I am the Brett Farve of Softball

The past three years since we moved to Nashville, I have played softball with FHBC. I've really enjoyed it, though my days of playing well, if they ever really existed at all, are long gone. At the end of last year's season, I contemplated retirement in a post appropriately entitled "Retirement."

Even as we entered this year and spring rolled around, I knew softball was coming, but I was thinking that I wouldn't play this year. I'm not going to that church now and my knee has been hurting for several months. Nothing serious, but whenever I put pressure on the right knee, it really hurts. Sore knees can really hurt a catcher, which is still the only position I can play with any kind of mastery. If I can't squat, what is the use?

The wife of one of the guys who played with me works at CC and asked me if I was going to play. I told her that I probably wouldn't. Another friend asked me, but when I asked the rec guy if I could play, he said that he didn't even think there would room for me. So my decision was made, right? Well, not exactly. The rec guy e-mailed me a couple of weeks later telling me there was an opening. All I needed to do was let him know. So.... decision time was at hand. Do I play or retire?

I PLAY!!!!!! This past Tuesday I made my triumphant return to the Williamson Co softball fields. And by triumphant I mean 3-5 with 3 singles in two games. I think I scored a couple of runs, but I can't remember because I usually come out for a pinch runner after getting on base. Our team wasn't very triumphant as we lost both games and gave up somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 runs in the second game. It wasn't pretty. I contributed with a fielder's interference that allowed one of those runs to score. No, I didn't squat, but that's ok. My body hurt afterward and I shudder to think how it would have felt if I had gotten down in the squat for two games. But I played all of both games and had a really good time.

It's possible that it may be my last game since family and work issues may get in the way. I'll be like those athletes and coaches that retire to spend time with their families. Maybe I'll have a press conference.