Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Going to Fools

I'm heading down to Fools for the first time since 2002. Here's my history (post-1991, when I began keeping track of my tournaments) at the tournament:
1992, 4-2, 9th place, CMU reunion
1993, 4-2, quarters loss, MIT
1994, 5-2, semis loss, MIT
1996, 5-2, semis loss, Earth Atomizer Reunion
1998, 8-0, 1st, CMU reunion
2002, 5-2, semis loss, Short Fat Guys

Some memories:
1992: I caravaned down and got sick from some hamburger at Hardee's on the NJ Turnpike (or from something else I ate, but it's easy to blame this), made it through part of the first day before getting really sick at the fields. I got the three-bean chili from the food truck at the fields, figuring it would make a nice vomit pile, and it did! Someone planted a flag in it, in fact. I couldn't even play the second day, getting sick a few more times at the hotel. I made it back for the B division play on Sunday, but could only play offense (a precursor to the years 1999-present, I guess). We beat MIT in the B finals. (I didn't go to CMU, but grew up in Pittsburgh and played a lot at CMU and with the guys who went there.)
1993 and 1994: I had applied to grad school by the time Fools came around in 1993, and had played a bunch of indoors there, so I guess I was legit. Frank Revi benches me on Sunday one of these years because I was out late drinking and he made everyone show up 90 minutes before game time, depriving me of that crucial extra hour. I'm sure the unmotivated play had nothing to do with it.
1996: While some of the younger MIT guys were watching, I got a full two-handed point block on an overhead by Mike G. He buries his head in his hands while I prance. We win a one-pointer in the quarters, and after catching the winning goal, Dennis immediately pukes. In the semis against BC, I force Jay Talerman to give us both the disc and the side in exchange for letting them wear their favorite shirts. They go up 5-0, but we battle back to have the disc to win about 10 yards out. Dennis expects the marker to foul him as he had the previous 69 passes that he had completed, but the marker jumps back and the pass sails just beyond Jordan and me, and they march down for the win. I'm not sure how we would have fared in the finals, though, as we were all old by then, and were exhausted. This is the first time that I played with Earth founder Troy Frever, who flew out for the reunion. We kept stats for the tournament, too. Maybe I'll post them sometime.
1998: Mr. Yuk trounces someone in the finals. I team up with grade-school buddy Greg Shiring, who is actually able to win an argument in a one-point quarters victory by saying, "you _think_ you know what happened, but I'm sure. Don't you think it's more likely that I'm right?" Iron Mike Klawansky has some pictures from this tournament somewhere.
2002: Short Fat Guys blows a 5 or 6 goal lead against WesWill in the semis after demolishing that team Alex was on in the quarters. Now let us never speak of this again.

1 comment:

Marshall said...

SFG was doomed to lose that game from the moment the bio for the program was turned in, crowing about not having lost to WesWill.