These things are fun, and fun is good

I always have the best seats in the house. (photo: Luke Martin)

If you missed my recap of Tormenta's late comeback to tie Charlotte, only to fall in penalties in their first Jagermeister Cup match, you can find that over here at the Statesboro Herald. (Possible paywall, I honestly have no idea how they decide what is free and what isn't.)

I wasn't sure how much I was going like the penalty kick shootout after the draw and after having watched one, I'm still not sure how much I like it. It was fun, don't get me wrong. But I get the feeling I'm not necessarily the target demographic for ending the game on penalties. And that's ok. I have more than enough stuff that does target me that I don't need one more thing.

I was a little... "amused" may not be the right word, but "intrigued" is probably closer, when Tormenta midfielder and captain Conor Doyle said he'd of forgotten that there were penalties after Tormenta tied the game three minutes into stoppage time on a Sebastian Vivas header off a Mason Tunbridge corner kick. 

"You kind of forget about it as the game goes on and then we scored late and it kind of clicks like 'oh yeah, we have to stay on the field and go to (penalties) now, but it's definitely better than playing an extra 30 minutes," he said. 

He went on to add "It was interesting. I think it's fun."

That's probably the key points for the tournament. It's interesting and fun. Obviously the teams want to win each game and ultimately win the Cup, but wanting to win and having fun aren't mutually exclusive ideas. There's no reason it can't be both.

Manager Ian Cameron also appreciated the experience the game provided, especially for the kids in the crowd, of which there were a lot Saturday night in Statesboro.

"For these kids, it was a great spectacle," he said. "They don't care if we win. They don't care about the tactics. They want excitement. They want energy and it was really neat to see how many young people are in the crowd and hopefully we got some new soccer fans tonight." 

Along those lines, there's one other quick story I wanted to share about the game Saturday night and trying to create new fans. At some point in the second half, there was a stoppage for an injury. Trainers came out on the field and while some players went to grab some water, others just kind of stood around where they were waiting for play to resume, including one of the Charlotte players who was on the sideline closest to the crowd waiting for the referee to give the signal for him to throw the ball in.

I wish I'd paid closer attention to who it was, but anyway, he's standing around and a kid no older than eight ran down to him and asked if he could hold the game ball. Charlotte's player tossed him the ball and the look on that kid's face was one of pure joy. He held on to it for a second or two and then tossed it back to Charlotte's player and ran off down the stands, presumably to tell his friends or family about what just happened. 

I was sitting with my nephews, ages nine and seven, who saw it happen and they were jealous but also recognized how cool it was. I would not be surprised to see them try something similar next time they have a chance. 

Little things like that are what it takes to make fans. Honestly, it doesn't have to be kids. Shortly after my wife and I were married, we went to a Braves/Cubs baseball game in Atlanta. At the time, my wife as basically going because she knew I liked the Cubs and wanted to go to a game. Well, during warmups, Cubs reliever LaTroy Hawkins tossed her a ball and she was instantly hooked. He became her favorite player and she would start watching games with interest.

From all accounts, the first matches of the Jagermeister Cup were exciting. With luck, all things big and small from the tournament will continue to create a fun fan experience.