Holy shit. My kickball team won the championship last night. Holy shit. I think I’m still in shock. I know most of my team is still in shock. But dude! The Championship! We ran the table baby!!!

We were supposed to play half the tournament last week and the final half this week. However, because of rain, we did it all this week. So last night, we played four games of kickball. FOUR. That’s a lot when you’re in the cold, drinking a beer and trash talking the other teams. The first game was at 7, we didn’t play until 8. But we played from 8 until midnight.

I’m a bit tired.

But we’re CHAMPIONS!

So, I’ll recount my night for you, since I know you’re dying to know. I’ll start out by saying that for several weeks now, we have been hating on Strictly for My Ninjas. And we had a hunger for a rematch. Now that we were on this winning streak, we wanted them and we wanted blood. This was our write up for the weekly newsletter that came out right before the playoffs:

T'was a week before playoffs and there in Griggs park, Were cute little kickballers making their mark. The balls they were red and the wind did blow cold And the Leballskies sat there dressed in bright gold. Week after week the teams that they beat Went limping on home with really sore feet.

When out in the distance there arose such a clatter
Our team raced to the field to see what was the matter
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But the Ninjas to present us with a big case of beer.
Our eyes how they twinkled! Their dimples how sweet!
It was a shame that the Ninjas would have to get beat.

With beer as cold as new fallen snow,
Gave the Leballskies strength to kick, run and throw.
On our side for these games is power and might.
And we'll take home the trophy by the end of the night.
To face all these teams - we are not scared.
You'd be surprised, how much we're prepared.

We'll drink at the bar from open 'till close
While sharing the Ghostman's pretty red rose.
So, a note to the teams of whom we will face
The game against you is one we will ace.
So in the next few days, you might hear around town,
A Leballskie telling you, "You're going down."

I wrote it. I thought it was pretty funny. The Ninjas didn’t. They’re no fun. So, you can see that the Ninjas are our rival so to speak. I mean, it’s still kickball.

So, the first three games last night were not all that hard. We beat the Fruity Goodness, the Grass Donkeys and the Masterbasers. The Masterbasers was a bit of a shock. As a 7 seed, we didn’t expect to meet them in the tourney, but they bumped off the number 2 seed, the Cobras. Pleasantly surprised, we agreed to beat them as well.

The Championship game came at 11 pm. The lights on the field were scheduled to turn off at 11:30. Our third game of the night went into extra innings, so we were a bit rushed getting to the field. The Ninjas wanted our lineup. I don’t know why, but they wanted a copy of it. I told The Goon, that it would have to wait until we were up to kick because all of our girls had to be on the field right now. He then growled that it’s in the “rules” that you have to turn over your lineup for every game. I’ve never turned over a lineup. Never. Whatever, you’ve got a pen; feel free to copy it down.

Like I said, the Ninjas are not nice people. In fact, they’re your garden variety jerks which is why we really wanted to kick their faces in, for it would have been quite cathartic.

So, the game gets going. This is the team that reminds us every week in the newsletter that they “remain unbeaten” for the whatever week in a row. We hold them in the first inning. I think about this point, we’re shocking ourselves. I don’t think that it is we’re not used to winning, I just don’t think anyone in the entire league (including us) expected someone other than the Ninjas to win.

Bottom of the first and we score twice. (I could totally do box scores for my team, but even I think that would be boring.) We’re now ahead of the Ninjas. Full of adrenaline and excitement, we go to the field and hold them to no runs again in the top of the second and the top of the third. We score an additional run in the bottom of the third.

We’re ahead of the Ninjas going into the top of the fifth, the final inning in kickball 3-0. We can taste victory. We know we’ve got this. We KNOW we’re going to win. Then they get a lucky drop and two runs score and they put a Goon on third. Everyone’s hearts are racing. It would take one blow play or one long kick and we’d be tied. They kick a pop up to right field. Joey catches it and the Goon on third tags up and scores.

We’re tied.

Dammit. However, we’re back to the top of our lineup. That’s where our power kickers are. Our lead off kicker has rockets in his shoes. I'm not sure how he got to be that fast, but dear lord that kid is fast. He got on base which was no surprise. Jules kicked second and did a nice sacrifice to move the runner to second. Our third kicker managed to get to first, but the guy on second couldn't advance. We were nervous that we would have to start the seventh inning. Then our clean up kicker came up to bat. I'm not sure how this happened, but he found a hole. He kicked a long popup that was caught. But again, the guy on second has rockets in his shoes and tagged up and scored from second.

We came unglued!

We beat the Ninjas! We beat the Ninjas! It was like the World Series. Our "bench" cleared and we all dogpiled in the middle of the field. There was screaming! Cheering! Hugging! Dancing! Celebrating! It was so awesome! We beat the damn Ninjas! ROCK ON!

We then took our celebration to the bar where we shocked the league by announcing that we had beaten the Ninjas. No one could believe it, but the free drinks poured in. Congratulations all around!

And now I'm tired, but I am a CHAMPION! When does next season start? We have a title to defend.