#10: Play a Competitive Sport

In the past I’ve found team sports to be more nerve-racking than fun, in large part due to the fact that the universe has not graced me with terrific coordination. I’m large. I’m clumsy. I can’t get behind the wheel of a car without corrective lenses. And, on top of that, I have a hard time relaxing long enough to make decisions on the fly. I worry that I’ll choke. And so, naturally, I choke.

All that being said, I had a blast last Sunday when I donned the puffpainted white Thetafrizz t-shirt to represent APO in intramural ultimate Frisbee against some ragtag team of med-school students.

Probably wasn’t a good idea to pregame with half a Mellow Mushroom pizza and two pints of Guinness. In fact when I hit the field I almost immediately regretted it. But by God if I was gonna let that get in my way. I have a list to complete. Pass me that Frisbee.

Oh. Haha. My bad. I’ll run over and get it out of the tree…

The clock was ticking as the game drew near. I was finding myself drifting towards that sea of sinkin’ thinkin’. Frankly, I’d be happy if I could just walk away without accidentally scoring for the other team. That’s happened to me before. Second grade. It was extremely traumatizing.

But as it turns out the powers-that-be wanted me to play with a calm mind. The med-school student team didn’t have enough players, on account of them being med-school students. So technically we one.

However, when we decided to play a casual pickup game anyway, we even more technically got our butts handed to us.

But I fought tenaciously, running up and down that field with the force of a freight train, the pizza in my stomach reluctantly along for the ride.

At one point I totally accidentally checked this guy I was defending only to see, to my amazement, him still catch the Frisbee AS HE WAS ROLLING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE TURF IN BETWEEN MY LEGS.

I had my own moment of coolness though. I don’t score. I’m not fast enough. But I am big enough to scare potential catchers away from the Frisbee, and that’s what I did. One of the opposing players chucked it, and I ran down field, fast as I could, grunting and growling to look extra intimidating. My glasses flew off. I didn’t care. No time for that.

I experienced one of those rare moments in my life where everything falls perfectly into place. I leaped into the air, stuck out my hand at the precise right moment, and swiped that Frisbee out of the air with the force of a pizza-fueled warrior-god. You could hear the thunder crack.

We still lost by a lot but I was happy to play and happier to contribute and be there with friends. Definitely a great game. Though I can’t help but imagine what could’ve been if I didn’t have half a mega-veggie in me.