In the past, when asked to pick three adjectives to best describe myself, I very rarely picked "athletic/sporty." I have no idea why not because I have spent nearly all of my free time since 1998 playing sports. Beyond that, I have defined myself by participation in athletic activities at almost every stage of my life.
In high school, I was a runner. Three seasons of the year, I was on a track, in the woods, or on a road course. My dad and brothers were all big into running at the time and there was no way I was going to get left out of all the fun. I later realized that I don't even really like running all that much but I just happened to be kind of good at it and being kind of good at something gets people to notice you. Guess who the middle child in the family is!
College was all about Ultimate Frisbee. We spent so much time practicing and hanging out after practice that I didn't know anyone outside of Frisbee. If I met someone in a class and thought they were cool, I would try to convince them to play Frisbee because I wouldn't see them otherwise. Despite the stereotypes, I think the handful of hippies/stoners on the team were more a result of attending Ithaca College than playing Ultimate. For the most part, we were all transplants from other sports: former basketball, track, or soccer players looking for something different. And playing a co-ed sport as a single girl was definitely one of the better decisions I made in college. *WINK!*
When I moved to Baltimore, I was miserable the first year, and not due to the struggles of being a first year teacher; I missed being on a team. My boyfriend at the time played for the local men's rugby team and encouraged me to join the women's side. I didn't know the first thing about rugby but they welcomed me with open arms and turned my into a lean, mean, try-scoring machine. Playing with Chesapeake brought so many amazing people into my life and they are what I miss most about Baltimore. And when rugby wasn't in season, I always needed something else to get me up and running around: I met Jason playing softball with BSSC. I took up pole dance fitness a couple years ago and now I am completely addicted. I guess if you're going to be hooked on something I guess working out is a good one.
I say all that to say that my recent web browsing yielded some potentially positive results: I may have found a rugby team. They are the Lionnes du Stade Bordelais and I would sell my kidney on E-Bay to play for them. They may be a step or two above my level but that makes them even more magical in my eyes. I Facebook stalked them and found out they were having their "swimsuit" calendar release event at a club downtown last night. (I totally think we should have done a calendar fundraiser for Chessie. Am I the only who thinks this is a great idea??) Like a real creeper, I showed up and was like "I want to play for your team!" The girl selling calendars was really nice and speaks a lot of English so she introduced me to the coach, who invited me to come out to practice any time to try out. She also introduced me to this girl who plays for the French women's national team when she's not hanging out with the Lionnes.
I bought a calendar and had her sign it. Yup.
Even though I have been playing sports since I was 15, I have never had to try out for a team so that makes me nervous. Am I good enough to make it? What if I get cut? I think they have a B-side. What if I'm not good enough for the B-side?? Mylène told me about a student club she used to play for and I'm sure they are just a walk on team but I emailed them and haven't heard anything back. Their website is hella old, so maybe I just have to show up but I don't know when or where they have practice. Or if they even have practice...
Really, I just want something that will be an avenue toward making French friends. I am embarrassed to admit that in all of my travels all over the world, I have exactly ONE foreign friend and he was introduced to me by someone else. In 12 years of international travel, including an entire semester abroad, I haven't managed to make a single friend in another country and remain friends with them after returning to the US. Pathetic. I guess this is what happens when you go to language centers. Of course I'm not going to meet French people if all I take are French language classes...
But when I think about friends I have made in my adult life, I realize that a very significant number of them have come from my sports teams. Those are the people that I know I could call if I find myself in their current city and they would let me crash on their floor. They are the people that email you silly videos because they know you'll appreciate them. They are the people that purposely look for tournaments/events in your area so they have a reason to visit. That's what being on a team is about and that's why I have to make it on this team.
I just have to.
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