A Man and his (Foul) Balls

by Nathaniel Johnson, Foul Balls

Marie Harper scurries back to the base against SbtB.

This my friends, is no mere recap. Yes, we could discuss how Foul Balls rose from the ashes to stun the kickball world by opening the Spring 2011 campaign with back-to-back doubleheader victories. Yes, we could use this time to celebrate southpaw Maxxx taking his first trip to the mound. Sure, I could bore you all with the solid fielding of Daniel at catcher and Ronnie literally "smoking" nearly every position on the diamond. I could even take this recap into the intangibles brought on by the inspirational words of the Foul Balls Official Mascot, Brandon. 

Dear friends, instead I will take your precious time this evening to tell you a love story. As with all great love stories, the tale of the love affair shared by the members of Foul Balls begins with heavy alcohol consumption. As many of you may be aware, Foul Balls underwent a complete personnel overhaul this past off-season and approached the Spring 2011 season with many new faces. They gathered from all corners of Hampton Roads to the War Memorial tiki bar, from the mighty shipyards to the rolling fields of north Suffolk they came. There wasn't a single shining moment that we could point to, but at some point in the evening, the Foul Balls shared a knowing lovers glance across the diamond and realized they had found their socio-holic brethren. Assured in the knowledge that they were in loving arms, Foul Balls rallied around indefatigable team captain Jen Nardi and quickly adapted to a sport that was new to 90% of team.  It wasn't always graceful, and the Foul Balls faced game opponents in Jiminy Kick It and Saved By the Balls. Both games were tightly contested by teams still feeling out their lineups and defensive alignments and the rust of a long winter of drinking alone was evident on both sides. The Balls turned to the offense of Antoinette and Mimi and the heady defense of Adam to eke out both victories.

I don't think I need to explain to my readers how big of a crush I now have on this team of neophytes. The love affair was consummated as Foul Balls went home together after their exhausting doubleheader... home to the bar. The Balls anxiously await the debut of returners Andreas and Laura to add the necessary experience to round out their squad and steel them for a long season. This is not merely a game recap...this is a prelude to WAKA's greatest love story.  Win, lose or drunk, the Foul Balls are back. 

Whose Balls?! We're about to show you.

Postgame P90X session for the Foul Balls