New Years Fest

I missed the Wisconsin Women's alum tourney last year, opting to go to Lei Out instead.  Two west coasts tourneys in one winter is doable, but I also had a conference in Long Beach, which would have made 3 weekends in a row.  This year, I decided I would attend and make it a priority.  So, while my friends went to Vegas, played in the finals, barely slept, won & lost money, and generally partied like rock stars, I sat home and awaited my trip to Tempe.

The town of Tempe certainly doesn't compare to Vegas, but I tried to focus on the positives: Sun. Warm weather.  Friends.  Ultimate outdoors.  More sun.  Hometown (or close enough) of the Arizona Cardinals, who were playing in the SuperBowl on Sunday.  And neglect the negatives: the list of alums who wouldn't be making the trip (Alice, Jaime, Jill, Corinne, Jane), paucity of teams I recognized / knew someone on, Tempe is not Vegas.

I wasn't surprised by the amount of fun I had with the former BellaDonnas, even though I didn't overlap with any of them (but all of whom I'd met before): Claire, Dana, Vingers, Steph, Huldah, Schotty, Betsy, and Courtney (who isn't technically an alum yet).  And given that our pick-ups knew a Bella alum, I'm not surprised I ended up with three new awesome friends: Nicole Belle Isle, Minh, and Goldy (Bling).  And the weather was warm, as promised.  And the fields lacked true grass, as expected.

What I wasn't expecting was the following, which made them all the more special:

1. Teddy & Idaho being in attendance.  Yes, the long lost Idaho whom I hadn't drank with in years.  It was good to see him...and his college friends & mentors, which helped explained certain qualities about the unique character that is our beloved Idaho.  I'll get to an example later.  Teddy proved fun as always to party with.

2. The perks of Embassy Suites.  Not only was there a free continental breakfast, but said meal included made-to-order omelettes and *bacon* (or sausages).  Disputedly surpassing this fantastic perk was the open bar from 5:30 - 7:30.  As if all-you-can-drink-in-2-hours wasn't enough, the women working the bar made the drinks stiff, and suggested we get two drinks at a time, as the end neared.  Steph walked away triumphantly with three at 7:25.

3. Watching the Superbowl in Arizona.  The final game ended in time for us to hit up a sports bar, which was packed with enthusiastic Cardinals fans.  The fans were a friendly lot for the most part, indulging us with high-fives when a good play was made.  One such fan appeared to be by himself, so was especially eager to celebrate with us when the Cards scored their first touchdown.  Jimmy, Idaho's mentor from college, enthusiastically returned his high-five....and then slapped the guy on his ass.  The man, either numbed by excitement, alchol, or pure bromosexual enjoyment, did not react.  Priceless.

4. Buying Callahan winner shots.  Given that I didn't know many people outside of my team, and Teddy & Idaho, I decided to be friendly and make new friends.  I introduced myself to Joe Kershner, who was sitting by himself at a table next to us.  He joined our group, of which Courtney Kiesow was a part.  People eventually recognized the significance of the two people in our presence, and after a good-natured arm-wrestle, I bought shots to commemorate the occasion.  

5. Blizzard at Dairy Queen.  Need I say more?

All in all, an above-average weekend.  I played OK -- whether I really did or I just have the illusion of playing well given the lesser quality of half the teams we played is debatable.  I only had 2 non-huck turn-overs (and yes I was attempting to huck!)  It was good to get outside and run around; the partying and friends aside, this was a good "warm-up" for Team USA try-outs.  Can't say that I'd make this tournament a priority in years to come, but I am certainly not unhappy having attended this year.