A Season With the Ball Hogs
Week 2
Something Special
Dodgeball playoffs are an intense experience. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. One night, single elimination all the way to the championship. Win or go home. The anticipation is definitely gathering in the air. The Ball Hogs are locked in on the prize. For many, it is the first shot at gold, for others it is a chance to defend a title. Like in so many matches this season, the Ball Hogs are lined up in their classic formation, all players with a ball shoulder-to-shoulder. You can see it in their eyes. It’s time to get what they came here for. The captain shouts out, “3, 2, 1…”
Seven weeks ago I was introduced to the Ball Hogs through my roommate, Max. Apparently this was his co-worker’s team, and they had been playing for years. Like almost everyone I tell this story to, I was beyond skeptical at first. Grown adults in a rec gym chucking Four Square balls at each other couldn’t possibly be a serious experience. But I couldn’t have been proven more wrong. When I first spoke of the Ball Hogs with team captain Sam he was emphatic that this season had the opportunity to be something special. He had sized up the competition, and he knew that with the help of new comers like Max and Gina, and a weaker than usual field of opponents, a run to the title game was a very real possibility. The team just had to get there first.
So I observed, I listened, and I took in what is amateur league dodgeball in New York City, and I couldn’t have been more taken aback at what the game means to so many people. I had to write about it. I had to chronicle the journey of all of these random people grouping together. I felt like only New York could provide this scene, this cast of characters, this eight weeks of dodgeball glory.
“Hogs!”
