On this eve of my 42nd birthday, it is a time for reflection. Where do I begin? Do I begin emailing with Rabin at age 25 – when we thought we were ancient – and Jewball was having an off year as we realized Queens was a Jewball graveyard. And we weren’t sure if the game would survive in a new land. And I think we felt old. I had been playing all of three years! But…y’know…I was smitten. I was committed. He saw that. So, kind of like what Yaron and I have now, Rabin saw me as a co-commissioner. And I remember him saying, let’s just end it. My inclination was the same, but then I said – let’s push it a bit…I wrote him a big pump up email and I concluded with a hope and prayer that we play until we are 30. Ay 25, 30 sounded ridiculously old. Like to think about playing football at 30 was foolish. Cause 30 is super old and out of it and over the hill and just bury them. That’s what we thought. I said it almost as a joke, thinking that we would try to keep playing for a while longer in the 5Ts and retire at 28 or 29 because….30 was beyond playing age, right? Or do I begin when Esses came down at 31 and made me believe there were games even beyond 30. Or do I begin when Viv came down at 41 and – although he seemed pretty darn old – we realized there were games after middle age. Or do I begin with Eddie who is my hero!? Over 50 and ripping it up with his kids! Please, please, God….merit me that! I think though the place to start is this afternoon when my Jewballers demanded a recap of Week 11. Why? Because looking back is what makes us old. The present is what you have to live for! Celebrate the awesomeness of the present! That keeps you young. And, for Jewball, there is no greater birthday, er, present that what we have going today. 
This philosophical intro segues nicely to what I want to discuss as we go into the last stretch of season before us. It’s an old topic for recaps, but worth digging into once a season. I’ve been seeing something over the past two weeks and we need to confront it as a league. That is this: We all have physical limitations. Our bodies can only do certain things. Our strides are based on criteria we cannot change. The size of our hands. Our eye sight. Our reflexes. These are physical attributes that you either are blessed with or not. What has no limitation – other than that which you impose on yourself – is your mental state when you play the game. What I mean is, your desire to compete. Yes, I know we come down for brotherhood and a good time, but….in my opinion….we should always show up ready to go ALL IN mentally. You have carved out this time to play Jewball. Clear your head, come out with fire and an insatiable desire to compete to the best of your ability. I say this only because I feel that in Week 10 and again in Week 11, the teams were equal in talent, but one was just mentally tougher than the other. And that shouldn’t happen. I ask everyone who signs up to come down with as passion and will and commitment to winning and competing as they can harness. You only have so many games in your life. Give each one whatever you got.
Week 11 was the CLIMATE CHANGE BOWL sponsored by Cow Farts. In early January we had record high temps. The game saw 60 degrees and sun. Back in the day when we got a warm weather day in the middle of the winter I was grateful. Now, I’m scared. But let’s go back to sleep on that issue until it’s too late. Good. Done. The amazing weather summoned a who’s who of Jewball talent. Game 1 saw Gronk come back after an elongated hiatus to reunite with his Cronies and take on an old foe, Yaron. Just when we were talking about Prager being locked in to the 8am slot, we booted him to the 945 to see if Yaron and Gronk could rekindle some of that Magical Season magic. And, alas, it was not meant to be. Yaron was stocked with some old school all stars in Mighty, Singer, Tom, and Munch – along with new school gamers Prime/Beast and Sam. Gronk with Cronies assembled, plus Jordan, Kut, and Asa had a really tough task ahead of them. And they were not up to it. Now, I give Gronk a pass because rust is real. I don’t want to hear anything about Gronk not being a QB. You are forgetting the evolution last year. He is legit and I expect him to be a competitive QB in this league. He has all the tools and gifts. All he has to do is want it. And speaking of wanting it, Mighty “Give Me the Damn Ball” Rat and Singer have that mental toughness we spoke about earlier. They care about what happens on every play. They do not want to let their teams down and – more importantly – they don’t want to let themselves down. Because if you aren’t scolding yourself over the course of the week for plays your messed up in Jewball…you are missing out : ) And Yaron is the same. And Munch is the same. So it was not surprising that Yaron jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Then 2-0….Then 3-0. It was a lot Mighty at the beginning. A bomb down the  right sideline dropped in perfectly. A cross with signature spin move. Gronk and Dark were struggling. No other way to say it. Just wasn’t vintage Gronk, combined with a few dropped balls and some embarrassingly weak flag pulling, it was evident rather early that Yaron would win. The only question really was by how much. Well, Singer – not to be out-statted – put up 3 scores late, including a controversial scoop on a low thrown ball that he secured before it hit the ground. Yaron’s crew would score 7. Gronk threw one TD on the day following a sweet over the shoulder pick by Jordan and run back to the 5. The final score was 7-3 as Jordan and Vegh P6ed Yaron late in the day. The Jewball will go to a man who is covetous of the ball and our game in all the best ways. A man whose ass I have kissed since the day I first saw him- and rightly saw. A man who wears pink with pride. Mighty, my brother, Jewball to you. Honorable Mention of course to Singer for the same stat line (or shall I say rat-line) but Mighty scored early to tear Dark’s heart out. You merely stomped on it while it was on the ground. Recap of Game 2 for another time…maybe tomorrow…stay tuned.