So, I come back from vacation and discover that people are actually reading this silly blog-thing. I don't know whether to be encouraged or disgusted.

Either way, since most of you are mentioning The Worm in your comments, I figured that I would throw out a quick Worm story.

Sit down kids and I'll tell you a tale of the first time I met The Worm.

It was a dark and stormy night ... no, wait ... that is a different story. It was actually back in 1988 in Golden Gate Park at a tournament that was so desperate for teams that they actually accepted my team - known as the Wild Bunch (hey, I didn't name it) - and Chico State's team. Both teams were so bad, that they had no chance to beat any other team but each other. In fact, in one game, we lost to Tsunami (the reigning powerhouse and national champs later that year) in a game where they all threw wrong-handed on every pass. They bageled us, Ouch!

In the final game of the tourney, Chico and the Wildbunch face off, both playing for our first win. I soon notice that, all in all, our team is actually more talented than theirs with the one exception of this particular guy who is throwing himself all over the field. He's getting a layout D, then sprinting the length of the field to make a ridiculous bid on a horrible throw, only to get it back with another sick D. The rest of his team is pathetic. We barely win.

After the game, he is completely covered in mud and grass stains. He is bleeding from both elbows, both knees, a hip and, improbably, from some spot on his scapula. I shake his hand and say, "You're a great player, but you have no respect for your body." He tells me his name is Worm and he is moving to San Francisco in the next month. I tell him that maybe we will end up on the same team at some point. Nearly eighteen years, hundreds of tourneys, and untold thousands of offended people later, we are both still playing this silly game.

The unbelievable thing is, he is still playing the same way - hitting the dirt every other point and still getting sick layout D's. Meanwhile, I am more at the stage of telling people, "Do you know who I used to be?" Interesting the way things work out.