Sunday, March 29, 2009

Once Upon A Time In The West


Every year, (twice actually, counting the girls) Wyoming Valley West hosts a volleyball tournament- The Spartan Classic. After a few years of this, we have certain expectations from the day.

There will be waiting. Lots of waiting. For whatever reason, the schedule seems to be full of a lot of downtime at this tournament. A few weeks ago at Freedom, there was none. The Pottsville tournament has some breaks, but usually just enough time for a parking lot margarita before we are playing again. This time, we at FotoFink were a bit more prepared, using the time between games to get a head start on some photo editing.

Hair will be interesting. What is it about volleyball that encourages ridiculous hair? 2007, when Hoban went. Last year. This year was no exception, with our own boys adding to the festivities.

Steve will drop Trou. This is not my favorite ritual, but it seems to be a tradition now.

Not everything was as expected, however. We enjoyed some new events this year as well.

WVW got some pictures in the gallery. No, I am not defecting. One of the members of the WVW team saw me working on some photos in the cafeteria between games. He said some nice things about the shots, so I gave him the web address and promised to get some of his team if they played HR. How do you get on FotoFink? Sometimes it's that easy.

Breakfast traditions change. Overheard at the coach's table "Every year, twice a year, we eat breakfast at Rinehimer's. This time we got there and it was boarded up." Sign of the times, I suppose. It's a good thing that there was Halushki at the concession stand.

We won. Read that again if you'd like. In the last few years that I have been following, we have come close, nearly made it, and lost by a whisker. This year, nothing was stopping us. (That link was unfair. I don't know enough about the rules of volleyball to judge anyone's application of them. It just seemed like this gentleman came close to ruining our day.) In spite of all opposition, HR emerged as the champion for the day. Enjoy this while it lasts, because the regular schedule resumes on Tuesday with a trip to the North Pocono Thunderdome.

A few more random thoughts on the day:

I am experimenting with flash photography for some indoor sports. There are lots of arguments for and against it, and I think for volleyball I am leaning towards against. In large part, this is because our uniforms are made with a reflective logo and number, which would be very beneficial for jogging at night. Flash from the camera, however, makes it look like we are the team from Three Mile Island. What is Jimmy doing in the background of that shot?

Does anyone else remember The Ambiguously Gay Duo on SNL? I don't know why this picture made me think of that.

The title for this entry may bring out different thoughts for everyone. For me, it's this. Perhaps that can be added to the list of things that only I like.

In general, I don't like to use this platform to point out the accomplishments of any single player. More importantly, I know that no one like to hear anyone else brag about their own children. I will say though, that if you ever want a warm fuzzy feeling, watch your son's teammates congratulate him after he makes the tournament-winning point in a game that is headed to overtime. Good stuff.

The gallery is here. Easily a record number of shots from a single event.

The majority of my photographic work is here. Feel free to buy some so it can be yours.

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