Soccer!

2010-06-25 17:07:24.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist

Playing soccer as an intern, in 2006

The World Cup has generated a lot of excitement for soccer fans in the U.S. lately, particularly because our team is doing quite well. Having played soccer myself since I was in 6th grade, it’s been a lot of fun to see so many people get so excited about a sport that, for the most part, doesn’t get much coverage in our part of the world.

Watching all the scores coming in today got me thinking about my soccer experiences here on the summit. Yes, that right, we’ve played soccer on the summit. In fact, we’ve even had our own little World Cup of sorts by playing against the German students from the University of Ruhr when they are on the summit each winter. We always seem to get beaten pretty handily by the Germans, but we have a great time nonetheless. These soccer games can only occur during the winter time when the building is shut down and the lobby are of the State Park side of the Sherman Adams Building (or the Rotunda as we call it) is emptied with the exception of the long tables. About 20 of these tables are then turned on their side to form a walled in arena of sorts, with trash cans used as goals. It works remarkably well, and as I already mentioned, is a ton of fun.

Not only does this make me want to play soccer, but it also makes me miss winter. I’ve always loved the winter season, but the longer I live in New England, the more I love it. The good news is that here on Mount Washington, winter conditions are never really that far off.

In the mean time, there are plenty of things to enjoy about summer. Tomorrow the summit will be swarmed with Mini Coopers, and a large group of them will come up for sunset. Sunday morning the Mount Washington Auto Road will be opening (very) early for the first sunrise tour of the season. Looking out further we have our Seek the Peak benefit concert (remember, it’s open to anyone!) as well as Seek the Peak itself.

Of course tomorrow, unrelated to the Observatory or the mountain, the U.S. will be playing Ghana in their next World Cup match. Now I just need to find a way to record it!

Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist