In more than two years as a resident of Breen-PhillipsHall, I've found there are a few of things that we Babes can always count on. Firstly, we know that we will never feel neglected by @NDdormjokes. Secondly, we never need to search too far to find a source of snacks. And thirdly, our flag-football team has been and always will be bad. How bad? Cal Tech basketball level bad. But while I never thought I would see such a thing, the impossible happened on Oct. 2, 2012: BP won a football game.
We only had 10 girls playing. We had no time to warm-up and no practice since we'd been mercy-ruled the previous Sunday. Half of our coaches were stuck in class or exams, and half of us were playing defense for the first time. But none of that mattered, and as we closed out a 20-18 win over Lyons, we all ran half-mad to embrace on the sideline as if such an event had never before occurred.
Of course, as far as we were concerned, this was a first. I do know that we were completely shutout in my freshman campaign - in four games, we didn't manage so much as a safety - and last season we played in pinnies that had "No Mercy (Rule)" written across the back.
Lest anyone think I'm blaming my teammates for our failures over the years, I assure you that I hold more than my fair share of the blame. I'm no good at pulling flags, I'm too slow to make a good running back and as an offensive lineman I probably spent more time impeding the progress of my teammates than I did protecting the quarterback. If I wasn't the most penalized player in the league last year, then I must have been awfully close.
Let's put it this way: There was a reason why no one questioned the appropriateness of my coaches bestowing me with the "Dr. Jekyll and You Better Hyde Award for Most Aggressive Pass Blocking."
And that's why it felt so good to finally, finally come out on top in a Recsports contest. As competitive as I am, I'm not sure I've ever entertained the thought of playing in the title game in the stadium. For those of you who have the luxury of setting your sights that high, a close Tuesday night win behind Stepan Center probably won't be one of the most memorable moments of your college years (ditto for those of you who actually have their priorities straight and devote more energy to chemistry class than interhall sports.)
But for people like me - people who care way too much but don't see the payoff that often - this was special. BP is 1-14 since I arrived on campus, and I wasn't happy to lose any of those games. But it's those 14 defeats that made the one victory feel so good.Well, that and the celebratory froyo.
