Dodgy $tyle
(1/5/10)
Each season we like to begin the team of the week process by featuring the past season’s champions. It is a way to honor their achievements, remind everyone who the team to beat is, and it allows us to be as lazy as possible while deciding who should be the first team featured. All in all it is the perfect storm. So with that in mind, we are please to feature the Fall 2009 dodgeball champions, Dodgy $tyle!
We generally like to put out a final newsletter after the tournament to tie up any loose ends, and to give the newsletter’s rabid fanbase a sense of closure (thanks, both of you!), but this year we did it a little differently. In part, it was simply due to the fact that the break seemed to speed by, with Christmas and New Years becoming a tangled blur of days, and partly because Dodgy $tyle (or D$ as their friends and lazy newsletter writers like to call them), was slightly incommunicado for a few days.
To celebrate their second championship, an impressive feat, we invited them to join us for a fireside chat. So after breaking into a house with a suitable fireplace, we put out cookies and milk, and we waited. And waited. As we were running from the police, we received a call from Kate Gilles, captain of Dodgy $tyle, asking us to meet the team in an undisclosed location.
When we finally met up with them, it was obvious that they were proud of their accomplishment, and the celebration was still ongoing. When asked what they had done to celebrate their monumental second dodgeball win that topped off a great season, they answered that the butterflies were following the wind. But what did it mean? Were they saying that beauty is transitory and must always follow the patterns of nature? Could they be referring to the chaos theory, meaning that the wind effected the butterflies, which in turn could effect all of the delicate balance of life?! Had they discovered enlightenment and learned the path to Nirvana?!?
”Peyote, a trip to Hermiston to buy watermelons.” That would have been our fourth guess.
But how did they manage to succeed, where so many other teams had failed? “We bought a team turtle, named her Chester.” Closer examination revealed Chester to be a 6 foot 4 inch Canadian named Aldous, who claimed that D$ had taken his passport and promised to return it only after he taught them how to pull themselves into their shells like he did. But enough about Canadians, they are expendable (that was a joke, Canadians, please don’t send angry emails threatening to withhold your maple syrup or whatever it is that you export. Hockey, or whatever.)
After several hours of chasing D$ around in giant circles, the tranquilizer darts began to take hold, and we settled in for an honest conversation about what made the team click, how they formed, and what was the key to their success. ”Magic, mostly. A discerning eye from our captain and a love of all things Rad. Rad is capitalized because I am talking about the movie about BMX biking from the 80’s.” Chester snorted at the answer, but a quick glance reminded him that he was an illegal immigrant in our country, and thus eligible for Homeland Security’s “relocation” program. Chester paled and muttered something about freedom, or cheese, or something, then remained quiet.
Together since 2006, D$ (as their friends and lazy newsletter writers like to call them) have had immediate success on the court. The most striking feature of D$ as a team, is that they play like a team. That is easy to say, but when you watch them, you can tell that they function best as a unit. They have individual talent to spare which wins them games, but it is their synchronicity that wins them championships. Talent can be recruited, but chemistry requires something different. ”We genuinely like each other A LOT. And [we use] whale p*nis for virility.”
In a league that caters to the athletic and the social, to the people looking to win and the people looking to just have fun, teams that admit they are interested in winning games have almost become ostracized. The league is fun, but to admit that winning is the most fun earns you a scarlet letter for being competitive, and somehow competitive seems to automatically exclude the possibility of being a fun team. But to win the championship, a team needs that competitive drive, and the desire to beat their opponents. Identifying the paradox between fun and competitive led them to reexamine how they looked at the leage and take a new tact. ”A new found take on ‘competition’ (which can be kind of a dirrrrrrty word in this league) and what it means to ‘want to win.’”
D$ found themselves in the position of having to determine where they stand, and to find the balance between fun and competition, and that became their new mantra and a key to their success this season. But don’t take that to mean they only have fun while winning, they enjoy the sport of the game. If you need proof of that, head to almost any pickup and you will usually see members of D$ there. ”Almost anybody can play the game right away, with varied “success,” but still have a great time doing it. Playing a dodgeball match with a fun active pace is probably the most fun any human can have.”
With two championships already, expect D$ to have their eyes on a third. But focusing on the championships overlooks the time they have spent in the league, and the rivalries and weekly challenges they look forward to. ”We have been in the league a few years now and we have played several teams multiple times. I think most of our rivalries come from becoming friends with players in the league and then wanting some bragging rights. Decons, the leaders in championships. Slappers, the leaders in beer drinking and overall merriment. Danza (or whatever your new name will be), Corey is a dodgeball mastermind and its always good to play Sweet Joe. We love playing everybody but we get most excited for matches against these teams.”
Can D$ win a third championship? The new season begins on Thursday, and with it a fresh new slate. But despite the records all reset at 0, the road to the championship for Winter 2010 goes through Dodgy $tyle.
Winter 2010
Fall Champs 2009
Fall 2009
Winter 2009
Winter 2009
2008
2007
2008