I have seen a number of posts bringing back old memories of this game 'table soccer'.
As the memories of the fun flashed back,so was the seriousness which we put to the game. It wasn't just a game played with bottle corks,it was far much more than that and I believe some people can identify as I list some of the 'extra miles' we went for the love of the game.
For the fun of it I'll like to share a few of mine.
1, Structured after the super eagles(the senior team) I had a senior team made up of Golden Guinea beer (or was it bergedoff)corks
2, Like the flying eagles(middle level team),I had a team comprised of a malt drink(I think maltina or malta guiness)
3, And structured after the golden eaglets,I had a team from the soft drink brands.
4, The rarer the brand of drink,the more unique and exotic your team appeared,so many of us would be roaming from streets to streets with our eyes glued to the floor looking for corks of drinks like ginger ale, parle soda, 33, monarc, fanta chapman etc. Getting 11 of such was like buying foreign players! I guess we were 'scouting'.
5, Their tour bus was empty packs of St. Louis sugar which automatically transforms into the goal posts on arrival at the match stadium.
6, For their kits,we spared no expense. They are usually laced with 'boots' made from the round edges of the inner seal of the cork. For effective shots,we usually laced them with double boots, that way their shots had more power.
7, A round bolt is usually placed on top of each cork and lightly hammered till they are roundly and smoothly caved in. This would ensure that they are firm on the ground and reduces the chance of 'hand ball' which happens when the cork covers the entire ball.
8, For their jersey numbers,we'll cut the digits(from 1 to 11) from the calendar and glue it on the corks.
9, For my two backmen then,the nos 2 & 3,I'll not hit them in like others but turn them downwards up and fill their inside with melting candle wax and let it cool and solidify inside them. That way,no shot from the opponents can push them into the post when they stand beside the keeper. They can't be pushed around by others(those were the days defenders had to be huge).
10, We had tournaments in the street and even in school where we had knock out stages till the finalist emerged and played. The winner get to lift a trophy crafted from an empty plastic bottle of parazone bleach wrapped in many gold cellophine foils from St. Moritz cigarrette pack!

Those were the days.

The good old days of putting numbers from the calendar on the crown cork.

Chai...my fine shirts button suffered cus of dis game

Good old days. Smashed my oldman's tape just to get the inner round button




The mending I got that day no be here

I'm one of the few people who achieved smooth corner kicks without mounting players in front of the goal post

Proffdada:
I'm one of the few people who achieved smooth corner kicks without mounting players in front of the goal post

Those were the masters. It takes skill and craft to achieve that feat. There's a way you'll twist your thumb with your index finger and fire the shot to create that spinning C movement of the ball.

eyeview:


Those were the masters. It takes skill and craft to achieve that feat. There's a way you'll twist your thumb with your index finger and fire the shot to create that spinning C movement of the ball.

and to get rebounds for perfect finishing

Damn, can't actually believe I forgot about this game. Table soccer. But bro that your candle wax hack na serious cheat o. Then when the goals were not forthcoming, you just hustle for a free kick and "bude" everybody inside the post.

Den all of a sudden video games came from some rich kids who visited there uncle dat duck hunt dat u play u shoot with a gun on the screen and super mario came also.

Hmmm the Good old days.

I used candle wax on all my players because I like power play.

We have an iron post covered with net from old sponge.

There is a dedicated big plywood which we named Maracana stadium and its only used for star games. Every other game is played on smaller board.

The trophy is a combination of milk tin, parazone bottle and used bulb covered with Gold wrapper from cigarrete packs for Winner and Silver wrapper for runner up.

See wetin dem turn Naija into

I missed those good old days.