Bearheart
(2/23/10)
Congratulations to our eighth team of the week, Bearheart! Now, many of you may not have heard of Bearheart before. Captained by Rob and Will, they haven’t been around the league for too long, nor have they won their division, but wearing plaid and screaming: ”RRRAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!” is surprisingly distinctive.
Taking a page from the Knights, Bearheart is considering a name change each season, just to keep it spicy. Formerly the Clan of the Cave Bears, the bear theme is one they intend to carry through each season. ” Clan of the Care Bear came from some webcomic art that Rob found. He thought it was a hilarious merger of old Saturday-morning cartoons and trashy cro-magnon feminist fiction (if you want to see it, it’s his forum avatar). The group decided after that first season to follow the lead of the Knights (Dark, In White Satin, Talladega, etc.) and have a different name each season with a variant on “Bear.” No one can remember why Bearheart (like Braveheart, but different) was chosen, but we liked having an excuse to wear plaid and talk in bad Scottish accents. In retrospect, the name probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but we only need to live with it for one season.”
The team got together, the old fashioned way. They are not born of a super team, or hand picked for their individual skills. No, they were just friends, looking to hang out. ”Y’know, it’s Portland. This guy knew this chick that he met at his sister’s wedding 10 years ago and she introduced him to a bunch of people she had met when she was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and also this guy she had met at the climbing gym … mix well, add a couch-crasher, stir in a childhood pal-in-law, and sprinkle on a younger sibling and her friend, bake at 350 degrees, serve hot and spicy.”
It’s only their second season, but the fiend is on them. And like Pooky looking for his next rock, Bearheart are in it until they physically cannot play any more! They are also getting better each game, and odds are they will continue to climb through the divisions. ”Our first season we were pretty psyched to even get on the scoreboard. So actually winning a few matches this season is like one long, awesome highlight.”
Maybe more importantly than their record is what they represent. They are a new wave of dodgeball teams that are making inroads in a sport dominated by tenured teams. They are among the new breed, along with several other teams, including their frenemies, Chickens on a Chain, ” We like to think of Chickens on a Chain as our underdog allies. They beat us last season, we beat them this season, but we ended both seasons with similar records. We like to cheer ‘em on, and they’ve cheered us on and shagged for us and even done a little impromptu coaching when it was down to the wire.”
Congratulations to Bearheart, we wish them luck, and leave them with the final words: ”You can catch our balls, but you’ll never take our FREEEEEDOM!!!!”Winter 2010