Laughing with Di – June 2018

It was cold. It was cloudy. It was windy. Not your typical Santa Clarita kind of day. We were on one of the fields for the end of another fun, Flag Football League season.
Let’s have a smile.
The die-hard, frosty, fans were cheering on the sidelines (some of us with lap blankets and gloves). The players had rosy cheeks and red noses. The referees were shivering in a very serious, business-like way.
The coaches, parents, spectators and players made a noble effort to understand the rules all season like, no pass/no run zones, when to call time-outs, how to speed up the huddle, no in-the-face contact.
A lot of yelling out plays and positioning bodies went on. Go left – left; no right! Who’s on defense? Who’s on offense? Whose shoelaces are undone? Keep that shirt in your pants. Flags were thrown and flags were pulled. How many players are on the field? Focus. What’s the score?
A good number of sneaky plays, fakes, stops and turns right on the line, set us all a-jumpin’ and a-yelling. The always appreciated half-time snacks were carefully guarded until devoured by hungry boys and girls.
There was a young lady with dramatic hair buns (maybe a Rey fan?) whizzing by with the ball – a fast runner – doing her best to avoid losing her flags!
Some kids play with gloves that are multi-purpose. Why just make it easier to catch a ball when you can put your gloves to better use by touching hands together making the palm area into the Batman symbol with the chance that he will appear and help you win the game!
Then, the QB looked to the right, stepped forward, faked a throw to the left, turned, ran and threw right. The ball was sailing through the air. Out of nowhere the receiver runs up and makes the catch in the end zone. His opponent wraps him in a bear hug, they fall to the ground rolling around; but the receiver holds onto the ball for dear life and a touchdown pass is on the books. The fans are on their feet, craning their necks to get a view of the play – because remember, this kind of excitement happens with athletes who are maybe four feet tall, plus a bit.
These kids practiced hard, played hard, learned football and had fun. They enjoyed their teams, gave huge hugs of encouragement and high-five congratulations abounded. Win or lose each one-hour game was a thrill-a-minute unless, of course, you got a parking ticket!
What was the best part of that last day of the season? Donuts!