[Cz-L] Button football

(This story is mainly for boys.)
During the war.
  There was no other entertainment that could compare to button footbal.
   Knoepfe Fussball or in short Knoepfe.
   All you needed was a big table with a smooth surface.
   The players were buttons , the ball a small shirt button and the goals
shoeboxes (cut in half).
  You drove the buttons (players ) by pushing down on their edge for
propulsion.
You had to shoot the ball inside the goal.
    In the goal stood a goalkeeper , the biggest button you could find (from
    bath robes usually).
     The buttons had to be honed to make them good players.
      Grinding the button to make it a player was an art.
    A good player could lift the ball over the defenders and the goalie.
      Here came in the skill and dexterity of the team owner who honed the
      buttons to make them aces.
   Where came all these buttons from ?
   First from home , all drawers , old coats and jackets were depleted.
   Then relatives, neighbors , guests , by-standers were robbed.
    Then button-hunt on the streets: - all you needed was a razor blade and
a little courage.
    Once I needed a new forward and went button hunting on the street and
after a while
    a coat passed by with the most covetted " Stuermer" on it.
      I made it for the rear buttons , followed the prey through half the
town
      and finally got caught.
       Then I ran away, in running I was much better than in cutting off
buttons.
       That year I didnt make the street championship.
        Champion was Berti Schifter ,the best button - cutter on the street.
       His center forward was nick-named Sigi Hefling , the Maccabi forward
, of city fame.
        To watch Berti perform was an one-time experience.
          Berti Schifter lived on the Morariogasse and was my best friend.
             One day we decided to build an airplane.
          How the airplane became a Tiger tank and then a storage case for
potatoes
              is a completely different story...

                                 Hardy

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Received on 2009-11-21 08:31:18