CITY CUP 2008

A week ago last Sunday, a number of us friends were sitting on Brad and Maeve's grass after having attended Miles' baby blessing. We were eating delicious food and telling funny stories from the past. The topic of City Cup came up, and James and I began to tell everyone about the 1 on 1 soccer tournaments we used to hold in our parent's backyard. These memories and stories created the desire in me to resurrect this beloved past time. With James leaving this week, we knew we would have to act quickly and we set the date for the coming weekend. Natalie and I spent the evenings last week in our yard preparing to host the first City Cup tournament in over 10 years. It was actually a lot of fun, and Natalie was such a trooper (bending over to tend to flowers and weeds when you are seven months pregnant is not the most comfortable proposition.)

Saturday arrived and despite the somewhat scary forecasts, the weather turned out perfect. It was beautiful and sunny but not too hot. I was amazed at the turnout as friends and family traveled long distances to attend and participate. I think 80 percent of those who played asked me when the next City Cup will happen, and Blake said he would drive down from Logan on a weekly basis to participate. It was extremely fun, but I think we will have to limit it somewhat so that it doesn't become too commonplace. Perhaps we can do another one in August. Thankfully, Lacey took a lot of pictures and Heber figured out the polaroid, so the event was well documented. I would like to write more but time constrains, I will leave you with some classic photos and moments from Saturday's festivities.

10. I thought the competition was at the perfect level. It was spirited but never heated.

9. I loved when Jer, Austin, Jessica, and Tyler decided to get in on the action. They created some of the most memorable moments of the day.

8. The crowd involvement and encouragement was so much fun. It was really exciting to score a goal because you would get such a great reaction from the crowd.

7. The food was delicious and plentiful.

6. In the first round of the tournament, we played Austin, Jeremy Wilkins, and Heber. I was standing right in front of Jeremy when he tried a flying jump kick that ended up just skimming the top of his thigh. Classic.

5. The effort was fantastic. I remember watching Jeff sliding from a full sprint across the grass to try to save a loose ball from going out of bounds.

4. Jeremiah's long range pass in the semi's that turned out to be an amazing goal.

3. My nephew McKay racing down the field, running onto Tony's pass, hitting a shot that bounced off the post and out, and holding his head in his hands like it was a World Cup game.

2. A loose ball flies out of play and knocks two half full cups of ice water right into Natalie's face. The look on her face was priceless.

1. The story of the day: Brent Bedke overcomes hardships, sickness, disappointment, and defeat to become tournament MVP and City Cup champion. In the early 2 on 2 warm up rounds, Brent exerted himself a little too much a little too soon after having devoured a large hamburger. The result: some tense moments of "is he going to throw up," followed by a couple of good dry heaves, and four or five crowd pleasing spews. It was so funny, but as his teammate at the time I didn't know what to do but to pat him on the back and ask if he was alright. On to the tournament. Brent's team (team 4 I believe) loses in the first round. Because we were short one team in the semi's, all of the opening round losers played rock paper scissors for the last coveted semifinal spot. Andy pulled through for Brent's team, and Chad filled in the vacant spot when Connor had to leave. Chad's presence on the team made all the difference as he held up possession, dictated the pace of the game, provided crucial goals, and kept his team organized on defense. Their semifinal match vs. Scott, Reitz, and Jer Post was epic, an end to end battle that went to sudden death overtime. One minute and thirty seconds into overtime Brent's team took a shot that was easily blocked by both Scott and Jer. The ball ended up exactly between the two who each thought the other would clear the ball from danger. It was Brent who stepped up and toe poked the ball between the two and into the net in what Jer described as "a sucker punch." Brent the barfer and his team were in the finals facing James, Blake, and me, the "cheaters." (People thought the teams were rigged. They weren't. Get over it. We didn't even win.) The final was a tense, closely contested match. I scored halfway through the first half on a beautiful through ball from Blake, but the yellows answered back quickly and the teams entered halftime deadlocked at 1-1. The game was won on a cheeky shot by Chad from a restart on the sideline as the ball curled into the empty net. The reds pushed for the tying goal, but were continually denied by the compact and organized yellow defense. The victory was professional, well deserved, and somewhat fitting. In previous City Cups, it seemed to always be James vs. Chad in the final, with Chad emerging the victor. 10 years later, not too much has changed.