The eyes I watch games through (Oxymoron Project)

At the recent SSFC Concacaf Champions League match in Seattle I found myself discussing the game and various calls with the guy standing to my left. I made a comment about how a card was deserved on a Seattle player, and that I sometimes look at games through eyes other than those of simply being a fan when I am at games.

I realized that there are about ten different sets of eyes that I sometimes watch games with. These blur together into nice blends, but that the player, coach, or ref in me very often supersedes the fan.

So, here is a brief description of the ten sets of eyes I watch games through.

a fan
When the SSFC kicked off in March 2009 I was pumped and was wanting to cheer and celebrate and scream. In essence, I was not looking to analyse the game, I was there to soak it in and just be a fan.

a player
I do not think it is necessary to have been a player to watch, understand, or coach soccer. However, as someone who has been playing competitively for nearly 40 years there is a part of me that tries to picture what I would do in a given situation. I wonder if I could have finished a cross or saved a shot or if I would have made the same run as a player.

a coach
When I am coaching I am focused on the task at hand. When I start to think like a coach during a game is when I start to wonder when a sub might be made, or when a tactical shift is needed. It is more fun to have someone to talk to and compare thoughts with.

a ref
The simple truth is that most of the time most matches are reffed fairly well. It is a tough game to see everything, but that really is not the job of the soccer ref. When I see a card come out - or not - I often try to decide if the reason for the booking is as much game management as the infraction itself. I generally don't enjoy reffing, but have done it enough to know that sometimes these things matter.

a scout
When watching a team my team is going to play (or a particular player back when I had recruiting responsibilities) is a real intellectual approach to the game that is different than reporting. I have to take the information I am processing and compare it to the strengths or weaknesses of my team.

a parent
There is nothing like cheering on your child. I plug in music, stay off to a side, and look forward to chatting about the game later. As a coach, I have chosen far sidelines to stay away from parents. As a parent, I won't make another coach need to do that.

a friend
This is sort of the same as being a fan, only with less of a degree of separation.

a reporter
There are times when I have done some reporting and when that is the case I really have to detach myself from any sort of cheering and go into a real factual look at the game. It becomes a strictly intellectual exercise where I need to pay little attention to logos and names and merely look at what is happening. Fortunately, I do not need to do this too often because I really prefer to enjoy the game on some level.

a commentator
This is not the same as strictly reporting. I have had to opportunity to be a columnist for various publications and being a commentator and expressing my opinions that way allows me to use all of these eyes in different ways at the same time.

a customer
It was not until recently that I thought about things in this way. When the SSFC started the notion of the fan experience became an interesting topic. I thought about how prissy the fans are at Mariners games and how much I think my ticket money gives me some power.