Category Archive

My friends are a very well rounded group.  In addition to their 9-5s, they are actors, volunteers, singers, writers, video gamera and now, every Saturday morning at 10am, recreational softball league players.  Team “Get In The Van, We Have Candy” no longer partakes in consuming (too many) adult beverages on Friday nights because they have to be ready for “the game” the next morning.  They are dedicated.  They are committed.  They go to sleep with their Corcoran’s t-shirts freshly pressed and their mits polished, dreaming of a victory that will put them in the Chicago Recreational Sports Hall of Fame.

Never mind that both teams they have played consisted of middle aged co-workers who have finely tuned their game over the course of the last 20 years.  Never mind that the girls on the team don’t know how to play their positions.  Never mind that my friend Linda was heckled into striking out by her own boyfriend.  This is a team with their eye on the prize because they have already won an award so prestigious, so elusive, so surprising because no one even knew this award was up for grabs.

Team “Get In The Van We Have Candy” was awarded “Best Team Name in All of Chicago Rec League Sports”.  Before the season even started.

I mean, really–it’s all how we measure success.  Those old folk opponents of “Team Get In The Van We Have Candy” might measure it by getting so far ahead that the mercy rule is invoked within 45 minutes.  But “Team Get In The Van We Have Candy” knows the true accolades are those felt in the heart, not seen with the eye.

Besides, Coach Matt came up with a game plan for today, at the request of players looking for more direction: Drink more beer sooner.  The game may be at noon, but drinking starts at 10am.

High five team, high five.