Warm and Fuzzies

Let me say before we start tonight that I love Staples High School. Last time I slightly took them to task I wound up hearing through the grapevine that I might have bruised a few feelings. Let's try to keep my musings here in perspective, k?

Greenwich. Staples. Those words next to each other make you feel tingly, doesn't it?

Well not if you go to one of those two schools.

Greenwich once again proved to me their Yankees-like persona this week when they took to the diamond against the Wreckers in Westport. Everybody seems to dislike the Cardinals - hence the Yankees reference - but New Canaan, Darien and Staples seem to take it to extremes.

The Cardinals would lose to the Wreckers, 7-3. That's not even the reason for this post. The Cards didn't look very sharp and made some mental mistakes.

Nope that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about smack.

Staples' baseball field is quite nice (might be one of the best in the FCIAC), but it doesn't have grandstands, so fans tend to stand in the parking lot that overlooks the field. So some of the students decided that they would position themselves nice and close to the Cardinals dugout along first base line and rid themselves of whatever evil thought they had about anybody wearing red.

Did I mention the Cardinals lost the game? Did I also mention that Greenwich went to Staples last November and beat them to the tune of 37-0 in football? Did I also mention how much I like Staples, and Coach P, and the friends I've made there?

Good. Carry on.

So the students taunted the Cardinals players. To their credit, as much as they wanted to say something back, they bit their tongues. The whole thing was kind of comical.

By the way, credit to Wreckers' coach Jack McFarland who had enough of the idiocy and tried to tell one of the taunters to get lost. Sadly he had a game to coach and didn't have time to babysit the crowd.

Perhaps somebody else should have done that. Oh but that would have kept them from telling me that I was a liability. Cardinals score keeper extraordinaire Katie and I were doing our individual scorebooks and talking about random stuff when the Cardinals players joined us. A voice from beyond (somebody from Staples) shooed the players away, saying that "Greenwich belongs in the dugout."

Seems that Katie and I were part of that group. Somebody was too happy to tell Katie that very thing following the last out - like that was necessary for when we come back to Staples for baseball...in 2010.

See, here's the thing. I stand in places like this for virtually every game. Want to see where we stand at Cardinal Yard in Greenwich? Just be prepared when a lefty is up, is all I'm saying. Are those standing in the parking lot at Staples who were dodging foul balls a liability also?

I get it. You're concerned for our safety...er...the potential lawsuit that you might get slapped with. Whatever. I appreciate the conundrum of silliness but here's the rub: Katie, me, the coaches and the Cardinals all survived unscathed. Oh and one other thing - you play roughly ten games there a year. You don't want people standing near the fence outside the dugout on the first base side?

Put up a sign!

Did I mention that I love Staples - I have a great relationship with the folks there and I enjoy the rivalry of these two schools. I'm not trying to bruise egos here, or embarrass anyone. I'm just telling a little story about some of the inane things that go on in high school athletics.

Just in case I offend anyone.

Have I mentioned I'm fond of Staples High School?

Oh. Good.