It is always special when we get to the time of the season when we crown our Champions. There are the often the regulars in the finals and final four. Then there are the surprises and of course as in the case of this year’s finals, those that have been waiting a while to get there.
In the Lincoln Conference we had a Final of Slow Rollers vs. I’d Kick It. I’d Kick it is a team that has been in the league for some time and this is their first final. Michael Clendaniel captains this team and they have been a big part of DSL for a long time. He has also helped put a team in the YMCA Basketball league that we partner with Y to help run and with teammates like Shannon Miller (who has a killer 3 point shot) has made this team one of our most cherished group of friends. Michelle Melvin, Michele Meeker, Kristen Rogers, Ed Proctor, Nick Kostas, and the entire team are people I have grown to know over the years. They are friendly and inviting and really care about what DSL stands for. To see them in a final was great because in reality we always hope that everyone gets the chance to play in one at some point while they are a member of DSL. This time it was their turn and although they ran into the unstoppable force that is The Slow Rollers these days, they played well and were just amazing to have as finalists. Congratulations you guys on a GREAT season!!!
The same goes for our other finalist in the Roxie Division. The Motor Boaters are the returning champions and are no stranger to DSL Finals. This team has had many names and Eric Cranny has captained this team of veteran DSL’ers to many Championships. Always at his side is his beautiful girlfriend and fellow Motor Boater Kristen Jarrett. Eric has been an umpire and a friend of the league since we began. I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa Russell and Buck Payne, 2 Motor Boaters who are getting married this coming year! Tom Fleetman (who apparently likes to check his teammates in the outfield when they are trying to catch pop fly’s), Krystle Benedetto, Laura Michelson, and the rest of the motor baoters (because I realize I am just listing names at this point) I hope you know what you mean to this league and how special it is to have you in it! Congrats on ANOTHER incredible season!
Now is the serendipitous part of this message where I talk about our Champions. First you have to think about the round about way that we got here. You see for me this all starts back in High School. I met this group of people because I fell in love for the first time. I was head over heels for my first girlfriend and she went to Mount Pleasant. I ended up spending a lot of time there, OK, ALL of my time there. It was there that I met a few of the members of the Slow Rollers. As it turns out, the captain of Shenanigan’s, our other champions is that same High School Sweetheart’s cousin! One DSL member that normally plays but didn’t this season even has her same name! Funny story, I wrote this long letter about how happy I was to see her happy and congratulations on her marriage. I talked about Amy and how happy I am and how our relationship led to me being a better husband and all this stuff about how glad I was she was playing in the league and so on and so on aaaaaaaaaaaand…it wasn’t her. It was her cousin. Suzanne Milewski (then Doubet and also a cousin) is the Captain of this team and along with her husband Kenny will be heading up the MOT Location of DSL starting this Fall and Winter with Dodgeball! Back when I first met this team, Breck Weidenmann had a little bit of a mullet. I mean let’s face it Breck it was and oh how far we have come! I have come to know folks like Joe Facciola, Cynthia Clifton and so many others of the Shenanigan’s since they entered the league and all I can say is FINALLY!!!! You guys deserve this!
Like I said this all started back in High School with the Slow Rollers for me. Back then Dawna Smith was the only girl placekicker in Delaware…maybe in the history of the state! I actually saw her play and it was impressive! One of the members of The Slow Rollers was a guy we shall lovingly refer to as “Mount Pleasant”. He has asked me repeatedly to not use his name, but I want to say something about what I was thinking while I was sitting at Kid’s last night watching he and his team celebrate yet another Slow Rollers title with their Champagne.
Pride.
I know I know it is cheesy but I want you to know that this has been a bit of a journey for us and I have to say that after 3 years and a handful of Championships I am so proud of the way that “Mount Pleasant” and his team have matured and really come to exemplify the type of members and team we want in this league. Sure there are moments but last night was a shining example of what can happen when people grow. It has to be on their terms and really not because of anything I said or did. It was family and life that made the change and it goes to show you that one of the teams that was most feared in the league, can become a team that is most beloved. Together they have become a group that teams actually enjoy playing and have enjoyed hanging out with after the games. Let’s face it, that wasn’t always the case, but now a few seasons later ( a couple of marraiges and a couple of kids) you are a team that I am proud to say I am so glad you stuck around and are now 4 time DSL Kickball Champions with a 22 GAME win streak and counting! And you did it with class.
I sat there looking at both teams and thinking about growing up and my connections to both teams and how it is weird sitting there all these years later and wondering if I ever thought then that it would lead to a moment like this now. The answer is absolutely no I had no idea I would be in the Kickball business back then. I’m not sure any kid had that in mind as a career path back then.
I mean in the end it is just a Kickball Championship. In the grand scheme of things that part of it really means nothing. What I hope is that this is a memory that they will share with one another. I hope that as lives progress and we get older these are the times we will look back on and smile. For me it was just one of those special moments in life that makes you smile at the happiness of others. Years down the road they won’t remember the game, the score, who umpired, or maybe even the name of the team they played against. They will however remember each other…and that is what is important…that is the real prize of the Championship. The smile you get when you remember a great time and most importantly…the people you shared it with.
Congratulations to The Slow Rollers & Shenanigan’s…
Wilmington 2010 Fall Kickball Lincoln & Roxie Champions!!