Sixty!

He has been working hard over the last few months. Early morning, he rises before the sun and heads to the riverside open gym. He can be seen picking weights which have only increased from the initial few days. Then he is seen doing vigorous and challenging drills, finishing it off with a 10k run.

As the sun sleepily rises to peek down benignly on this sleepy yet enticingly beautiful hillside village, the village folk can be seen busy with their daily routines and rituals. Yoo Win proceeds to his little farm to take care of the endless chores. His wife Chi Wun was his accomplice in this project. She supported him completely and took on most of the chores while he trained.

The match was round the corner. The villagers were looking forward to it. Every member of the team practiced with all they had…. Mind, body and soul! There was a lot at stake. Their opponents were coming down from the city. All young and brash! Testosterone flooded their bodies as they trained seriously, but every now and then you could hear them chuckle. After all they would tear apart these village folks, for sure.

There was only one thing to prove, that the common man was equally helpless in the hands of the pandemic, be it in the east or the west, north or south.

The day finally dawned, the teams were ready and took their places in the dugouts. The village had never seen so many people. There were throngs and throngs…. a sea of faces, all shapes and sizes, all types of clothes from the simple coarse handwoven garments of the peasants to the branded, designer outfits, (of course they were well known for fakes too!)

As the sun peeked out that eventful day… it was taken aback at the clouds of dust, it remembered a few centuries ago men on horseback would go around the countryside in clouds of dust as they proceeded to plunder and ransack who they considered their enemy! Soon enterprising men and women dragged down whatever they could lay their hands on to sell. There were enticing chilled drinks to quench the dry throats after the raucous cheering and shouting. To munch one had from berries, to local fruits, to sweetmeats, to fritters to simple bowls of noodles and soups of all colours and flavours! It was a carnival!

The match started with the referee blowing the whistle long and loud ‘Tweeeett Twwweeeetttt’

The players huddled and got to their places on the field. Football after all would unite the world some day! The youngsters from the city ran around like gamboling gazelles! Passing the ball among them running up and down and kicking it in swaying flows like gymnasts! Effortlessly! The home team was unique cause each player was a model of great health, wide shoulders, rippling muscles, grey pigtails, great pride and each one of them over sixty! The young men had all long migrated to other cities and towns to earn a better living. They were tackling their opponents one on one and seemed to have tricks up their sleeves the gamboling gazelles had never seen. The old bears soon learnt to intercept the passes and kick the ball to one of their own and also tricked their opponents into wondering where would they pass. They were the masters of thinking out of the box. They didn’t yell out imperatives but whistled, which was loud and clear to each one of them. They never faltered.

It was a fast game. Goal after goal was scored in quick succession. The crowds were loving it. After each goal the stands would be littered with colour as the supporters threw up their caps, shawls, or the neighbours’! A few reporters soon reached there as the news of this unique match soon spread far and wide.

There were sixty seconds left for the match. The score was tied at 6 all. Yoo Win summoned his team and told them “You are the masters of the next sixty seconds, no one will be able to take it away from you. You can create history or let these little boys think they are better than their grandfathers! Play like your life depended on it, like all our lives depended on it!”

As they returned to their places, the oldies swerved the ball to the far end of the field where Yoo Win had magically appeared, surging between two youngsters he easily carried the ball ahead and appeared to be kicking the ball to the far corner of the goal, while he actually just kicked in the air and moved aside, which was quickly kicked in by his friend Too Yang! The goalie had been misled by the crafty old foxes! The field broke into a roar! The reporters went berserk. The spectators went crazy!  

The Super Sixty proved their point!