I have personally played and witnessed countless church softball games and been part of a team dating back some twenty-four years now. Over the course of those years, I have seen things that most people would find extremely unbelievable. Grown men (supposedly god-fearing, church-going men) of all ages end up acting like little boys- right down to the temper tantrums that are normally reserved for average two and three year olds.
The mystery remains til this very day. What happens to these guys? Is there something magically stupid that happens when that softball uniform is pulled down over the head? What makes a grown man begin to act like he is only barely old enough to walk? Do the lights on the field sap his reserves of wisdom he's accrued over the years? Maybe those bright lights do something all the more horrifying. Maybe he really thinks he is a world-class athlete like the ones he watches on TV. Could that be it? Is he seriously so delusional to think that he is as good as those guys and that the fans in the stands are there just to see his brilliance on the field?
My first response to those questions is, "Please, NO!" However, after watching the happenings on the field for all these years, I have to answer, "Maybe." I have seen a seemingly intelligent man hurl a ball into the dugout of the opposing team. Why, you ask? As far as I could tell, there was no reason at all. Something just didn't go right for him, and he was letting everyone know. Worse than that, that same man was nose-to-nose with his coach after the game and only God knows what kept the clinched fists from flying.
As bad as that sounds, I was part of something that made the previous incident seem like a peace talk. At an early age, I had earned my way onto the men's team. While I'd like to think it was due to my superb skill level, I'm pretty sure it was because there just weren't enough men to fill the team. Second base was my position and I was able to hold my own on that team until "The Play" happened late in a game.
During "The Play" I was at second base waiting on a throw that I would eventually attempt to throw on to first base and hopefully complete a double play. Those were quite rare for church softball. As I caught the throw and turned towards first base, I noticed how close I was to the runner coming from first. My throwing hand had gained control of the ball from my glove and I was going to prepare to throw to first base. Just before I was to let go of the ball (with blinding speed, of course) I felt a huge blow to my stomach area that knocked me down and left me lying in the dirt in serious pain. I later learned that the base runner had inexplicably decided to give me a running sucker punch right in the middle of my gut on his way to second base.
While it is a bit of a blur from that point on, I do remember the other horror. Yes, worse than the pain, was what I saw happening from my viewpoint on the ground. Our catcher (a large man with an even larger passion) was running full-speed toward me and the crowd gathered around me. Seeing him running was not the horrifying part. It was the crazed look in his eyes. He looked like a freight train that had run off the tracks, out of control with smoke spewing from the top. I'm sure he was concerned about me and my apparent injury. However, he was much more concerned with laying a smack down on the base runner who had hit me in the stomach. As he approached the group, I saw his big, iron first rise up into the air. He held it there as he continued to run until he finally reached his destination and put a thunderous punch across the face of the culprit.
At that point, the unfortunate scene turned into a complete and utter melee with tons of people and dust flying all over the field. When cooler heads eventually regained control and the dust settled, the culprit had been ejected from the game and suspended from the field indefinitely. To this day he might not be allowed on that field. Our catcher (the protector of the young) was also ejected from the game, but was spared suspension. I think his explanation that he was only trying to offer me some defense saved him from the life-time ban.
Now, that story should sound very odd and extremely out of place at a church sporting event. It should even shock you a bit as you hear it and imagine it in your mind. More than likely, though, it isn't very shocking. Too much any more, these kinds of incidents have become almost common place; even at church events. It is a sad commentary to say the least that church-going people end up acting out in this way. Isn't it supposed to be all about a fun game together? Somewhere along the way, that notion has been lost and fields are full of aging athletes acting as if their play on the field is was more important that it really is.
