Cathy in the Wright

An Evening at the Freak League

I will pass over a detailed description of tonight’s game. The other team was down two players and we still only won by a lone goal. Enough said.

I did promise a few vitriolic lines about a new female player on the team, and I shall deliver them but I will assure you first of all that the evening was not a complete disaster. It was salvaged by the appearance of two teammates I hadn’t seen in a while. First was Stan, who is a decent player and who will, should he get called on a foul, shrug it off and get ready for play to continue. This stands in direct contrast to several meatheads on our team who feel the necessity to argue with the ref over each and every transgression.

Cassie was another surprise tonight. She missed a lot of games last session, so it was fun to see her again. She’s not a very talented player, but she’s adorable and cute and sweet and embodies the “try your best and have fun” spirit that more people in this recreational league should emulate.

People like Janelle.

At one point Janelle and I were both on the sidelines and we watched as Cassie missed a fairly easy pass and the ball rolled out of bounds. Janelle muttered, “Oh geez! Come on!”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. If I hadn’t done that, I would have been compelled to give Janelle an extremely haughty “Tut-tut” and deliver a severe pot-and-kettle lecture.

Because Janelle sucks.

I know, I know. Suck is an adjective hardly worthy of an English major. Unfortunately, no other word captures Janelle’s lack of talent along with my disgust quite as well as suck. She’s slow. She can’t (or won’t) pass. The idea of dropping back to help out on defense is completely off her radar screen. I have yet to see an opposing player find any difficulties when trying to steal the ball away from her. And she doesn’t like to spend time on the sidelines. None of this would bother me (much) if she didn't take every opportunity to point out everyone else's short-comings. She's not a pleasant person.

Her husband plays on the team as well and is a terrific guy, which gives credence, I guess, to the age old theory that opposites attract.

Enough effort wasted on Janelle. She deserves worse, but I’m in too good a mood. I was listening to my Martini Lounge CD on the way home. You can’t be in a bad mood listening to Dean Martin belt out “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.”

Posted by Cathy at March 7, 2004 09:05 PM