Boat Teams Top The Standings!

I always loved playing for the boat softball team. I was a serviceable pitcher and decent catcher, and had this hitch in my swing (dropped my right hand under the left when I swung) that made me send all low-and-outside pitches blooping over the 1st baseman's head; I generally hit over .600 (and slugged about five points higher). Granted, this wasn't a real sport; really, can any athletic activity where you know a bunch of out-of-shape 30 year olds will almost always beat (and beat badly) a team of 19 year olds be called a "sport"?

That's why I was interested in seeing the current softball standings for the SUBASE NLON Intramural Softball League. I was disappointed to note that there were only two boat teams listed, but happy that they held down the top two spots in their division. Congratulations to the Providence and Missouri! I know it's tough for a boat to put together a team that can show up for enough games, what with weekly ops and duty sections. Still, I think it's a great team-building activity, and I think more boats should do whatever it takes to compete in the base league. When I was in the yards on the Connecticut and Jimmy Carter, we had really good teams -- made the playoffs every year. On one occasion, I was able to convince the CO to let me send 10 guys off the boat during pre-Alpha Trials Fast Cruise to play in an important playoff game; of course, we had to forfeit the next one when we were actually out on Sea Trials.

What are some of your favorite memories of boat sports teams?