I have seen World Series, Super Bowls and every episode of Friday Night Lights. I have never seen competition like what I just saw. I have heard Black Hawk, Black Sabbath and The Black Eyed Peas. I have never heard anything as loud as what I just heard. I have watched Rudy, Remember The Titans and Field of Dreams. I have never seen a more emotional sports story than what I just witnessed in the Mike. Tonight was Battle Ball. It’s like Dodge Ball, but with more heart, and every bit of it was on display when the Tweedles took the floor. 

Iroquois vs. Choctaw, for all the marbles. With Taylor Swift playing full blast, and completely lost behind the cheers, the girls got serious, and you’ve never seen determination until you see a 6 year old with glitter face paint ready to make her tribe proud. One ball deflected, another caught, a third connects at the knees, and eruptions of cheers with each event. Like a game of Risk with things happening so quickly that no one is sure about who is about to conquer eastern Europe the girls start committing to their strategies. 

The interesting thing about battle ball is that you cannot win by being conservative. But you can make it to the final group. So the final four or five on each team are always a fun mix of the most and the least risk averse. That’s when some of the conservative girls have gotten the hang of it and they are ready to start taking risks. Three Seminoles vs. one Iroquois, then two Seminoles, then one. Then Emma C., rising first grader in her rookie year puts the win on the Iroquis board. Everyone goes wild!

So you can keep your Final Four and Stanley Cup. I’ll take Tweedle Battle Ball in the Mike every-time.

From This Haven…

Adam