Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Different but the same
They used to be Schnack, but now, they're Element. Different name, same team. Instead of the glaring yellow shirts of yore, they now have obnoxious green ones. Different season, but they still have the same great players – Johnny the shortstop who's wicked fast, the great pitcher who's a little too intense for me and the center fielder with the old school leggings. Surprisingly, they only showed up with 8 players, but they still knew how to play every position and hit where we weren't.
Then, there's B-61. We're the same, but different. Same name, same logo, different t-shirts, 1 or 2 new expensive bats that Jamie swears will improve his batting average. We even have most of the same die-hard players. On the surface, everything seems the same, but we have to be honest that something is different. Sure, we get hits, and we make some good plays. It's not even that we fall apart like we used to do. There isn't the B61 magic, love, heart and dare I say loyalty that we've had in the past.
I used to live for softball - couldn't wait for the next game, was willing to talk about it forever. Tracey never understood why I would get so passionate over co-ed slow pitch softball. Let's be honest, that's all it is at the end of the day. Nevertheless, B61 put a fire in my heart. I would practice pitching for hours, and I wrote social commentary of almost every game for 3 seasons. It didn't matter that it was hard work, and nobody seemed to appreciate it. I did it because I loved the team. Now, I'm wavering. I might just be grumpy because Jamie stood me up again, but am I the only one thinking this?
I suppose I could use my pulpit to describe what I think is wrong or how to fix it. Everyone already has their theories and rationales. Change the batting order, put this person here, make Willy wear gold lame underwear, replace this person, don't do the 4th inning switch if it's a close game. For all these theories, the results are still the same if not worse. So, I'm not going to add to them. I don't care if we win or lose. At this rate, we might not even make the playoffs. Let me just say that out loud for the people who don't want to think about it. I just want everyone to enjoy themselves playing CO-ED SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL for inflexible people. At the end of the day, we should happy being a team, even if we don't always win.
Then, there's B-61. We're the same, but different. Same name, same logo, different t-shirts, 1 or 2 new expensive bats that Jamie swears will improve his batting average. We even have most of the same die-hard players. On the surface, everything seems the same, but we have to be honest that something is different. Sure, we get hits, and we make some good plays. It's not even that we fall apart like we used to do. There isn't the B61 magic, love, heart and dare I say loyalty that we've had in the past.
I used to live for softball - couldn't wait for the next game, was willing to talk about it forever. Tracey never understood why I would get so passionate over co-ed slow pitch softball. Let's be honest, that's all it is at the end of the day. Nevertheless, B61 put a fire in my heart. I would practice pitching for hours, and I wrote social commentary of almost every game for 3 seasons. It didn't matter that it was hard work, and nobody seemed to appreciate it. I did it because I loved the team. Now, I'm wavering. I might just be grumpy because Jamie stood me up again, but am I the only one thinking this?
I suppose I could use my pulpit to describe what I think is wrong or how to fix it. Everyone already has their theories and rationales. Change the batting order, put this person here, make Willy wear gold lame underwear, replace this person, don't do the 4th inning switch if it's a close game. For all these theories, the results are still the same if not worse. So, I'm not going to add to them. I don't care if we win or lose. At this rate, we might not even make the playoffs. Let me just say that out loud for the people who don't want to think about it. I just want everyone to enjoy themselves playing CO-ED SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL for inflexible people. At the end of the day, we should happy being a team, even if we don't always win.
