JCC Floor Hockey

 

Juranka's Corner

May 8, 2006 (the finals begin)

i miss the red army
the incredible combinations
of manny and mitch,
adam and jamie,
the intensity of kitch
the levity of tim and
the stoic seriousness of alan

i miss the greyhoundz
with the legendary withrow line,
the perpetual glow of patrick,
the magical moves of lev,
the warmth of david and even
the off-coloured "humour" of ron

two more Great Teams that
sink into the history books
but not without my
letting them know that
it was an amazing year
and they made it so

something vital would be missing
without the (always controversial)
comments from jamie

i've even come to truly appreciate
all the rips on his t-shirt

that was a trend that
no one else dared to follow
but year after year
he'd rip up his shirts anyway

adam took over the stats
(and even with the mixup
we are currently experiencing)
he has done a wonderful job
and much better than the one
i once did

i hate to see the league wind down
because it is such an important part
of my week

we will all get to hang out
one last time at the banquet
but then most of you
will disappear from my view
for the summer

in this emotion moment
i feel compelled to tell everyone
of a gift i received in the gym
so
here is the tale...

without being to obscure,
towards a (hidden) corner of the gym
there is a treasure
which few know of

its a secret that
has been guarded by
the ancients of the jcc gym
and the young ones (like adam)
never even heard of it

there is a spot that
toltec mystic shamen
would call a power-spot

if you stand in that spot then
you get grounded and all your
troubling thoughts come to rest

that spot has the power within it
to charge you up even if
you hadn't slept well the night before

when you look at the hard wood floor
it doesn't offer any clues

that spot can only be found
using a deeper inner sense

the mind gets in the way

you may wonder
how i've come across
this knowledge

i'm pretty sure that the wenners
and the lessem don't know
what i'm talking about

i found it all by myself
but the first time
i assumed that it had nothing to do
with my location on the floor

i thought that it was merely
a burst of adrenalin
that i sometimes get
before a game

i thought that
the adrenalin was somehow
inducing a psychological effect
and that was the reason
for my calm

i became suspicious the second time

it was almost a year later
and the feeling was so unique
that i remember the first time
and it felt like a deja vu

that's when i noticed
that i was standing in the exact
same spot

magick isn't logical
and logic isn't magical
so don't try to figure it out

it reminds me of a famous zen koan

"There is a treasure in the deep mountains;
He who has no desire for it finds it."

don't look for it but
if you do find it then
let the magick happen

last monday the final series began
and as i expected, the game
could (at any moment) go either way

lessem described it like a pendulum

first the black team scored 2 goals
then the yellow team scored 3
and finally the black scored 5

the pendulum's swing accelerated

the momentum shifted
and gained energy at each shift

amir taught me a great lesson

last year the zeppelins were accused
of over-celebration and i remember
those tough tight victories

i was probably the loudest and
at the time i felt that joy should
never be controlled

when you feel happy then
you've got to let it out

last game the yellow team
called a time out

just for fun i called the guys
to the bench for a group hug

although i was joking
amir looked at me sternly
and reminded me that
five minutes remained
the game was not over
and if we start to celebrate now
it would be in very bad taste

he said that he will never forget
all the loud stick banging
that went on last year
at the zeppelins bench
even when celebration
was not called for

he looked me in the eyes
and said " i thought you
were being a real asshole"

wow

that sombered up our mood a notch
and i gained a new perspective

even after winning last week
i contained my joy
and it felt truly dignified

i was learning
how to be a good winner
and
its ironic that the lesson
came from amir because
he is the only one on our team
that gloats with over-confidence
but
you never know who will give you
the next nugget of wisdom


Juranka's Corner Archive

The complete archive of anecdotes, game recaps, rants and ramblings.