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Thanks!
From the Stands: #1: "Generosity, Genius, or Guts?"
As our first column on this wonderous website, I'd like to first thank the webmistress, nWo-Kim, for giving us this opportunity to express ourselves. We are the one driving point behind Team nWo, the people they play for, the people that love them, we are the Fans, but more importantly, we are the Bleacher Fans. Not just your ordinary fans, no, we are special.
We go by many names, come from different backgrounds, have different jobs, but we all have one thing in common - we love to root for our team and mark out like little kids when our favorite Superstar comes by to sneak a kiss or a sip of water. Yes, we are the Bleacher Fans and we've come to express our opinions.
I found Tuesday nights game to be very interesting. For one thing, I think it's great how Team nWo plays mind games with their opponents. You see, Teddy's Bar could possibly be a contender come play off time and what better way to set them off guard - then by losing to them during the regular season? Promoting a false sense of security and a scoffing attitude, to be able to come in as the underdog - is that genius or what? But nWo Softball Inc. is no fly by night organization, no sir, they had the nerve, the skill, the testicular fortitude to take it one step further than just losing...it was almost a shut out.
In the last inning, with a Teddy's Bar player on third and one out, Team nWo upped the odds, raised it a notch, and tightened the noose they had placed around Teddy's Bars' necks in the first inning. With us Bleacher Fans chanting steadily from our position along third base, and a brief infield meeting, the decision had been made...bring the outfielders in and load the bases. We cheered - cheered for our team that was so brave, so intelligent, so deceitful. The 'meeting' was a formality, there was no need for it, the decision had been made to lose - and to lose big. Sojo threw the meatball, threw it low and slow, the old 'here it is - how far can you hit it?' pitch. The batter, after a moments hesitation, a brief nanosecond of thinking this couldn't possibly be true, swung his powerful bat and launched the ball for a single up the middle. The run scored, game over, tenned in five innings.
You could see it on the Teddy's Bar players' faces, that smug 'pfft these guys ain't shit' look. That wasn't the only thing we saw, we saw the twinkle in our Superstars' eyes, that little nod of the head and the slight undertone to their voices as they slapped hands and muttered 'good game'.
Some may disagree with the philosophy of throwing a game in order to gain an advantage for the playoffs. Some may say that isn't in the spirit of the game. I say - nobody else has the courage to do it. Of course baseball is about doing your best, giving your all, playing your heart out. But it's also about playing smart, finding and exploiting an advantage, using your intelligence and intensity to win at all costs. Because it all comes down to the Win column and the Loss column and which side has the bigger number. There are only five teams worthy of playoff contention in this league, five, which means the nWo cuts 0.500 and they're in. It's not tricky, it's not deceitful, it's not devious, it's slo-pitch softball and it's about gaining every advantage. It's about brawn and brains...it's about genius.
Pure genius.
Random comments from the Bleacher Fans:
~ I should have stayed home.
~ I felt like I was at the airport so many things were flying in the air when nWo were up at bat.
~ Steroid boy made an appearance and I wondered if he could help the team. Coach Sorochen declined saying you need a big set of balls to play for nWo.
~ 49 minute game...at least they set some sort of record tonight.