There is something to Jewball getting back to business as usual. Last year was the magical season because so many things happened to set up the by the book season we are in the midst of. So many things fell into place to breathe life back into our comatose game. The contrast between where we were before the season and where we wound up was phenomenal. The fact that so many guys came back. The fact that so much talent came out. It was EXACTLY what we needed to revive a very proud and long legacy. A legacy of…well….we found out this season a bit more about our roots.

All kidding aside, as we mark the halfway point of this 2019-2020 Jewball campaign, by far the biggest development of our season was the lines dropped – however few – from the man we call The Oracle. Every single one of us plays this game today because of a game he started sometime in the early to mid 90s in Queens. Would you have played football in some form or another regardless of that game? Some of you for sure. Some maybe. Some maybe not. But it certainly would not be this game. Because this game is Jewball. It traces itself back to Queens and it is it’s own thing. There are pick up games and there is Jewball. There are leagues and there is Jewball. So, it is really an honor to have The Oracle occasionally checking in with us, overseeing our progress, and hopefully make it down for a photo opp one of these days. Right behind that is an excellent new crop of talent. From gamer arms like Mo and Prager, to talented characters like Dobs, Storm, Brody, and Salem, to the return of Singer as a regular…we can once again see a bright future for our game. Almost more than anything, I love and appreciate that when Snow comes in from Chicago, or Jesus comes in from Cincy, or (in theory) if Zezzy is in from Israel or any other vet is around and wants to get a game in – they have a home. My hope is that one day when you are a vet and want to get a game in down the line, there will be a Jewball home for you. You will be known and respected and welcomed – just by name. Just by saying you are a Jewballer. That is the dream.

Week 10 kicked off the 2020 calendar and – as we began with – was business as usual. And there is every reason to celebrate that. 30 degrees and windy. The midseason aches and pains are in full force. 8am is early. But….14 players – the usual suspects – come out, put their heads down – no excuses – and play the game to the best of their abilities.

Now, I have never completed the Daf Yomi cycle, but they say it’s less about the daf and more about the yomi. The consistency. Establishing the pattern and perfecting the quality of showing up. And that’s what we do in Jewball over the winter months. We gear up and we show up. And the Prager v. Yaron 8am game seems to have become a locked in matchup that we can count on. A real Jewballer can be counted on. The more you give the game, the more it will give you.

So it was Yaron v. Prager and with Beast and Storm running later, Ari jumped from Prager’s Colors to Yaron’s Dark. Naturally 🤨 Yaron took the ball to start the game and went with the wind. The wind was fierce and it seemed to be the kind of day where running the ball and short patterns would dominate the playcalling. Yaron is an excellent play caller and he dialed up what was needed. Screens to Prime with Zada and Ari blocking. Tight end roll outs to Rabin. QB scrambles. On that opening drive, whatever they tried worked. Eventually, Zada – Mr. Consistancy himself – catches one in the endzone. Dark up 1.

About this time Beast and Storm show up and Beast – instead of coming into the game – starts to set up the honeymoon suite on the sidelines. Turns out his woman is going to be coming out to witness his prowess. But will he impress?

So Ari comes back to Colors and Beast/Storm go to Dark. Now with everything settled, Prager gets to work. It was evident from the beginning that it was going to be very hard to move the ball. For both sides, but clearly more so for Colors. Kut, Jordan, MK….dropping balls that needed to be caught. The only seemingly reliable set of mitts were those belonging to Wilmer. After making a big run to get Colors most of the way there, he caps off the drove with a tough jump ball in the front of the endzone. Game is knotted at 1. Both sides kept it safe for a while and it resulted in a 20 minute scoring drought. On this day, though, Dark had the overall advantage on offense and defense. It wasnt necessarily a talent advantage although with Zada, Goldberg, Beast, Storm, Prime, and very effective Rabin on defense, Yaron had many reliable weapons – what Dark had was the mental advantage. Mostly on defense. While Colors was missing flags, getting bullied, and letting short plays become long plays. It felt like Yaron would eventually breakthrough. On a 4th and long from their own 30, Colors had a great opportunity to take over with field position. Sam was in pursuit and Yaron was spun around looking for somewhere to. Sam was close on sacks all day, but….close wont cut it. Just ask Beast. Yaron was forced to the right sideline and Jordan had come across the field to bottle up the run and close in on Yaron. But just as the sack was on and after about 15 seconds of scrambling…..Yaron somehow finds Goldberg just beyond the first down marker – on his knees. Catch is made. It extends the drive and leads to a Zada diving TD. 2-1 Dark.

Colors continued to struggle, mainly due to the collective defense mindset of Dark. Prime, Yaron, Rabin, Zada….collapsing on every play and plugging everything up to make it feel like Colors never had a chance. Maybe there were adjustments to be made, but on this day Prager and co could not figure them out. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Yaron was the complete opposite. The wind didnt even seem to bother him. With the short plays working, that opened things up downfield and for some reason his passes cut the wind and got to their destinations. His 3rd TD was a 28 yard strike to Beast who celebrated with the love of his life with an epic on field 

. Pretty cool moment. Happy for them. With 8 minutes left in regulation, Yaron hit Goldberg to put his squad up by 3 and that was that. Jordan had to go march against Jewball hatred.

Jewball for this one goes to Yaron. Every other QB on the day could not figure out how to put up points in the elements. But Bron had no problems. That makes him an MVP and a Jewball winner.

I will now disappoint some, but hearten others. Game 2 was a tie and I wasnt there, so no recap and no Jewball. Honorable mention to Kut for coming back after heading home to be there for his Jewball brothers – once again proving his unparalleled commitment to our game. And I heard he had a hell of a game. Thank you, Kut. Klan to Jordan and Brody for failing to communicate which create the unnecessary situation which brought about Kut’s heroics. Sorry about that, Jewballers.

Half the season left. Bowl Games behind us. It’s the dog days of winter. Who wants WEEK 11?