EagleFan
05-23-2011, 11:11 PM
As I mentioned, I am going to get a little more personal with these lists. This is my list of top 10 sports participation moments. There is no judgement here on what is or isn't considered a sport (at least in my eyes). Not in any particular order.
Little League City Champions - In my 11 year old season our team started out 1-2 after having lost to the two teams that we would battle with to the end. After that point we went on to win all of our remaiign regular season games to win out league. In the city series we lost the first (best of three) game on the road. In game two we trailed by 2 runs going into the bottom of the 6th and managed to score three runs to win and send the game back to the other side of town for game three. I started that game and, though I actually didn't think about it at the time, was 4 outs away from a perfect game. I hit a batter (the first batter that I had ever hit) and that got in my head as I started to try to not hit the next couple batters. The coach saw it wasin my head and moved me over to first base and we went on to win the game 9-2. In 4.2 innings I had 12 strikeouts but wish that I had finished it out. Most important though, we won!
See Above, League Clinching Win - We were playing one of the teams that had beaten us. We had a 2 run lead in the final inning. I was playing first that game. With two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd a ground ball was hit to short. The throw was in the dirt but I scooped it and we won the game. It becomes a blur but there were two groups that gathered, most players on the field mobbed Jeff who was pitching. Our dugout was right near first. After making the play I spiked the ball and before I could make a step towards Jeff I was swarmed by the kids from the dugout.
Same Season (feel good moment for me) - Having Marfan Syndrome and growing up with bad eyes from it I grew up with coke bottle glases. Pretty much made me an easy target for being picked on. I was an all-star pitcher that year, didn't have a loss and struck out over 2 batters per inning. I threw submarine style but had decent velocity and great control (if I may brag). One of the games in the middle of the season we were playing a team that we were fighting with for the top spot. Our top pitcher could only go 4 inings that game due to Little League regulations. Coach brought me in for the last two innings and we had the lead. I head a couple kids from the other team's dugout saying "great, we're going to win!" when I took the mound. Their coach was quick to address them as I heard him say "that means you never saw him pitch". I went on to retire all 6 batters with 4 strikeouts one popup to first and the other was a line drive right back at me that I caught. That just felt good.
Golfing with Ed - I have a friend that is a very good golfer (or was, don't know how he is now). My mind gets me when I golf. If I start out too well I begin to overthink my shots. For some reason this day I just played. I usually was way over par but I amost kept up with him stroke for stroke. He beat me by a couple strokes but I was in a zone that day and have never played that well since. I guess all the stars were aligned.
Two by Four Bowling - The league was called a two by four. Teams of two and we bowled 4 games each week. I signed up with a friend, Steve (we were each other's best man). While we were not great bowlers (not bad but not great) we put it all together that year (the only year we participated in that) and actually won the league. My fondest memory was one game where I needed to strike out for us to win and I did just that. A very goo feeling.
Church League Friday Night Bowling - Not a specific event but I loved bowling in that league. It was fun and I had a major thing for one of the girls on the team. We would go out for pizza each week when we finished. It was fun to see how my scores progressed from being a 120 average when I first started to being about 170 in my last season a few years later.
Indoor Soccer - In my late 20's I started playing indoor soccer on a Sunday night mens league. I was never great but this was a lot of fun. The only problem is that I should not have been playing. I never knew theetent of Marfan Syndrome as my parents never told me anything by my eye issues. It wasn't until late twenties when I read on the internet what the problems could be. It ended up being my last time playing sports as a knee problem cased me to stop and soon the denial ended about my condition and I decided it was best to not roll the dice anymore.
Tennis - In my early twenties Steve and I would play tennis for hours at a time over the weekend. He always beat me (he always managed to control the point). Even when I started out with the lead he would eventually start running me ragged all over the court. I had a wicked first serve when I could get it in but I couldn't hit it enough to be an equalizer. I remember beating him one time which felt great; one of those days where I put everything together.
Skiing with Dad - I started skiing with my dad when I was 5. We used to go to Vernon Valley in North Jersey a couple times a year and some smaller areas in South Jersey (they did exist back then) a lot of times. Was never a great skier but was good enough. Would never trade the times that we spent on the slopes. We would bring a couple of my friends sometimes, or my then sister in law when we were in North Jersey. Nothing seemed quite like sitting in the lodge drinking a nice warm hot chocolate after hitting the slopes. It has been a long time since I have gone skiing.
Fishing with Dad and my Grandfather (mother's side) - When I was a kid I would go fishign with them a lot during the summer. The oddity is that I hate fish and it wasn't even about the fishing but just the time spent. The town where I grew up used to have a summer games competition for the kids. I won the fishing competition 3 years in a row. Complete luck if you ask me as I don't feel like I had any special skill.
Little League City Champions - In my 11 year old season our team started out 1-2 after having lost to the two teams that we would battle with to the end. After that point we went on to win all of our remaiign regular season games to win out league. In the city series we lost the first (best of three) game on the road. In game two we trailed by 2 runs going into the bottom of the 6th and managed to score three runs to win and send the game back to the other side of town for game three. I started that game and, though I actually didn't think about it at the time, was 4 outs away from a perfect game. I hit a batter (the first batter that I had ever hit) and that got in my head as I started to try to not hit the next couple batters. The coach saw it wasin my head and moved me over to first base and we went on to win the game 9-2. In 4.2 innings I had 12 strikeouts but wish that I had finished it out. Most important though, we won!
See Above, League Clinching Win - We were playing one of the teams that had beaten us. We had a 2 run lead in the final inning. I was playing first that game. With two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd a ground ball was hit to short. The throw was in the dirt but I scooped it and we won the game. It becomes a blur but there were two groups that gathered, most players on the field mobbed Jeff who was pitching. Our dugout was right near first. After making the play I spiked the ball and before I could make a step towards Jeff I was swarmed by the kids from the dugout.
Same Season (feel good moment for me) - Having Marfan Syndrome and growing up with bad eyes from it I grew up with coke bottle glases. Pretty much made me an easy target for being picked on. I was an all-star pitcher that year, didn't have a loss and struck out over 2 batters per inning. I threw submarine style but had decent velocity and great control (if I may brag). One of the games in the middle of the season we were playing a team that we were fighting with for the top spot. Our top pitcher could only go 4 inings that game due to Little League regulations. Coach brought me in for the last two innings and we had the lead. I head a couple kids from the other team's dugout saying "great, we're going to win!" when I took the mound. Their coach was quick to address them as I heard him say "that means you never saw him pitch". I went on to retire all 6 batters with 4 strikeouts one popup to first and the other was a line drive right back at me that I caught. That just felt good.
Golfing with Ed - I have a friend that is a very good golfer (or was, don't know how he is now). My mind gets me when I golf. If I start out too well I begin to overthink my shots. For some reason this day I just played. I usually was way over par but I amost kept up with him stroke for stroke. He beat me by a couple strokes but I was in a zone that day and have never played that well since. I guess all the stars were aligned.
Two by Four Bowling - The league was called a two by four. Teams of two and we bowled 4 games each week. I signed up with a friend, Steve (we were each other's best man). While we were not great bowlers (not bad but not great) we put it all together that year (the only year we participated in that) and actually won the league. My fondest memory was one game where I needed to strike out for us to win and I did just that. A very goo feeling.
Church League Friday Night Bowling - Not a specific event but I loved bowling in that league. It was fun and I had a major thing for one of the girls on the team. We would go out for pizza each week when we finished. It was fun to see how my scores progressed from being a 120 average when I first started to being about 170 in my last season a few years later.
Indoor Soccer - In my late 20's I started playing indoor soccer on a Sunday night mens league. I was never great but this was a lot of fun. The only problem is that I should not have been playing. I never knew theetent of Marfan Syndrome as my parents never told me anything by my eye issues. It wasn't until late twenties when I read on the internet what the problems could be. It ended up being my last time playing sports as a knee problem cased me to stop and soon the denial ended about my condition and I decided it was best to not roll the dice anymore.
Tennis - In my early twenties Steve and I would play tennis for hours at a time over the weekend. He always beat me (he always managed to control the point). Even when I started out with the lead he would eventually start running me ragged all over the court. I had a wicked first serve when I could get it in but I couldn't hit it enough to be an equalizer. I remember beating him one time which felt great; one of those days where I put everything together.
Skiing with Dad - I started skiing with my dad when I was 5. We used to go to Vernon Valley in North Jersey a couple times a year and some smaller areas in South Jersey (they did exist back then) a lot of times. Was never a great skier but was good enough. Would never trade the times that we spent on the slopes. We would bring a couple of my friends sometimes, or my then sister in law when we were in North Jersey. Nothing seemed quite like sitting in the lodge drinking a nice warm hot chocolate after hitting the slopes. It has been a long time since I have gone skiing.
Fishing with Dad and my Grandfather (mother's side) - When I was a kid I would go fishign with them a lot during the summer. The oddity is that I hate fish and it wasn't even about the fishing but just the time spent. The town where I grew up used to have a summer games competition for the kids. I won the fishing competition 3 years in a row. Complete luck if you ask me as I don't feel like I had any special skill.