Well, today I had my first softball game of the season. I am on the SJC team. It took only a single game for us to nearly get into a fight.
I do not have the energy to explain what happened exactly. It will suffice to say that it’s ridiculous that another team should get angry with us just because we know the rules and they don’t.
I will also say old guys seem to have the chippiest attitudes in the entire league. I don’t know if it’s because they’re old and ornery, but they sure do like to spout off.
The other team had this old guy today. He’s a prof and probably emertius by the looks of it. Anyways, his team was in violation of a rule. I spoke out aloud about it. He made some smart remark about it and rolled my eyes at me. Hey, I know the difference between being annoyed at a rule and being annoyed at me. He was clearly annoyed at me.
Then later, one of our runners hit the bag the same time the throw came in. Everybody and their dog knows a tie goes to the runner. He called it out. I was stunned at the audacity of his call. We let it go even though he was clearly wrong. I will say one thing about SJC teams, you can always expect us to take the sportsman approach to things.
At this point, however, I decided that if things got a little more heated out there, and everyone grabbed a partner, old man winter there would be at the top of my list. And before you start berating me for targeting an old man, he was at least a foot taller than me. Plus, I think he had really sharp fingernails. I’m pretty sure he’s a hairpuller too.
Things did not get any more cordial and one of our players exchanged some words with the other team. Back on our sideline, I had to this to say to him.
“Um, I didn’t think I had to say it this early, but if anything happens, I’ll jump in and I’ll get your back. You can count on me.”
It’s ridiculous to even think about physical altercations in what is supposed to be a recreational league, but assholes permeate throughout society. That’s a lesson I’m going to teach my kids early on. Nonetheless, it’s important to let your teammates know they have your support.
In the end they scored more runs than us, but I don’t care. This is a recreational league. There is no trophy or medal for winning the most games. The last place team gets as much hardware as the first place team… which is nothing at all.
What you’re supposed to get out of this is exercise, fun, and cameraderie. Despite not scoring as many runs today, we did get all of those things. After the game, our team ate dinner together at the same table and discussed what had transpired.
Notice I keep mentioning they scored more runs than us and not that they won. Why? Because the way we handled ourselves today, I think we were the ones that triumphed.
And oh, mouthy old man, I have a double-play ball with your name on it.