Those Damn Yankees!

I have always prided myself on my sportsmanship. I have been taught to be humble during athletic achievements and be gracious to the people that helped make the accomplishment what it is. And for my entire sporting career, I've always been one of the good guys.

Until now.

I play in a coed softball league on Sunday nights. It started out as a family league with most of the team being related to one another in some regard. It has since morphed into a different team with certain members electing not to play anymore and other people coming in. And this year something has clicked big time and the team is very solid. Nay, the team is downright dominant. We've only had one challenging game this year, and the rest of the games we haven't just won. We've blown the other team clear out of the water. We are undefeated going into the playoffs this weekend.

But being a team like this instantly makes you a target. Even in a Sunday Coed league, there are plenty of competitive juices going. During our run this year, we have been booed, called every name possible, we've had our pitcher hit at a few times, and we've even been protested against. In short, we are easily the "Yankees" of our league.

And you know what? I kind of like being the bad guys for once. I like walking arrogantly onto the field and having a boat load of confidence and not being overly worried about our opponent. It's fun in a way, and I can see the appeal in walking the dark side from time to time. It kind of goes against what I've been all about with respect on the field, but a part of me likes having that bullseye on them and when it's all over and we walk to shake hands after another annihalating victory, seeing the pissed off look of the other team and looking them in the eye and just smiling slyly and saying "good game".