Foes Fight Felons, Finish First

I never thought I'd love to say "9 to 5," but when it's your winning softball score it's actually pretty fun!

True Foes and friends gathered in the navy yards of Brooklyn last night for our opening game, and considering that it's early April we really lucked out with the weather--clear skies and not too much mud. It got pretty chilly in the later innings, but running around the bases and cheering kept us plenty warm. I really can't say enough good things about our fielding, especially the all-star combo of Alex Laviola in left field and shortstop "golden glove" Brian, who pretty much caught any ball that ventured into the left half of the field. Of course they tried to be modest about their contributions—Brian pointed out that his valiant nosedive into the turf failed to make one catch, and Laviola said that the only reason he got a triple is "because the sun was in their eyes"—but we all know better and Lee's got it on video to prove it!

Top honors go to our pitcher and team captain, Jason, who not only pitched an amazing game but also scored the first run of the season. Abbey had great hits and was the first female foe to get on base, and Alex Mabilon made an amazing slide into third base and was totally robbed—he was safe by a mile. This year we welcomed two new foes to the team, as Dale and Tyson played their debut game with gusto. Willy and David were solid at bat and in the field: both had good catches in right field and center field, respectively, and yours truly even caught a foul ball at the plate for an exciting third out. We were lucky to be joined by two of our favorite ringers, Chris and Wendy, who took turns covering second base, and Issa was excellent as usual on first, and with good hits, too!

One of the best things about last night was our dugout full of fans (thanks for the pizza, Karen!), without whose shouts of encouragement the night would have felt a lot colder. And thanks to Susan and the awesome new team uniforms she created we were not only victorious but also comfortable and stylish! The other team was a good bunch of people—they call themselves the "Felons," and there was an NYPD corrections bus parked two blocks away, which occasioned a little speculation as to their line of work. They hit a ton of foul balls, but they played fair, and I hope we have the pleasure of beating them again in the future!

The beers at Superfine tasted like triumph, and not even the cranky bartender (what was her problem, anyway?) could dampen our spirits. We relived the best parts of the game, like when Brian was turned around talking to Wendy on the field, then spun around when the ball was hit and caught it like nothing. And I'm trying to remember exactly how Alex described his injurious slide under the Felons' third basewoman—something like "she saw me coming and opened her legs." Good times. I probably drank a couple more than I should have, so I might not be remembering this correctly, but I think I heard a rumor that Criterion's first Blu-Ray release is going to be the complete True Foes 2008 season, with highlights and bloopers as supplements...

Our next game isn't until Wednesday, April 23, which will give us time to recover from the stiff muscles and bruises we collected, but I know I'm not alone when I say that I'd gladly strain, scrape, and slide tomorrow for another awesome game like last night's! A huge thank-you again to everyone who came out to play and show their support, and here's to the top-ranked, undefeated True Foes—it's going to be a great year!

GTF