Very Dangerous People

There is a scene in the movie "The Replacements" when the regular football teams are going off strike and coming back to play. Gene Hackman's character (the coach) tells his team of replacement players that they have something that the pros don't -- the fact that there is no tomorrow for them as a player and that makes them "Very Dangerous People!" I got to see it first-hand tonight when our high school boys soccer team held the district champions to one of the lowest scores all season on their Senior Night! We had only 11 players (exactly enough for a team) -- I think they had about that many SENIORS! Our team had ONE senior (Thunderduck) and even included a few JV that had been moved up because ineligibility just cratered us. The coach joked that he should have hung a "Help Wanted" sign outside his door the week before! Anyway, Thunderduck got completely pumped up and was going after the ball like nothing I had ever seen. One of the 3 that got in the net he had actually blocked by punching it and it went right to one of their other players who kicked it in. Our kids were getting sprains and bumps and bruises but no one could come out, one kid got hit in the nose and it started bleeding, so he HAD to come off the field...and we kept playing with a man down until he could get back in . During the second half, one of our players hurt his ankle enough that they had to stop the game and carry him off the field. One of the JV players just happened to have stayed behind with his parents and they let him suit up and play with the varsity. At another point in the game, one of their best players kept getting in the goalie box and Thunderduck yelled at him to "Back Off F@ggo+!" -- everyone in the stands heard it! Later in the game that player didn't back off enough and when Thunderduck went up for the ball, this kids was right underneath him when he came down. 200 pounds of Offensive Lineman of the Year came down right on top of this kid...and when it did he got a concussion - they hauled him off in an ambulance...that's gonna really screw with their play-offs, I bet! But -- you shouldn't mess with people who have nothing to lose -- they are Very Dangerous People, indeed!