In an effort to include more of all the MacKenzie Boys and less of just this MacKenzie Boy, I’m going to try to include more soccer centric questions that Alex and Owen take turns answering.

This month: while taking the boys to soccer practices with our local club, I’ve noticed that they very much enjoy a wide assortment of games and training activities that center on animal style behavior: crab walk tackles, snake tag, snapping alligator legs, etcetera. So I decided to ask the boys one clear question:

What animal powers do you think would most help you play soccer?

Owen: Crocodile…cuz then it could just snap…or just say “…nnnnyeahh….I don’t care” and then shred the ball into pieces. Kinda like how I don’t care about scrimmages. I just like the practice and the games like “ships across the ocean”. I’d be the same way, I’d just be like, “I don’t care…I’m just gonna scratch this thing: shikkk, goodbye ball!!” I think a crocodile would be good at ships across the ocean, because there would be water. Oh yeah, and it would be good at tackles! It’ would just be like “I don’t care! Snap, and tackle them!!”)

Alex: I’d want to be a dog, but not just one dog. I’d like to be an animagus dog, like in Harry Potter, and have the power to turn into all sorts of different dogs! I could be little like our dog Sidney, or big like grandma and grandpa’s dog Gida. And for soccer…hmmm…I think I would…uh…I would want to be a big dog like gida [Ed: An Italian Spinoni] but a little more coordinated.

Papa: I definitely appreciate the boys’ perspective on this. I think my favorite animals also have a major influence on my choices as well. I’m certainly tempted to name a tiger as they’re both aggressive and stealthy, but I think my natural predilection for defensive plays leads me to pick the Bison. I like the combination of being strong enough to overpower attackers and fast enough to keep up with them. Also, I’m quite aware that the Bison’s role as my high school mascot has made playing for the team the unattained ideal of my own truncated soccer career. (Bonus point: One of my favorite players, Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien, was nicknamed “Le Bison” for his style of play, not his connection to Great Falls High…although…if he wanted a coaching job…)