Before I came to Seattle, Outdoor soccer was played on grass, beach soccer was played on loose sand, and indoor soccer was in a basketball gynmasium with a "fuzzy" ball. Apparently over here it's different.
Outdoor soccer is played on "all weather sand", which for lack of a better term is mud compacted so tight it's more like cement. Indoor soccer is played on "turf", which is artificial grass, designed to bounce a perfect ball, and not require a special "fuzzy" ball. Beach soccer just plain doesn't happen, I don't think the Seattlites believe it's warm enough (they aren't from Canada remember!).
So why do I think it's funny? Well, picture the all weather cement.. err sand. There is no way this is a flat surface, let alone setup for proper draining. If it rains in the previous 24 hours prior to a game, un-natural sized puddles form, giving the players small oceans to navigate with a ball (that doesn't travel very fast through the water).
Strange things happen in such an environment
- Players run through these "oceans" and come out the otherside, without a ball
- Bouncing balls don't.... bounce at all that is
- Players will hold off on the edge of the puddle (on particularly cold days) waiting for the other team to get it, bring it out and loose it
- Rain seems to come straight up!
So when is the game called on account of bad weather?
Very infrequently. The only reason the game will be called, is if the ground is frozen (this is when the ref decides the all weather mud is actually more like cement than mud). Imagine falling and landing on someone's footprint in frozen mud, that can cut you up pretty bad, and no, that's not funny.
The funny part comes in with 22 absolutely drenched people in 6-layers of clothing splashing mud left, right and center chasing a barely visible circular object in a mud pitt attempting to coerse this object in one direction.
I personally think the funniest part is they send someone there in special clothing and give him a whistle. Like that's going to help.
I'm off to get wet and wild, and go find the circular object.