A Goat Walked Through My Soccer Game

Ben Lerner

It's an image that has stuck in my mind. Just a goat, walking through the soccer game in a slum in Mumbai. This goat was not the only distinctly Indian element of this soccer game, with the ball colliding with a welder, a barber (while working), several mopeds, several cars and vans, several passersby and flying onto the balcony of a shack next door.

After a relaxed morning overlooking the Mumbai skyline, George, Michael and I decided to venture out and experience a slum in a small group rather than a large one, attempting to not attract as much attention. We walked around for around 10 minutes and stumbled upon a soccer game much to our excitement. 

This soccer game was in a slum. We were playing with around a dozen boys, surrounded by crumbling buildings, tiny shacks and happy people. I am admittedly one of the worst soccer players known to man, but this didn't take away from how enjoyable the game was. Other than the game stopping every few minutes to allow trucks, mopeds and cars to pass, we could have been anywhere in the world if the immediate surroundings were overlooked. We were all taken away from the devastating conditions of the slum and were simply enjoying each other's company, with little regard given to the struggle to communicate with each other vocally. I felt genuine brotherhood and passion for my team mates, all of whom (other than George) I had very little in common with if anything. Everything, including ability, was looked past and some tourists from New Zealand and slum-dwellers from India shared laughs and competition over a game of soccer. 

This really epitomised to me the ongoing theme of 'the importance of human connection' which has been discussed by so many on this trip. Our connection with these slum-dwellers was so unique and powerful that it held a crowd of 15-30 people over the 1.5 hours that the game lasted. I constantly found myself taking a moment out of the game and attempting to comprehend where we were and what we were actually doing. I still can't comprehend it. This simple game of soccer and that goat walking across it will be a memory I treasure forever from this tour.