Dodgy Slappers
(1/26/10)
[Ed Note: Congratulations to the Dodgy Slappers for being the first dodgeball team to reach that elusive mark of winning three team of the week polls! They are like Tom Hanks hosting Saturday night Live! Only funny!]
I couldn’t tell you how to pronounce it and to be honest, I had to google what it meant; but this week’s Team of the Week can be found proudly wearing their signature “heliconia” jerseys. Yes, if you were about to look it up, I beat you to the punch; it’s a “genus of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia.” (According to the almighty and ALWAYS accurate Wikipedia. Which is, naturally, exactly what people think of when they see the Dodgy Slappers. Heliconia for those of you who still find yourself baffled and perplexed by this oddly named color, should either google it yourself or look up at the Slappers team picture for a visual. Ahhhh, tropical plants… heliconia, take me away…
As obscure as the hue they’ve chosen to describe their jerseys is, the team itself is less than obscure. Team of the week winners twice before, apparently they’re either the most popular team in the league or best friends with anyone who is a forum junkie, because here they are again. Either maybe they all go online and vote for themselves under 16 different accounts (who doesn’t?!). But after five years of playing together as a team, the Dodgy Slappers deserve some notice. That’s right; stats don’t lie.
After five years, one of their greatest accomplishments might be something you don’t really consider, especially when you look at their on their success during the regular season and impressive tournament results, but purportedly, they have a perfect sportsmanship record. Our fact checking department wasn’t able to verify the information before this went to press, but according to team captain Brian Gaffney, they are perfect sportsmen. When asked what this means to them as a team, Brian replied, “We draw strength from the inspiration we provide to others. With great sportsmanship comes great responsibility. I believe the children are our future.” (Luckily, modesty is not a part of sportsmanship).
Children or no, as a team they probably are the future of the league as much as they have been a part of its past. It can be expected they’ll be back for years six and seven if history is any sort of barometer. And with several friendly rivalries with teams like the Montalballs, the good natured competitiveness will continue to keep them coming back for more. “We’ve had an excellent back-and-forth rivalry with the Montalballs over the years. They’re great competitors, they always give us a fun, close match, and you never know which way those games are going to go. It’s a shame that they probably won’t be in our division next season.” (And yet another reason to try and win the team of the week poll- unanswered trash talk towards opponents!) That is what dodgeball is all about. Thanks, Slappers, for being superstar sportsmen and overall competitors!
Winter 2010
Fall 2009
Winter 2009
