BIG AIR!

November 14th 2005 will go down in history as the night when the goat took flight. Not just any goat- the goatMan! This guy below is the goatman, for the obvious reasons. He’s been playing floor hockey for about two years now and is one of the most fun people to play both with and against, especially if you have a weight and height advantage. I still don’t know his real name. I don’t think anyone else does either, everyone calls him goat or goatman.

So that night our goalies never showed up and we didn’t have any goalie equipment so we decided to put the nets down, facing out in opposite directions.

Our team was on a rush and the second defence decided to jump in too. I was playing defense too and went up near the other teams blue line. The goatman was there too waiting for a pass. I had an eye on him for a while and kept close watch. Just then someone cleared the ball high in our end. I tried to knock it down but it went up high and deep in our zone by the net. Goatman charged!

And the race was on. Goat and I ran like Milkha Singh. I ran like Milkha Singh and he simply ran like the goat. The total distance to cover was about 15 meters but oat Sahib had a slight disadvantage: right in front of him there was the net over a meter long and a foot high with a steel pipe frame covered by mesh. I on the other hand had a clear path with the ball straight ahead by the far wall.

So as I reached the wall in the corner of my eye I saw the most amazing site in the history of ball hockey! Goat man getting ready for launch with knees bent he assumed the flight position. He braced himself and was OFF!!

The few milliseconds were pristine and breathtaking. Everyone paused with mouths wide open and jaws dropped. For a brief instant he even put Mr. Air Michal Jorden to shame. He was soaring high above the ground catching big air. The look on his face was priceless. He was actually flying! YES! Flying and once he landed he would score a goal too! Then the look gave away to worry and fright. He knew what was coming so did everyone else. He didn’t have the time to brace himself for the inevitable.

Poor Mr. Goat crash landed many times worse than Launchpad McQuack ever did in the duck tales. He underestimated the length of the net, so his jumping range fell short of the actual distance he had to cover. He hit most of his appendages hard against the 2 inch steel pipes.

After a moment of absolute silence in utter shock everyone burst out in a wave of laughter. Gloves fell down sticks hit the floor. Hands clasped lungs with backs bent over. I didn’t laugh, extended my hand and asked him to get up. Goat Jee took my glove and I pulled him up and his hand slipped, a loud bang was heard and that sent another surge in the laughter level from behind us. Goat sahib was mocked by all, but he took it like a real goat and started to play in a matter of minutes! Everyone was shocked by his bravery and resilience. No wonder his cousins are build tough enough to grab life by the horns!!