright lights illuminate Turf Field for a nighttime IM soccer game. Slowly but surely, people appear, from chatty and excited groups to individuals who appear from the dark, alone and focused. There’s the girl fresh out of a class who needs to de-stress, the engineers who knocked out a problem set together and the oboist trading in reeds for cleats. From everywhere on Northwestern’s campus, and further still, these people come together for a game that has its own social perspective on Northwestern’s student body.
Considering the reverence of millions of fans across the world, soccer has been hailed as “the global sport,” a nickname that emphasizes a common interest in the sport among different cultures and nations. For Northwestern students, the opportunity to play soccer through the intramural system and other special events is a privilege — a way of connecting with a beloved game and a means of finding common ground among peers.
For an organizer, IM soccer means international cooperation.
Earlier this month, the first annual Northwestern World Cup showcased the extent of the student body’s passion for soccer. Fielding teams that represented 16 countries, the festivities proved to be a rousing success, something that organizer and SESP sophomore Meixi Ng hopes conveys the communal possibilities that soccer holds.
“Soccer is a sport that really unites people from all different countries, and that came to me when I would play soccer at home, [in] Guatemala, Thailand,” said Ng, an international student. “Everywhere you [go], soccer is such a local sport.”
Northwestern World Cup organizers were encouraged by the reaction and success of their endeavor (the applications alone attracted 160 people in a span of a week), and said they intend on making it an annual event.
For three undergrads, IM soccer means brushing up on technique.
For roommates and Weinberg juniors Kevin Tiwari and David Torres, soccer has been a lifelong passion. Both Tiwari and Torres have played soccer since a young age and succeeded through the ranks of competitive play in high school and club teams. Tiwari and Torres’ devotion to the game now revolves around less formal play, but their reasons for involvement in intramural soccer is plain and simple: to play the game.
The pair’s Purple League team members and collective playing styles have been influenced by the international flavor of the game. In addition to the need for competitive fire, Tiwari and Torres say emphasis is placed on the contrasting styles of play brought to the field by international players. Both Tiwari and Torres see intramural soccer as an opportunity to showcase varieties of strategy and display styles perhaps new to their opponents.
“We see the American game, and we see how differently it might be played here: more risk over strategy,” Tiwari said. “Everyone is still aware of the game’s principles, but we see our team as sharing a different way of playing, sort of like teaching.”
Weinberg junior Julian Jacobson takes note of this. With a strong soccer pedigree and a history of occasional opportunities to play on trips overseas, Jacobson has a hands-on perspective that few at Northwestern share. He said he notices the same interactions made possible by a common interest.
“You sometimes play with international kids, get to meet people you normally wouldn’t,” Jacobson said. “There’s a lot of flavor, different types of people and styles. I’ve played with people in Switzerland who are surprised to find that I am an American soccer player.”
For two grad students, IM soccer means face-to-face interaction.
Rachel Ricci and Jennifer Cyr, Ph.D candidates in political science in The Graduate School, seldom see their peers in Scott Hall. At any given time, Ricci and Cyr may not come across another fellow political science graduate student for as long as a few days. Intramurals presented a chance to change that.
“It’s a nice chance to socialize and be competitive, yet encouraging,” Ricci said. “Our team members’ ages range from about 26 to 50, so there’s a wide variety of skill. Plus, we sometimes face off against undergrad students we’ve taught, and it’s fun to beat up on them a little.”
Despite the familiar adversities of the intramural season, from avoiding forfeits to struggling contests, Cyr says nothing is lost in the experience. Ricci and Cyrs’ team is called, fittingly, Leviathan.
“It’s always a chore trying to get enough girls to compete, and at times we’ve been close to forfeiting,” said Cyr. “We actually have yet to win a game… or score an actual goal. We don’t have a lot of success on the soccer field, but we would still go out for drinks together afterward.”
For an international student, IM soccer means a way of life.
For Felipe Swett, a Kellogg graduate student from Chile, soccer tutelage began at the ripe age of four and continued through school. Swett even attempted to play for the professional league at the age of 15. In Chicago, a far cry from his Latin American roots, soccer is not only a familiar activity for him but also a necessary activity connect with people. Swett considers his best friends in Chile and at Northwestern to be those with whom he played with on the soccer field, experiencing both wins and losses.
Swett said the level of play in the United States surprised him, since the United States is not considered by many as a “soccer country.” He was most impressed by the quality of play from fellow international players, including the women, some of whom played better than male counterparts. Beyond this, however, Swett’s defining soccer experiences at Northwestern ultimately come from the camaraderie found at tournaments and with players whom he competes with.
“There are tournaments where you play in cities across America,” Swett said. “Traveling, playing in tournaments across the country, bonding, rooming with people you don’t know. You have 11 to 20 guys committed to trying to win a game, and not in your natural environment [away from Chicago].”
By season’s end, IM soccer means “a common love.”
The successes of the World Cup tournament evident in the enthusiastic student body have shed light on the expanse of the game’s reach, as has the willingness of soccer intramural teams to play and compete. These two unique opportunities reward many players and peers equally through the trials and tribulations of any team sport, be it struggling participation or team play, or wins and losses.
“Once, we lost in the first round, but we still went out for drinks, despite our cultural differences,” Swett recalled from one tournament. Continuing, Swett called the night “pretty amazing.”
And despite the brevity of a single intramural match, there is much that one might set out to do in the span of a game lasting just under one hour, whether to showcase something new or alternatively celebrate a victory.
“That’s something about sports. It can really unite people when they’re playing for a common love [...] just seeing these groups coming out and having fun and really having motivation to win,” said Ng.
Consequently, it is not the finality of the buzzer and whistle that determine the impact of the game, but the resulting interaction that comes from the contest: the passion played out on a grass field. That single mantra that resonates with both player and team: Play the game.