This Is What We Call Fun

One of our co-workers just came in (we'll call her Gabby Hayes for future reference) and was talking about how her heat was turned up so high last night she had a hard time sleeping. It was on because her fiancee got chilled playing football outside all day and then grilled out afterward. The weather here is pretty cold so I can see how he got chilled.

Her story made me think of the days a few years ago when a huge group of us from work would get together every weekend and play football. We always had 12-14 on a side and we always played. No matter what the weather was, we played. I remember playing in cold rain, sleet & snow. It became a matter of honor somehow not to miss the game. No matter what, we played.

I'm not talking about warm weather either. We never even started planning games before November. Now that I look back on it I think we were all a bit screwey.

I remember one weekend in particular when it was very cold but it was raining too. It was cold enough that the rain was turning to ice on the roads. Most of us fools still showed up to play anyway. We didn't have any real football gear either. We wore sweats and rubber cleats. That was our gear.

This weekend was a brutal one. Imagine wearing a shirt, 2 sweatshirts, 2 pairs of sweat pants, wool socks and cleats and then getting soaked in the freezing rain. With every step we ran the water splashed into our faces and into the shoes. Luckily the toes became numb quickly. With every tackle, the clothes got more soaked and the longer the daywent the colder it got. I remember running down the field toward the end of the day, going out for a pass and the puddles splashing everywhere. My clothes felt like an extra 20 pounds on me and just trying to keep my footing was a chore. The ball was thrown my way and when it hit my fingers, which had been numb to that point, the stinging sensation was almost unbearable. I held onto the ball and literally stumbled into the endzone, falling flat on my face and sliding for 5 feet to a stop. When I hit the ground the water just flowed down the neck of my sweatshirts and completely froze me. I had never felt anything like that before. It was like electric shocks coursing all through me. It was right then and there that I remember thinking how much fun I was having. Even being chilled for 2 days afterward I remember eagerly anticipating the next game.

So when Gabby Hayes was complaining how her fiancee turned the heat up so high trying to shake the chill, I understood. Even after soaking in a hot bath and sitting in front of the fire he was still cold and couldn't shake the chill. That made me smile.

I'll bet he had a kick-ass time.