With a League Week days away and Week 2 eons behind us, the Recap is a formality – but in Jewball we make sure to respect the formalities when possible. Not only it is a long time ago, but the one game I played in (of the three played) was apparently finished after I left – and my team got the W (I had left in a tie). So Week 2 feels like a stranger; a foreign entity. That said, here we go:
The big storyline was the Return of Gronk. While being sensitive to a sensitive situation, none of us knew what that would look like – or feel like. And I think our Jewballness prevailed in that it both felt right and the same. On the field, we can break things down into their rawest elements. On the field, we are just playing the game to the best of our ability. Trying to make a play. Trying not to get too badly hurt. Trying to get the W. Nothing more. And no one gets the W with more proficiency than Gronk. And writing this Recap late allows me to know that Gronk will be debuting for BOP this coming Sunday at QB, which allows me to talk about Pray. Pray got hurt – machlokes whether playing football or building a sukkah. Pray had surgery and needs rest and rehab. These are painful facts that we can’t change. It sucks for us. It’s devastating for him. Jewball without Pray is like Guns N Roses without Axl. Call it whatever you want – it’s not the same thing. So we need him back. And he will be back. No one is gonna fight to get back on the field more fiercely than Pray. Heal up, brother.
The consolation is that the Jewball Gods looked out for us, and on the day Pray went down, Perla got in touch with Yaron. Like a prayer answered. Hey, I moved to the 5 Towns……looking to get back into football. And so he did. He has played 3 times already, I believe. Definitely 2. And he’s looked good. Shaking some of the rust off, but commands a huddle and can get the ball to his open receivers. He also has the intangibles of a gamer. He cares about winning. So, welcome to Jewball, Brooklyn.
What do I remember from Week 2? Was that the one with the marching band? I don’t know….let me check the stats…
Okay, so I remember now. Oppen came late and we were killing him for it, but turned out he was in a car accident on the way to the game. He made it a bit late, but awesome that he made it. Game 1A was Pray v. Gronk and it was a good back and forth one. I remember Held (who calls himself Playmaka) getting revved up at the line. I remember Sting playing very well. Tough and fast. I remember Gronk finding Vegh open a lot. I think this was the game where Solo left in the middle to tape up his ankle. I think Munch subbed in for both teams…which reminds me now of what happened in Game 2 so we can get to that. I remember Rook making some nice grabs. I remember I sucked and felt like s— after the game. Probably Prime bullied me. I dropped a TD laser from Gronk that he managed to get off and it emerged from the chaos of the line like a missile launched from a fog. That ruined my day. When I left at the end of regulation and a College Rule set each….it was tied. I was told we won after that. Better than losing.
Game 1B was my second Bin/Zinn experiment but I think Bin QBed the whole time. It did not go well. Randomizer had some trouble in Week 2. I had a month to tweek it, so I expect better results from it in Week 4.  Yaron trounces Rabin 5-1. Invader had only TD for Bin. Angry Mighty picked up 2 more scores.
Game 2 had some controversy. In a game where Dachs defeated Yaron 6-3, I was told the teams were one-sided. I was also told that Munch played defense for Dachs. I’ll just make 2 points. 1.) On Sign up weeks….if you want to play….sign up by Thursday night. I know, we all don’t know what our lives will be like Sunday morning. Anything can happen. We can take that for granted. But don’t let the unpredictability of life paralyze you. There are people who never make plans because they always want to “wait and see.” There are people who never do anything because they are always waiting to see if they can. If they time. If things will work out. Jewball is a few hours on a Sunday morning. Jump on in. Take the plunge and make it work. We have over 30 people committed each Sunday. We can’t wait on guys. We have no reason to. Sign up Tues—Thursday. Teams are posted Friday. Don’t put it on me to find you a spot or move people around after that. 2.) Once teams are posted, those are the teams. When you get to the field, even if people finished Game 1, even if people are standing on the sidelines who did not get in a game….it is not your place to make a rotation or give away your spot. If we have an injury, or someone leaves in an emergency….awesome that there are guys on the sidelines who can keep the game going with even numbers. But short of you being unable to play, if you are there….stay in the game. The teams have 7 players. Jewball is two ways. You play offense and defense. Even if you suck at both. There is no player option to sit for a set. And certainly not to sit for a side of the game. Jewball is not Croton. It is not Degel. It is Jewball and we play the Jewball way. Every player, plays both ways, for 90 minutes. We look down on breaks. If that’s not for you, that’s not for you. Decide if you want to make it for you. Which brings me to….teams are made to work based on the above. If you take someone like Munch and invite him to play for you – and you are not Munch  – your team just got a lot better. And that’s not fair. The teams were randomly constructed to be random. Official Munch is not part of the formula.
Jewball to Gronk for Game 1A. To Mighty for Game 1B. To Rook for Game 2.
Leagues on Sunday! Hope to see everyone there. It’s a holiday! Even if you are not playing, come on out. Will be some great battles on the field.