Winter Dodgeball - Week Two: Redemption.

After our predictably shaky start in the first week of the Winter season, we all knew we needed to come back and prove to ourselves that we weren't the rusty mechanism we appeared to be only seven days before. Determination would be our axle grease, clear-headedness would be our WD-40, and victory would be the purring of our once-strained engine, rightfully restored to its previous glory. Or something like that.

The night started off on an already brighter note than the week previous, as we arrived and the games seemed to be going according to schedule. This allowed us to accurately calculate and disperse our pre-game endorphins, without fear of wasting any on static activity like sitting on our asses and waiting for things to get started. (It also allowed some of us to get jacked up on caffeine and still be able to fully feel its effects while we scrambled around the court.) Our first match did indeed start at the scheduled time, and right from the first whistle, we looked like a team with something to re-prove. And re-prove we did. That first video up top is the first game of the night, and it was a great one with which to set the tone for the remainder of the evening.

The first team we faced was a squad we had never played before, and they fell square into one of the categories of teams I love to beat (or at least the guys on their team did): cocky jock-type dudes who, while clearly adept at athletics, don't really know what they're doing on the dodgeball court. We proceeded to dodge the shit out of their high-velocity throws, while swiftly returning tosses of our own with pinpoint accuracy - pegging arms, legs, and many a torso. They were a nice team, and they took their shellacking as well as a group of people who just had their pride handed to them could be expected to.

We looked sharp out there, and it felt good. Any confidence we lost in our spotty first outing quickly returned, and we looked again like the contenders that we know we are and have proven to be time and time again. As the match ended and we were proclaimed the victors, I dropped to my knees at the center of the court, removed my shirt, and yelled, "We're back, baby!" Or I might have just walked over to the sidelines and toweled off. It was all moving so fast...

Our second match of the evening was against a team that we've played at least twice before, the squad full o' hotheads. We've since come to recognize that they're nice enough people off the court, but when the whistle blows, they still have a hard time keeping their shit together. Though I have to say, this time around was definitely the most drama-free encounter we've had with them, though there were a few hiccups. And I know as nice as a few of them are to us, there are still a few of them who would love to knock us down a peg. Not bloody likely.

Once again, we looked razor-sharp from the get-go. Since we've had drama with this team, even though it's been resolved, there's still that extra inkling lingering that tells us to wallop them. And while we didn't hand out a full-on battering, we didn't leave any doubt as to who the winner was. There were two lengthy matches, one of which went our way, and one of which went theirs. One of our guys also drilled one of their dudes in the face, which looked like it could have been trouble, but didn't end up amounting to any. There was also the usual dirty looks from me, aimed at people who were throwing at my head, followed by the usual claims that they weren't doing it on purpose, followed by my look of disbelief that speaks volumes, followed by them doing it again in the next match. Put a tent on that circus! Am I right?

It happened in this match specifically, which, at the risk of tooting my own horn, was my favorite of the night:

No sweeter way to claim a victory than the all-hope-is-lost, down-to-one-person comeback. Solid. And we walked away with two victories, which was solider than solid can be. Whoever's running the standings this season suuucks, so they're still messed up and haven't been updated.

But you can view more videos of our magical evening here.

No games next week because of President's Day. Laaaame. Right when we were getting our rhythm.