Congratulations, Spartans

What a great season. Spartan JV girls volleyball team, I just want to say thanks for a crazy, awesome, fun, hilarious, incredible season. It went by so fast, but they say that time flies when you're having fun. That pretty much sums it up. We have so many great memories from this season that I can't even begin to list them. I would probably run out of room on my page. From waking up early and chowing down bagels before a tournament to coach's little boy trying as hard as he possibly could to reach the bottom of that net ("I missed! I missed!"), the list goes on forever. As for that last tournament, wow. It was incredible. Yeah, we got second place. But we got SECOND PLACE!! That's awesome! We played out of our minds! So many kills, straight down the line, and perfect passes and serves, the others teams never had a chance! And then out in the hallway, we were kinda crazy. I haven't seen that movie yet (don't worry I really want to!) and already the song is stuck in my head! I can't even imagine the looks on everyone's faces in the gym when we started singing at the top of our lungs. "They're volleyball players, not singers." Thanks coach. We all got along so well with each other, which definitely helped to account for our success. We were a cohesive group, always working hard but having fun at the same time. Except for those down-and-backs, those were not that great. But it was a great time. I cannot believe that the season went by so quickly. But we keep saying that our last tournament was a celebration, not a goodbye. Besides, weight-lifting three times a week starts now. I'm guessing we'll all have just as much fun together.

PS The photo has nothing to do with anything... I just thought it was funny :)

Lovable but Luckless Losers

I cannot tell you how excited I was for the Cubs to be in the playoffs. We all were. Bouncing off the walls, cheering our heads off when we heard those wondrous yet false confidence giving words, "CUBS CLINCH!" Going into their first playoff game on October 1st, the atmosphere was... crazy. There's no other word to describe the emotions running through every Cubs fan's head. And we started off well, too, scoring two runs in the second inning. Oh, Cubbies. Our hopes were high after that second inning. Bring us to the fifth inning when the Dodgers scored four, and it was all downhill from there. Final score : Cubs 2, Dodgers 7. Game one, bust. Ok, no big deal, just step it up next game, we can still come back. Positive thoughts through every fan's head. But game two brought us to disaster. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe not, but the second inning of that second game showed us our true fate as 2008 Cubs fans. Hey DeRosa, it happens to the best of us, I understand. Bad timing. And Derrek, the ball was right there the whole time, but no worries. I'm a first baseman too, and that has probably happened to me before. Five runs in for the Dodgers that inning, and all confidence was lost for that game too. So game two, bust. Need I say anything about the third game? Game three, *sigh.* The end of 2008 North Side baseball.
So... I'm pretty sure we're cursed. Yeah, I'll just blame the stupid billy goat who started this whole thing. It's his stupid fault we got into this stupid mess. But I gotta wonder; why lose all three playoff games right off the bat? Oh my gosh, that pun was not intended. I mean, they swept the Pirates three times, the White Sox, the Diamondbacks, the Rockies, the DODGERS, the list goes on. They were better known as the Lovable Winners, with the best record in the National League this season. They most definitely knew the Dodgers were beatable, so why didn't the Cubs win? Nerves of "OMG WORLD SERIES!"? Probably that was part of it. I don't think that, as Cubs fans, we will ever know. Break the curse, yeah sure. There is no curse, okay? It's all in our heads, that scapegoat billy goat. We don't want an excuse. We don't NEED an excuse; we have a great team, and when we fans say next year, we mean it 100%. We have learned to be forgiving, I think solely because of the nature of our Cubbies. Yes, it was a disappointing end to the season, but seriously, next year will be a whole different, better-ending story. I hope. You know what, no, I don't hope. I know.