74

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

With this being our inaugural season of Wiffle in Southeast Michigan, we really do not know what to expect. After years of playing pick-up games, traveling across state lines to play in tournaments, and hosting our own tournaments, we have finally made enough wiffle connections to start an actual league. We have seven solid teams who will all be competitive, and with any luck that number will soon be eight. Oh yeah, and we also have a rivalry… Oh, do we have a serious rivalry! Two of our teams are made up entirely of high schoolers, and there is absolutely no love lost between these guys.

Git r’ Done made their debut in our August 2009 tournament and really did not make much of an impression. They went two and out, but still had a blast, got a taste for the game, and kept in touch. They returned the following year and had a shockingly deep run, finishing second at the Rally Around the Flag-a-Palooza tournament in June, making themselves a threat to be reckoned with. The Westside Warriors debuted in that same Flag-a-Palooza tournament and did pretty well, and then finished second at the Hoppe's in September with a three-man roster in their second tournament.

There are a lot of similarities in the teams’ on field successes: Git r’ Done’s 2010 record was 6-7, Westside’s was 7-6, and both have played in and lost a championship game, and boy-oh-boy do they like to throw around talk of their high points and head-to-head escapades. Since both of these teams are filled with Generation Yers, they are very active on the league's facebook page. Dennis Pearson, captain of Git r’ Done made a recent post boasting that he is pitching 74 mph and his pitches are "hittin the strike zone" and that post has produced an amazing string of 100 comments! Alex Shore and rookie Tom Heffernan of the Warriors led the charge to dispute Dennis's claims. Shore quickly stated, “last time I checked that 74 mph pitch was in the dirt and you issued more walks (than) the three day march for breast cancer,” and one of Tom’s first lashings, “I’m jackin two out on you. Don't worry I’ll watch for you hanging your head when I’m trotting around the bases.” Dennis held his ground: “don’t worry (you) won’t be able to hit it and it’s gunna be strike out city… (we’ll) see when (I’m) blowin it right pass (you) make (you) look stupid,” and Dennis even threw down a gauntlet for the Warriors, “don’t worry. If it’s against (you) guys (I’ll) make sure I pitch the whole day.” It has been incredibly entertaining to watch the rivalry build up, and many other league members have chimed in. Michael Constanti of the Ass Kickers shrugged off Dennis’s confidence mockingly, “bring that shit to my kitchen and (I’ll) put that in the train tracks at Constanti Field.” DeLoppes captain, Chad Hoppe, digs the enthusiasm, “I love how the West Side/ Git r’ Done rivalry didn’t miss a beat.... The damn season hasn't even started yet!” The back-and-forth trash talk between the younger teams has really started to ramp up the excitement for the start of the season.

A scene from the genesis of the Westside Warriors /
Git r' Done rivalry on field at the 2010 Flag-a-Palooza

Just what else, tangible, has this rivalry produced for the league, you ask? Well, Git r’ Done and the Westside Warriors are now scheduled to kick off the regular season on April 30th at Chad Hoppe’s field. Chad has proposed hosting a tri-meet, which will also include the DeLoppes, with each team playing two games against each other. Even though I am sure that the Warriors and Git r' Done will meet at the preseason tournament on April 16th, I still cannot wait to watch these guys play on opening day. In fact, the whole WSEM front office is opting out of playing on opening day to take in these three series and whatever fallout comes from them. WSEM Sec. of Defense, Brandon Corbett, issued a memo to me with this message, “April 30th, whatever time: I'm bringing peanuts, some choice adult beverages, kicking back and will be thrilled to watch these games go down! Carl, forewarning, even if it is opening day of the season, I'm taking 4/30 off as a vacation day,” and I agree one-hundred percent with his request!

So, as the founder and co-commissioner of this league, as well as captain of a squad, I for one am very excited to have such a heated rivalry in our ranks already. It is easily the number one storyline in the league going into the season, and I can't wait to see how it all pans out. Who do I think has the better team? Gun to my head, I would say the Warriors, but if Dennis has dialed in his accuracy, then he has the ability to be a star and change that prediction. There you have it, folks! Rivalries! Nothing else like them! The MLB has Red Sox/Yankees, college football has OSU/UofM, college basketball has Duke/UNC, and the WSEM has Warriors/Git r’ Done!

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Carl Coffee

Flying Squirrels, 18, SS

Commissioner, League's Counselor, and all around Cool Guy