The thing I miss about playing soccer and sports in general is the heady adrenaline rush athletes feel after success. The feeling of striving for that one perfect moment and reaching it. The feeling of being in the "zone". The poetry and power of that single moment when you feel absolutely invinvincible, when baseballs look as big as beachballs, when baskets look as big as buckets, when defenders seem to freeze, when soccer balls seem to move at your command and only at your command, and the world is completely silent - you feel like you are in a church during a secret and holy ceremony and raucous cheers have become soundless whispers. I doubt that sexual intercourse could be much more pleasurable than that feeling. But that feeling is oh so fleeting, and once you've had it, you'll do anything to get it back. There are times when the zone is extended and it feels like a real physical place, you pile up astounding feat after feat, and you feel as if you can do no wrong. Some people seem to have taken up permanent residence in the zone, and the rest of us can only watch in envy. God, I would like to get there.