Dodgeball. In an unexpected turn of events, the sport has existed in some form or another in most of my life. As a kid, it served as a physical reminder of where you ranked on the social ladder. In college, I spent a good chunk of my senior year quoting the movie. And as an adult, it served as an excellent excuse for weekday drinking, playing flipcup with my team all night after a game.
The newest chapter: dodgeball in England, playing with a group of people who thought the movie was about a made-up sport. I decided my time had come to finally dominate the sport, in a country where my limited softball throwing skills puts me leagues ahead of people who spent their lives kicking soccer balls.
The background: my group at work has about 150 people in it. To help people get to know each other, we were put into 12 "mini-teams". And what better way to get our mini-teams to bond but to have a little competition. And nothing says bonding like a friendly round of dodgeball...at least, this is what the Brits seemed to think.
To start the bonding, we donned our team headbands early as we took the Jubilee line out to Canary Wharf for the main event.
Upon arriving at the gym and warming up a bit, the refs gave us a debriefing of the rules. When they asked if anyone had ever played before, I was the only person in the entire room that raised my hand. And in that moment, the American was targeted as the one to watch for the evening...no pressure or anything.
After being asked by a couple people if I had really played before, I gave my brief history, and said that I'd played for a couple of years in New York. The legend soon spread. By the time the game came around, I had once been an Olympic hopeful dodgeball player that had played competitively my whole life.
In the end, the night was a total blast and I did not totally embarrass myself given all the hype of my skills. Our team ended with a record of 2-3, I caught many balls, and I even knocked a few people out. The biggest frustration of the night was when people didn't know the rules and my competitive temper flared. Especially when people would throw the ball, it would be caught, and then they'd keep playing ("You are OUT, learn the RULES! REF, are you BLIND?? Get off the COURT!") Needed to chill out...here is my fantastic team.
Thankfully, the most important rule was abided - the drinking of beer following the game. There was no shortage of pitchers, pizza, and shots for everyone involved. While it reminded me how much I missed playing sports in NYC, I am happy I've got a great group of people to play elementary school sports with. Particularly, my darling Jad here.
Stay tuned for the next mini-team competition: dragon boat racing. I don't even know what that is, but will soon find out and share the details. This time, I may be the only person to raise their hand for NOT knowing the rules.
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