From the Web Site of the SD 6-Aside Festival...

"The men did not have an over 40 division last year, but I am 
sure we will have some good entries this year. Teams from outside 
of San Diego and well versed in the 6 on 6 format as well as 
locals from the Huff and Puff league will look to take this 
divisions first trophy.  Look for The British Dominion or the 
Tigers from Santa Clara as well as tournament newcomers 
Everything Hurts and Red Star."

Tigers!
John Fordham (G)
D	Kraig Chellew	Dave Maxwell	Brian Downer	Marc van den Berg
D/M	Werner van den Abeleen	Jon van den Berg	Randy Smith	Alex Crozier
M/F	Fermin Soriano	Ralph Schmidt   Marcello	Dan Campbell	Ariel Hendel

On the weekend of our leader's 50th birthday, we put together one of our finest Sunday finishes to win the 1st annual Over-40
6-aside. Thanks to Doug for putting the final touches on, I must say, a fine fine roster. Not one team forgot to mention how tall
we were. A guy from Budah asked me if it were a requirement to be over 6 ft - guess me, dMax, Marc, Randy, John, Alex, Fermin,
and Brian were on the field at one time. 

In what turned out to be destiny, we defeated Califia in the finals. They had the privilege of witnessing (along with our fans) a
very clinical display of defense and offense. Even better, as tournament hosts, Califia was there at the end to hand us our trophy,
winning shirts, and a round of beer. I don't know if Doug keeps the stats, but we're pretty much their recurring nightmare. They
almost seem to succumb to us before the match begins. 

Allot of credit for this success goes to Doug, for organizing it. And for all of you for making it fit in this summer's plans. Thanks
to Judy/Al for finding the Dana Pt. Inn (it's a keeper). Thanks to dMax for the Bucca de Beppo outing, and to Danny for his last 
minute "i'm in", though it was noted that he was absent for parts of Saturday, something about selling Buicks to ant hills.

Day 1
 Game 1 (some Russians named RedStarr)
   A first half drubbing (7-0), 2nd half we phoned in from home, final 8-3
 Game 2 (vs. Califia)
   A first half that shocked them, in front of the registration tables with music blaring. Despite a hungover pair of attackers, we 
   found our way to a 4-1 halftime lead, and coasted to an 8-2 win. Quote from Califia captain, "we suck today", little did he know
   that it was a weekend illness, caused by a two-day virus aptly named the "NorCal Tiger Flu"
 Game 3 (vs. TDAC Budah United)
   Having clinched our group, no urgency, and an opponent who knew how to play 6-aside. They scored on just about every 
   chance. And we gave them a few. Quite a few defensive lapses and they cruise to a 7-3 win. We know what happened, and were
   hoping to meet them in the playoffs. Honestly, there was a bit of non-deliberate sandbagging going on. Fermin left with a calf
   injury. Danny was still selling Buick's, we'd been lounging in the Sun for two hours prior to the game. Not a pretty one.

Day 2 (the playoff round) - and Danny is bouncing around!
     (We earn a bye as Group 1 winners)
  SemiFinal (vs. LA team, British Dominion) - Fermin as interim coach!!
   They thought they entered a 5.6" and under league -wrong, yes tall guys can play. Repeated direct kicks from the center 
   circle were about all they could muster in the 1st half against a very motivated defense. Up 4-0 at half, we give back a few
   goals and it got to 5-3 at one point, but bend is all we did, as we tightened down, finished off a few, and cruised to a 9-4 win.
  Final (vs. Califia, the 2nd coming)
   Califia had just defeated TDAC Budah, in a great game. They have switched goalies, and their captain was like wall, keeping
   Budah frustrated. We began our pregame dicussion. DEFENSE 1st. Offense will come, so we set the buddy system rotation, Fermin suited
   and we began the final to the sound of "Hells Bells" by AC/DC. 0-0 through 5 minutes, and their goalie was making some acrobatic
   saves, including a 3 attempt barrage by Danny. Then we broke through. 1-0, a slotted finish from Dan. 2-0, side netted shot
   from J vdB (me), here's where it just started to get better, with one fabulous strike by Werner. Goalie comes out of the 
   box looking to put an extra attacker in play, he slots a pass that is picked off by dMax, one touch to Werner, and from our
   end he strikes a nice right-2-left bender that was in as soon as it left his foot. At 4-0, and with seconds left in the half, 
   Califia is awarded a PK. John dives to his left, save!, momentum squasher. 2nd half saw even more hustle, strong overlaps from
   the back, clinical passing, and some nice finishes. Dan ended up with 4 goals, and the rest of the scoring came from Brian, 
   dMax, Kraig, Me, and Werner. Final 9-0. Some of our competition witnessed it, a shutout, in 6-aside, "now that's some high
   quality H2O".