Team Keg Kill

So I'm a bit late commenting on this, and I have no doubt forgotten many of the entertaining moments that occurred, but we had a team championship celebration/keg kill on November 7th. Come to think of it, my memory was pretty hazy the next day, so I'm not sure my recollection would have been that much better even if I had posted sooner.

Anyway, it was a joyous event. I braved the traffic at the Total Wine & More on Little River Turnpike and picked up a keg of Yuengling. Sidenote: seriously, that shopping center has one of the worst parking lots in the Arlington/Alexandria area. The only one that rivals it in its ability to infuriate me is the one at the Price Club in Pentagon City... that one is worse because they charge you to experience the clusterf**k that inevitably ensues. There was some debate as to whether or not we should continue with the keg kill idea... after all, we only had like 14 "yes" replies on the evite - one of which was Queeney, and a few others were girls. But we decided it was worth a shot.

We tapped the keg around 5:15, and Cryan officially got things started with a beer shower. The first guests showed up shortly thereafter, and we decided it was wise to resurrect an old idea: the beer tally list. Few things do a better job of facilitating peer pressure and drunken arguments. We actually did a pretty good job of tracking things until the drinking games began. That point coincided with many of us hitting double digits, so perhaps that was part of the problem as well.

We started a game of baseball (for those who don't know, it's beer pong/flip cup hybrid). Normally it's a good time, but we probably started a few beers too late, as the main things I recall are poor shooting and drunken arguments over poorly defined rules. Conflict resolution proved difficult.

At some point in the evening, we took a look at the beer tally, and looked at the reinforcements that had arrived (including Gigantor, Gandia and Henley), and realized that we might have a real shot at kicking the keg. The forces had aligned, with a few Lollygagger alumni making appearances, and Gandia channeling his rage at extremely expensive tire repair.

One of the real highlights of the evening was Royden's attempted kegstand. He made the questionable decision of bringing in Marisa to hold one of his legs. After about a second in the air, Royden bellyflopped on my kitchen floor, and I believe Marisa fell down in laughter behind him (at least that's how I choose to remember it). Not to be easily defeated, Royden recruited a new spotter, and took another shot at glory. I don't know if he developed Brad Lidge syndrome or what, but the guy was rattled, and only got through about five seconds before tapping out. He then spat beer all over the place.

I am pleased to report that the keg was successfully kicked shortly after midnight. In hindsight, there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the keg kill and our C-league softball championship... in the beginning, we viewed the keg/standings as a seemingly insurmountable task. But through teamwork, dedication, and, well, beer strength, we were able to power our way to victory. Nice work, gentlemen. Continue that offseason training, and I'll see you on the field in about four months.

Engagement

Congratulations to Lollygagger outfielder Joe Morse on his engagement. Soon, he will be able to show up at games and officially make comments like: "I had to get out of the house... the old lady was driving me crazy."

I'm still seeking confirmation on the rumor that Joe will be wearing his jersey during the ceremony.