Thursday, August 27, 2009

“Season of Dreams...”

OK, yes, I know that’s very corny, but 2009 was an amazin’ year for us Dazzlers...!

With the greatest rookie crop since the ’75 Bosox, along with a strong crew of established veterans, we really “cleaned up” the division in the first half, blasting the Tornadoes (27-5 and 26-6), taming the Fat Cats (34-3 and 22-4), raiding Raiders Green (16-4 and 33-6) (sorry, there must be some stupid pun to go with green, but I can’t think of one!) and outsmarting Intellect (24-8). It was shock and awe, baby!



And along the way we also won an unbelievable thriller of an extra innings Final to take the trophy (and a bunch of free chairs) in the Superball tournament in Richmond at the end of May.




Nicole, our resident in-house fashion consultant, made sure that we weren’t just the top team in the division, but also the most super-stylish....first it was socks, with hats soon to follow...







But things got a little tense in the second half!

First it was the 11-10 dogfight against the Meteors, our first (and ultimately only) loss of the season, followed by a nail biting one-run victory over St Urbains’ Horsemen (16-15). The next couple of games were easier - a 17-6 win over Loan Wolves (spiced with a little Ginger...) and a forfeit win over the Base Jumpers - but we only just squeaked through on an excruciatingly tight 9-8 away win over old friends (and rivals) Tecumsehs in Clissold Park, and then battled bravely back for a hard-fought draw against Raiders Red (11-11) (after pulling off the same dramatic come-from-behind stuff all day the previous Saturday at the Last Ball tournament against Div 3 and 4 teams).




Ultimately, the wheels never came off the Dazzlers Express, and we finally coasted to a soft landing at season’s end, with a convincing 19-11 payback win over the Meteors. It was time to break out the bubbly, a really nice surprise from Rob and Jen...




For the friendly against the Meteors combined Div 4-5 team the following week, Tanya and Rob brought food, and JenO and Camille supplied some very special treats – plus there were some truly some inspired creations by Maggie. Unfortunately, however, some Dazzlers didn’t quite understand that it is not very nice to interfere with other Dazzlers’ cupcakes....


So, looking back, what was the turning point that took the Dazzlers from cellar dwellers to Champs? Was it that famous moment last winter when Jen stepped in to take over the reins? Was it that early Wings Night, the table buzzing with friendly banter and greasy handshakes, the first summit of Dazzlers old and new?

Well, yes, of course they were significant, but there was another not-so-well publicised incident in addition to those, which we can now reveal here for the first time...


The answer, my friends, lies in this mysterious, grainy photo, taken from Isaac’s mobile phone, and in the supremely innocent, blissed-out, other-worldly grin of the original Dazzler captain TonyD. He is gazing, mesmerised, already under the spell of the Thai wish lantern that he, Isaac and I are just about to release into the sky from my garden last September at my 40th, with our humble entreaties to the softball gods for divine redemption in 2009.

And today, if you stare long and hard enough into the dark sky over centerfield at Finsbury Park on a late summer night, you might still be able to see that lantern hovering there, blinking down on all Daztopia with its beatific sparkle...


Monday, August 24, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Richmond Tourney