We get the noun ‘enthusiasm’ from the Greek word, ‘enthousiasmos’. It means to be ‘possessed by a god or inspired’. The Greeks used it to describe the moment an oracle of Apollo would be captured by the spirit of the god himself to ring forth a prophecy of unwavering truth.
It was widely believed the age of the gods had passed.
Unbeknownst to a small, rag tag group of footballers from a leading-communications agency in the heart of London, this was not the case. For as the group made its way onto the hallowed turf at three corners playground pitch, one final enthousiasmos occurred.
Apollo, god of prophecy, the sun, and archery, chose his vessel in the form of Annabel Wilkinson, Account Manager.
Unfortunately for everyone in attendance, Apollo did not bring the sunshine. But boy did he bring the accuracy.
The game kicked off and Annabel wasted little time in testing her newfound powers. With an initial offering from ‘one-foot’ Billy Kerr getting the scoring off to a start, Annabel slid into the drivers seat and didn’t bother with a seatbelt, netting four goals in succession (including an absolute belter on the volley that found the top corner). Unconfirmed reports from the day say her eyes had taken on a strange golden hue.
True to form, the Eulogy side playing without an (official, anyway) Greek god on their side began to answer with a few arrows of their own, with ‘midfield martial’ Woody, ‘the newcomer’ Jacob and ‘tiki-taka’ Sarah combining to help chip away at the deficit and keep their team in the game. Then, the trademark late arrival of Joss and Adrian injected a force of pace into the match that would’ve made Hermes himself envious.
The game settled in to a rhythm of Annabel (Apollo) scoring before wandering off into the corner to spout prophecies, during which time the opposing Eulogy team would sneak a goal or two to keep themselves in contention, but always trailing by a goal or two.
But as we all know, Apollo is not the only god who takes interest in the affairs of mortals. As the skies opened and the heavens rained down on the pitch, it was clear that Zeus himself had decided his son had had enough fun, and the King of the gods arrived to pick him up from three corners playground. Not, however, before Annabel had managed to net herself a humble seven goals.
The game continued deity-free and as the clock approached the hour, Eulogy trailed Eulogy by 15-13. A rather deft touch from Poppy King put the ball into her own net, bringing the scores tantalisingly (please do ask this author about the Greek origin of this word in your own time) close.
PR Week once called him ‘the Zeus of Brownlow Yard’. However much truth that holds, Adrian Brady saw 15-14 and knew he had a job to do if peace was to be restored to this exhausted and sodden group of colleagues. Some neat build up play saw the Skyfather appear at the top of the opposition box in a move reminiscent of a prime Frank Lampard before slotting the ball home on the very stroke of the hour to end the game as a very, very high scoring draw.
15-15. A truly epic day out. But even more importantly, the first appearance of Greek deities in centuries. Who knows where they’ll appear next?
Perhaps we should ask Annabel for a prophecy.
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