In mid-October, I organized a softball tournament team for New York City’s Gotham Classic. It was fun. We got to play in Central Park and best of all, the group that we formed supported each other and had the best time. For me, that is the zenith of it, when we as a group, get to add positive memories. We came in second, which is cool but secondary…LOL.
It reminded me of those tournament teams John and I put together. We had much success over 20 years of getting a band of merry softballers to go on the road, play ball, and have fun. This group had that feel.
In truth, I invited two guys from that old team and three from the local ballclub. I had more from my local club, but they started to get cold feet as we got closer to the date, so I had to try to recruit.
When my leads dried up, I turned back to the guys I picked up and asked if they knew anyone who could join. That was the golden ticket right there. Someone knew someone in Florida, while I got 2 more players from Boston and another from Houston.
We showed up on those Central Park benches as strangers and we clicked and gelled in that very first game. I heard some of our guys laughing comfortably in that very first game. We swept our triple header there.
After the tournament directors truncated the schedule to one day, we hopped in cabs to make our evening/night games on Randalls Island. The weather with intermittent showers was hinting at Sunday’s potential Nor’easter but this group remained focused and friendly.
All in all, we played from 11 to 11 with breaks to grab snacks. We hung out on Sunday because brunch wasn’t going to eat itself. I played West Village tour guide to whoever would listen. And by the time I headed back to my room, I was absolutely spent. Good times but it can take a village to put this thing together.
The Beard and the Cap 
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