Mar
6
lacing up the boots
Filed Under soccer, sports | 4 Comments
After an 8 month furlough, I dug out my indoor soocer shoes and started playing again. The last time I had played was in GR, the night before Micah was born. His timing was brilliant. Rachel came to watch the last game of the season, and about 1 1/2 hours after we got home from the game she went into labor.
We knew it was likely my last game in GR due to our move. For years our team was known as Team X. From what I understand, the core of the gang is still together, but now playing on a house team. It was a bit disheartening today to see our team’s site (formerly teamxsoccer.com) no longer online, though it’s only appropriate. If you never got to see the site, it was a thing of beauty. That’s one of the perks of having Max on your team.
At some point after moving to VA, unbeknownst to me, Rachel began praying that I’d find a team on which I could play. A couple weeks after moving into our house, she called a locksmith out of the phone book to come change the locks (S.O.P. when moving into a new place). Within 5 minutes of him being at our house, he asked if we had found a church to attend yet. One thing led to another in the conversation, and he eventually said he enjoys being a locksmith, but he’s really passionate about bringing an indoor soccer facility to our city. Hmmm. Rachel explained that I played soccer, and that I was looking for a team. Fast forward a few weeks, and I’m now playing on his team. Answered prayers aren’t always that obvious.
Our team is called FC Stafford, and we play at a place called the Fredericksburg Fieldhouse. The first night I was scheduled to play, it was dark and raining. I had my “trusty” Google Maps print-off to show me the way. Well, it showed me all the way to a dead-end street in a trailer park a mile or so away from the Fieldhouse. A panicked phone call to Rachel back home, who quickly checked the correct directions elsewhere online, and I was good to go. (It’s not the first time since we’ve been here that she’s been my personal OnStar while I’ve been out driving around.) It was difficult showing up to play when I had never met a single person on the team. At the same time, once the game started, it was nice to get on the field and be able to instantly have something in common with everyone else (e.g., shortness of breath, sore muscles, memories of younger years … as well as a similar understanding of the game). It felt really good to get out and play some soccer again.
Jan
2
#19
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The Red Wings retired #19 tonight. Yzerman’s statistics and awards from his 22 year career are numerous, and well documented. I was able to watch most of his speech on ESPN News. He was in his speech as he was his entire career: humble, grateful, and full of class. I seriously doubt professional sports will ever see such a player again, serving the same team for his entire career. Thanks for all the memories, Stevie!
Nov
29
watching my teams, at long last
Filed Under Washington D.C., sports | Leave a Comment
This weekend was apparently the time to export some Detroit sports to this side of the country. For the first time this NBA and NHL season I was able to see my beloved Pistons and Red Wings.
On Saturday, Brad and I went to watch the Pistons light up the
scoreboard with the Washington Wizards. The Good Guys were victorious, beating the home team 115 to 111. Nothing quite like scoring 34 points in the first quarter, and 62 in the first half. Quite a change from the Pistons of a couple years ago where they had a streak of games holding teams to less than 70 points the entire game. Our seats were in the very top row, but we were able to see just fine.
As for the Red Wings, I’ve been scouring my TiVo schedule for months, and Monday
night was the first time they were on a station we get. It was good to see the red sweaters flying up and down the ice again. This was the first game I’ve seen in the post-Yzerman era (perhaps the first game ever where he wasn’t on the team, unless I was watching games before I was 8?). The announcers seemed to be struggling with the adjustment, talking more about #19 (including a brief interview with him) than anyone who was actually playing. Speaking of announcers, I missed not having Mickey Redmond adding his color commentary to the game. Anyhoo, the Wings came from behind to beat the Stars 2 to 1 by scoring two short-handed goals. A bit unorthadox, but extremely exciting.
Finally, a little bit of trivia for you. The only Red Wings game I’ve seen in person at the Joe was also against the Dallas Stars 4 or 5 years ago. The Wings came from behind to win that one, too.