Kicking a Ball and Pretending to Be Hurt

"Kicking a Ball and Pretending to Be Hurt" is the forty-first episode of the second season of Teen Titans Go!, and the ninety-third overall episode of the series.

Synopsis[]

Robin teaches the Titans about the glorious game of soccer. They quickly become obsessed and accidentally uncover the secret reason why the sport is so popular - Soccer Trolls.

Plot[]

The episode starts with Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire relaxing. They appear to be very bored, but suddenly Robin bursts into the room and announces that it is Sports Day. The four other Titans appear to have no prior knowledge about Sports Day. To let them know, Robin yells at them and hangs flyers up. He lets the Titans know that they would be playing Futbol, and the Titans start cheering for football. Robin tells them that it is not Football they will be playing, it is Futbol. The Titans reject the idea of soccer, Beast Boy saying that soccer is just "people kicking a ball and pretending to be hurt.

Raven decides to be a comedian, and she jokingly states she doesn't like soccer but prefers "sock-him." She delivers the "punch line" by punching Beast Boy. Unfortunately, Beast Boy is mercilessly punched by her huge dark magic fist. Robin understands her pun and chuckles and then goes on preaching about how Futbol can bring nations together or tear them apart. Cyborg wonders if they are still talking about soccer, but Robin tells him to stop calling it soccer, but rather Futbol. Raven believes there is something sinister about the sport, and about how people get so worked up over a ball. Starfire also has her doubts about the sport, thinking it seems unlikely a game could inspire such intense emotions. However, Robin reminds her about Cyborg going crazy while playing Duck Duck Goose, confirming his theory about Futbol. They all attempt to pronounce "Futbol" with passion, without confusing themselves with the word "football." Beast Boy nailed it. Raven socks him again.

The Titans go outside to the field and are amazed by their sports attire. Beast Boy decides to test out his shin armor by letting Cyborg kick his shin. Cyborg doesn't hold back - Beast Boy feels tremendous pain. Starfire tests his shin armor as well, and soon afterward Raven joins in the beat down, punching him again with her huge fist. Robin calls off their violent treatment of Beast Boy and shows them the ball he bought from a different country. After the Titans admire the ball's good looks and polygon shapes Robin lectures them on the rules, the main one being to make a goal with the ball by kicking it into the net. Beast Boy attempts it first; he picks up the ball and throws it into the goal, followed by celebration - and yelling from Robin. He stresses that he cannot use his hands. It takes the other Titans a few moments before they realize they use their feet to maneuver the ball. Raven claims she doesn't have feet, but Robin lifts up her cloak revealing her feet which she had forgotten. He shows them a proper demonstration of kicking the ball into the goal. Afterward, he exclaims the correct celebration for scoring a goal, by shouting the word "goal" as long as possible. Raven's shout was too emotionless, Starfire just couldn't stay in key, Beast Boy had the pitch but lacked length, and finally, Cyborg nailed it, so Robin congratulated him.

After intense training on the field and hours of practice, the Titans feel full of energy and exhilaration due to their new passion, Futbol. Robin was right about the spirit of the game, what with the Titans so worked up and emotional. Even Raven cannot argue with these intense feelings, leading her to exclaim a lengthy "goal" for more than twenty seconds.

Back in the kitchen, Robin is eating his cereal and asks Raven to pass the milk from the refrigerator. She deftly bounces it with her feet to Robin, who in turn, ricochets it right back (while simultaneously supplying himself with some milk) into the fridge. Beast Boy randomly hits Cyborg, causing Cyborg to stumble back into the lobby, faking his injury while he's down on the floor. Beast Boy receives a red card from Robin for rough playing, but Beast Boy claims that he barely even touched him. Robin does not want to hear his excuses, so he is ejected out of the game. Meanwhile, Starfire runs around as if she is on the field, while Raven claims that they have never lived their lives with such emotion. Robin completely agrees with them, thanks to their magical ball. He holds up the ball with his hands, making the other team members gasp in horror at the sight; Robin is grasping it with his hands! He releases the ball, and it falls on the ground with a sudden crack. A magical wave escapes the ball, and Robin pushes the top half of the ball off with his staff. Inside awaits a Soccer Troll, a purple creature who greets them. The other Titans are startled and jump back in fear. The Troll introduces himself and explains his job of bringing magic and passion to soccer, knowing that kicking a ball and pretending to be hurt is boring. The Titans feel foolish for liking the idiotic game and ask for the Soccer Troll to take them to his leader.

Deep underground, a huge soccer arena filled with an audience of Soccer Trolls are waiting for the game to begin. The Titans arrive through a secret stalagmite and find the factory where Soccer Trolls are packaged in balls to give them intense emotion. The King Soccer Troll welcomes the Titans as they assume the field. Robin demands him to give up his deed of making people like the game of soccer through magic. Unfortunately, the King refuses, as he reasoned no one wanted to watch a game where people kick a ball and pretend to be injured. King Soccer Troll floats the idea of betting on a game of soccer, sudden death rules. If the Titans win, the King must call back all the Soccer Trolls. If the Trolls win, the Titans receive sudden death. The Titans start to perform incredible soccer moves, using the power of teamwork and well-timed kicks to advance the ball to the goal. It does not work out too well, however, as it bounces off King Soccer Troll's leg. He effortlessly kicks it straight into the goal.

Since the Titans lost, the King is about to kill the team when Robin and the others display a huge sore loser fit, one of their attributes they had learned earlier. They are so annoying that King Soccer Troll goes back on his word, allowing them to live. The Titans start kicking and punching the King, who begs them to stop, saying that he will call back his Soccer Trolls, but the Titans ignore him. King Soccer Troll eventually passes out, so Cyborg suggests a game of bowling instead. The Titans are ready when all of a sudden, Cyborg drops his bowling ball. It reveals a magical Bowling Turkey. Cyborg is not going to take this again and blasts the Turkey immediately.

Characters[]

Robin
Starfire
Cyborg
Raven
Beast Boy
Silkie (cameo)
King Goal (debut)
Soccer Trolls (debut)
Bowling Turkey (debut, cameo)

Trivia[]

This episode aired one year after "Grandma Voice", and two years after "Driver's Ed" and "Dog Hand".
The seagull and crab that are usually on the rock in front of the tower have gone on vacation, as the rock shows a sign saying "On vacay!"

Continuity[]

This is the second episode revealing all of the Titans doing an official world-wide sports game, the first time being in "Artful Dodgers" (when they played dodgeball).
Starfire is seen wearing her football helmet, which was first seen in "Thanksgiving".
Beast Boy's and Cyborg's soccer uniforms resemble their other uniforms from "Artful Dodgers" and "Boys vs Girls".
This is the second time the Titans play "duck duck goose", which they first did in "Pie Bros".
- It appears that Starfire has now learned how to correctly play the game, and no longer uses real ducks and geese.
This is the third time a joke is shared that only Raven and Robin find funny. ("Uncle Jokes", "Hose Water")
Cyborg is wearing the same shirt that he did in "Artful Dodgers."

References[]

All of the Titans think that Robin is referring to American football, a common misconception made by Americans, and not realizing he means soccer.
The Magic Turkey in the bowling ball at the end of the episode is probably related to the name of three Strikes in a row, a Turkey.
There is a reference to the All your base are belong to us meme. Interestingly, the meme is referenced a second time in the following episode, "Head Fruit".
At the beginning of the episode, there is a #23 white-red basketball jersey stuck to the wall. This refers to the jersey worn by basketball player LeBron James.
Somewhere at the beginning, Cyborg is voicing an American football game with a video game-like look. This may be a reference to the Intellivision game, "Football."

Errors[]

Since when did Robin say that he put the sports flyers up at the Titans Tower and not one saying "Sports Day"?
- However, he might have put up the flyers a week before, but just forgot to put up the "Sports Day" flyers.