The day began with our team’s game. In the regular season we placed 4th. There were 3 teams with the same win/loss record so the place was decided on who won against who…The other two teams both beat us once, but we beat the third place team once. Their win against us was by more 31 points so in order to finish above them our win would have had to be more than 32 points over them….But, alas was not. So the way the play-offs start; the 1st place team plays the last place team, the second place team plays the next to last, the third place team plays the team in 6th place and the 4th place team plays the 5th place team.
We always make a big thing of the first play-off game. A couple of years ago when I still worked and had money, I bought a flag from the Minnesota Vikings website and a Viking costume at Halloween from a local party store. The first year, one of the father’s volunteered to wear it. Last year, I wore it. During a practice last week, I was asked if I still have the costume and flag. I do, but because this year anything I take to the field I have to carry on my own, I haven’t been bringing everything. One of the father’s said if the costume fit him, He would wear it this year. So I brought it to the next practice.
October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. Some of the players on some of the teams have shown their support by wearing pink duct tape. We have a girl on our team….She decided to go all out for the game. She is a 6th grader and this is her last year to play youth sports so she is ready to win the Championship Trophy.
I don’t know what they fed her the night before, but her mom tells me her and her brother were up at 7:30 a.m., outside warming up and wanted to be at the field at 8! (The game wasn’t until 10!) She had 12 tackles in the game and recovered a fumble by the other team….I think we should have her wear the pink for the last 2 games…
It was an exiting game all the way around. The players were pumped up, the parents were pumped up and the coaches were pumped up. We won the game 28 to 0….The other team had to take “the walk of shame”….that’s when the losing teams have to turn in their equipment. All players are told to make sure they bring extra clothes the first day of play-offs, as any team that does lose goes home….minus their helmets, shoulder pads and pants pads…
The next 2 games were no surprise. Both the second place team and the first place team won their games…The surprise came when the third place team played the 6th place team….Now the third place team has had a year filled with drama. One of their players had a weight issue before the season started, made weight for the first game, but refused to weigh in after the 5th game….Their team was “beating up” on every team they played up until then accumulating over 30 points against every team they beat…We were the first team to even score against them. This player also has an anger management problem. In the past he has been suspended for games and usually had at least 1 ”Un-sportsmanlike Conduct” call per game. He has made a habit of punching, hitting, pinching and making obscene gestures to members of the opposing team all season. After the game where we beat them and he received a penalty for “Late hit out of bounds” where he ran one of our players into a bench (the other boy used to be his best friend), he was suspended for the remainder of the season. His coach/father and head Coach were both fired for encouraging bad sportsmanship. He was at the game protesting…
This was just enough to fire up the 6th place team. They came ready to play. The score didn’t get very high, but it got high enough….In the end, the 6th place team sent the 3rd place team home by a score of 8 to 6…..just 2 points….but the field almost broke into a riot as members from all the other teams who stayed to watch broke into a cheer….
Karma will get you in the end….
Next step….On Wednesday, our team will play the 1st place team at 6 and the other 2 teams play at 7:30. The 2 winner will play for the championship game on Saturday at the High School; and the two losers will play for 3rd and 4th place. This is the first time this has ever been done. All the boys and our girl are pumped up and excited about playing on the “Big” field. And as was proven this past week….anything can happen!
Good luck to all of them but most of all to my favorite team…..The Vikings!
Hugs and Love to all my friends reading!
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