Stepping Away from the Edge

Winning Ways

Yeah.  It's a contest.

And, in the end, one team is declared the "winning" team.

But.  There are so many ways to win.

You win . . . when you become a part of something bigger than yourself.

You win. . . when you work together in a coordinated effort.

You win. . . when you learn to depend on others.

You win. . . when you reach deep inside yourself and find out what you got.

You win. . . when you keep going, even when you want more than anything to quit.

You win. . . when you find your friends-for-life.

You win. . . when you understand that you can lose, but still win.

You win. . . when you have no regrets.

1-4 Pull Team; Awesome Pull Team.  You left it all on the rope.  Every one of you.  Winners, all.

Geritol! Geritol! Ooh! Ahh!*

Remember this?

 

Well.  Tom plays Ultimate Frisbee on a the Kalamazoo Ultimate Disc League (KUDL) team each summer and fall.  He has a great time -- even though most of his teammates are closer to Brian's age. . . than to his own!  (If you click here, you can find Tom -- part of this past summer's KUDL Summer League Champion team, Blue Oyster Cult.)

Besides his league team, though, Tom plays on a "Master's" Ultimate Team.  Their name?  Senior DISCount!

To be a "Master's" team, each player must be over 32 years old.  Tom is the oldest player.  (There are many players in their 40s; several in their 30s.  Tom is the only one over 50.)

This weekend was The Big Tournament -- Sectionals.  There wasn't any pressure -- beause "Master's" teams automatically proceed to the next level (Regionals) of play.  (There just aren't that many "Master's" teams around!)  But, Senior DISCount played in the Sectional tournament this weekend anyway.  Just for fun.

They played against college club teams all weekend.  (Like I said, Brian's age!)

Jenny and I went out to cheer on the OLD GUYS!

Jenny would prefer to play. . .

I can haz frisbee!

But, in the end, she was a good fan!

We were apparently good luck. . . because Senior DISCount won (this game, anyway!).

Geritol!  Geritol!

Oooh!  Ahhhh! 

Power to the Old Guys!

==========

* Official Team Chant!

 

Symbol of Strength. . . or Super V Power!

When Brian was in Kindergarten, he played soccer.

These games were fun to watch -- because the little guys, for the most part, just ran around the field in a pack.  They sort of followed the ball around, and occasionally they made (what Tom and I called) "intentional ball contact."

Brian wanted to make a goal.  Badly.  So, one day before a game, I convinced him that the "V" design sewed into his little soccer shoes were "SUPER V"s and they game him Super Powers.  All he had to do was activate the power of the Super V, and he would kick with extra power!

It worked.  He scored a goal.  It was all the Super Vs, you know.

He didn't play soccer for long, but the Super V power followed him . . . into baseball. . .

and hockey. . .

even high school lacrosse!

Of course, once he outgrew those little soccer shoes with their built-in Super V design, we had to add our own Super Vs.  Brian's sports equipment was always covered with marker-drawn Vs -- which were "freshened up" before any tryout or Really Big Game.

Here are his hockey gloves from high school. 

When you turn them over, you find this. . .

Super V Power!!!

It generally worked.

Last year, when I went to watch Brian in The Pull at Hope College, this brought tears. . .

The Pullers adorn their bodies with symbols of strength -- and Brian had chosen to include Super Vs.

Yesterday, Brian made the Super V a permanent part of himself. . . with a Super V tattoo.

He was very thoughtful about it.  It took him about 18 months to decide whether to get the tattoo -- and where.  When he finally decided, he took me with him.

He explains the V as "a symbol of strength between my mom and me."

SUPER V POWER!!!!  Now . . . Forever!

The Real Deal

This week, Kalamazoo is playing host to the National Curling Championships. 

 

We went to check out the action the other night.  It's kind of like watching Olympic curling on tv. . . only. . . not really.

 

There are no announcers giving you the play-by-play, for example.  And there are five matches going on at the same time.  There are no "re-plays" to show you the good shots again.  And it's LOUD!  Those curlers yell directions to each other using rather unique sounds.

But it's everything you might expect of national-level curling action. 

Intense sweeping. . .

Dramatic shots. . .

 

Lots of strategizing. . .

 

Even some measuring!

 

It was exciting to see "real" curling up close.

 

But it's a slow kind of sport.  Guess how I spent my time?

 

(Look at Tom and I . . . surrounded by wool!  He in his Cobblestone and me sporting my Central Park Hoodie!  Didn't notice until I just loaded the photo.)

 

It was a fun night -- and a big deal here in Kalamazoo!  (And local beer, too.)