LDS FC: Forwards

To explain the title of my blog: A soccer team is usually called a football club (even here in America). English teams aren't like American teams where there's a city and a team name, it's usually just the area they represent. For example, we see Fullham FC, FC standing for Football Club. They are the Football Club from Fullham. Also, Chelsea FC, Wolverhampton FC, etc. It's even seen in MLS, with teams like FC Dallas, and Toronto FC.
I'm back on a soccer kick! (No pun intended. Seriously... I hate puns). I'm also on a series kick. I enjoyed writing an on going idea, and am going to attempt that again. This time, I will be writing about soccer.
What's so amazing about soccer is the versatility of each player. A good soccer player is a defender who attacks, and an attacker who defends. They'll be up and down the field, running their tails off, working whatever position they have to at the time, ensuring that the other team doesn't score, and their team does. However, while they are able to fill any role, there's still a reason they play their specific position. They're especially good at whatever they do. Today, I'm going to focus on the forwards.

The forward is the attacking force. Often called strikers (which sounds way cooler!), the forward is the one most likely to score a goal. Not as apt to play defense, they usually stay farther back when the other team has the ball on the other side of the field, but that won't stop them when necessary. Their the front line, the attackers, the scorers! When the ball gets to them, they're up their shooting the ball with all their might. They make their stand in the middle, right in the box, getting right in the keeper's face. The keeper obviously doesn't want them to get the ball, cause they're strikers because they're good at putting the ball in.
Some big names that fill this role include Clint Dempsey, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, and, a great up-and-comer, Juan Agudelo. To someone who doesn't quite understand, they might look at a striker and think of them as a glory hog, someone who doesn't do much on the other end, stays on their half, and sometimes considered a "cherry-picker". Just because Wayne Rooney doesn't know how to stay onside, doesn't mean the rest of them are that way, too! Their role is incredibly important, as a good portion of goals are scored by them. Plus, and this isn't necessarily all the time, but I've noticed that when Clint Dempsey scores, the US Men's National Team usually wins, and when he doesn't, they usually don't... Just sayin'. Forwards are the strike force for their football club!
Well, if we compare the Church to a football club, who would be the strikers? US! The full time missionaries! We're the Church's strike force! We're out there on the front line, knocking down doors, offering service, and talking to everyone we see to try and share our message! We may not be on the defensive as much, and usually are pretty focused on one thing (that is, finding the elect), but we're still out there, scoring goals! Or, saving souls. While the forwards on the team are the main offensive group, we're the main offensive group for the Church. We're the ones that are fed the ball in the center, right their in the danger zone, and expected to finish strong! As surprising as it may seem, without 19-26 year old (seemingly) kids, the Church would be hard pressed to progress. We may seem like glory hogs sometimes, but we're not out here for us. Just like Clint Dempsey isn't on the team just to score goals and get notoriety, we're not out just for personal gain or recognition. Dempsey wants to help his team win, and so do we! But we need help. Just like a football club needs to be a well-oiled, cooperative group, relying on the support of teammates to achieve their goal, so do we rely on the help of the rest of our team........