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2008 Olympia Co-Ed Traveling Team |
Matt Samson is Back! After a four year hiatus, Matt began tournament day by overdosing on coffee and writing 3 cheers at Denny's. Two teams told us we had the best cheer all weekend and one team said we had the best cheer EVER! What, ever?!?! Totally possibly with this bass singer all-star who writes like Bob Dylan "locked in a closet with a bottle of Jack Daniels, a bar of soap, and a French tickler" (Samson, 2008). It's these lyrics that unanimously nominated Matt as the male Captain's Award winner. But remember folks, you don't have to be perfect to win the Captain's Award. Just ask Matt about his fake that was so real looking the disc actually ejected itself from his hand and went 60 feet perpendicular to the field! Thanks Matt for adding a spirited dynamic to the team.
Day 1, the Heat is On! O's first game was against the experienced Vince and temperatures were already over 80 degrees ... a tragic loss at universe point (11-12). Game 2 was against Freezer Jam and luckily there was no Rich or Maya to help them out because we squeaked off a win...at universe point (12-11). That's right, two universe points on Saturday! Game 3 led us to our toughest game versus Guard Seize Them. Could somebody please tell me how it is they had only one male sub and one female sub and they still won? Oh well, we put them to the test as we were down at the half and came back with a 5 point streak, but they put us to rest at 11-13. To round out the day, we played Tractor Pull in Game 4. We started to fall apart a bit at the end of the first half, but we admitted to ourselves that we came to win and we pulled off at 13-11.
Andrew Admits Guilt: He IS "Hand Blocker"! And who wouldn't admit that if you too got SEVEN (7) hand blocks in one weekend! Go, go, gadget arms! No wonder that kid's fingers have been in rehab since Spring '07! There's one particular handblock I'd actually like to forget, which went like this: Game 1 on Saturday vs. Vince ... universe point... Vince has the advantage of being on O ... Todd had an awesome pull which set Andrew up for a powerhouse handblock (4)... Then, there's something like how Andrew threw it to Beth, bread basket, she dropped it, Vince scored and won the game ... But HEY, important things first: Andrew got a handblock when the D line needed it most! Nice job Andrew, tournaments would not be the same without you!
Monster D! As if handblocks weren't enough, well, they weren't for Clint. Our toughest game was Game 3 on Saturday during the midst of the highest temperatures - 98 degrees. And I believe it was Will who said to Clint on the line ... "Dude, you got that guy!" The very next moment, Clint is laying out with a monster D against That Guy! It was the pivotal moment that created a much needed energy to lead O to score 5 points in a row and overcome, if even for a moment, the relentless heat and Guard.
Squirtguns, Germs, and Balloons! I'm not sure how the rest of the team felt, but this was the most fun tournament in a long while thanks to our Spirit Queen, Kathy. We were prepared for the hot-ass weather and brought along an arsenal of squirtguns, water balloons, and anything else that shot water. As the team rested during our bye at the top of a lovely shaded hill the SQ herself rallied a few allies and began launching water balloons at us from a rubber sling shot about 40 yards away. Like Kathy's playing style, she honed in her sights and hit Santana dead on after a few minor adjustments. Not only did we have fun, but we provided off-field entertainment for the other nearby teams.
Molly Turns 21 Years Old at THAT! The team thought it would be an awesome idea to sing 21 rousing versions of Happy Birthday to our youngest teammate. Such versions included fast paced, slow paced, opera style, etc. We made such a fuss about singing happy birthday to Molly that both of our opponents on Sunday sang to her! No matter how loudly, badly, or repeatedly we sang happy birthday to Molly she consistently said "Thank you." every single time. Not only are we gracious that Molly put up with our shenanigans, we are hellishly gracious she has young, fast legs that kept going for the D and the scores all weekend long. This is what got Molly unanimously nominated as the female Captain's Award winner. It's so great to have Molly with us this season and watch her grow into a beautiful 21-year-old HOT ultimate player!
Stephanie Saves the Ladies! Our women began to panic as the weather reports kept getting worse throughout the week and wee were still short a lady. Luckily, our scandalous neighbors to the North lent us a very fine gal, Stephanie. Despite not knowing a soul, Stephanie bravely joined O for the weekend and got us out of a pickle many times! One particular play involved Stephanie patiently calling timeout near the goal-line followed up with a fantastic score to Jeremy. We hope she will join us in the future so long as we didn't scare her off along with Molly with our relentless singing and cheering.
O, O, O, Lots More Details! Will for a layout score to end the Tractor Pull game! - Pam and Kathy's solid, steady handling. - Jon's relentless sarcasm that gets everyone rolling. - Toby's awesome zone O and D during Ah Burrito while the rest of the team fell apart. - Corey, as the cheering/pain in our assess section. - Jeremy being 8 feet tall and pulling down Ian's hucks. Santana forgot his megaphone, thank god. - Shannon, popping like a maniac on Sunday when no one else could quite figure it out. - Deena taking lots of pictures. - Beth's huck to Jeremy in the second Vince game. - Matt's layout catch on Saturday. - Todd stealing a Guard dump pass then catching the score. - Santana's hammer score to Will against Guard.
"Put your entire team in the spotlight. Thanks to them, you're able to experience a level of success that you wouldn't have been able to achieve on your own. Remember that when it's your turn to help one of them out."