May 22 – “Living Room Hockey”

The game of the day.  Living Room Hockey.  Gotta love it.  All the furniture was pushed to the walls.  Chris and I were issued tickets and took our places in our courtside seats.  Official scorekeeper and time, Christi, took her position across the court from us, scoreboard in hand.

And then the players came onto the court.  The two Torches came out first, arrayed in their green and gold uniforms that looked strangely similar to those worn by another, lesser-known local team.  To the delighted cheers of the crowd, Zak and Caleb went through a regimen of exercises, jogged around the court and disappeared into the locker room.  Their opponent, however, refused to appear for his pregame warmup.  Something about “not needing a warmup.”  After seeing him, however, I think it was more about conserving all the energy he could.  The Flame’s Josh was much bigger, but also much, much older than his foes.  He wore a uniform as well, reminiscent of a similar one worn many years ago by an obscure team known as the Jazz. 

Torches versus Flame.  Pool noodle hockey sticks.  A soft ball as the puck.  Cries offering “Free Hot dogs, Hockey sticks, and uniforms, all for only $29.”  And finally, the call from the scorekeeper, “Are you ready to rumble?”  And the game was on.  Zak scored on the very first play of the game and the Torches took the lead.  The Flame followed with a goal on a juke shot.  Not to be deterred, Caleb added a quick score with his famous Dropped Britches Shot.  Another goal by the arrogant Flame, accompanied by his patented cry, “Flame on.”  But the young Caleb countered with a cry of his own, “You’re gonna pay for that one.”  The first period ended in a 2-2 tie.  In spite of vehement argument from the Flame, Caleb was named MVP of the first period for his goal and for his unrelenting defense.

The second period was a blinding flurry of non-stop action.  Save by Caleb.  Goal by Flame.  Goal by Caleb.  Goal by Zak.  Goal by Flame.  The action was dizzying.  And just as time expired Zak let fly with an incredible shot that flew the entire length of the court and dropped into the Flame’s unguarded net.  Goal.  Score at the end of two periods: Torches 5 - Flame 4.

Next came the final break fan participation moment.  Zak called up two volunteers from the crowd.  I was beyond excited to be named one of them.  What creative nonsense would happen this week?  We gathered at mid court and none other than Zak, himself, announced the contest.  “I will toss this flag into the air.  Whoever catches this gets to be the next one to die.”  (I think an editorial note might be appropriate at this point.  Remember that he just attended a funeral a few weeks ago, and then last weekend he caught the garter at a wedding and heard that tradition explained for the first time, so this was a display of amazing creativity).  Of course after the announcement the entire stadium erupted in laughter.  Tears came to more than one set of eyes from the uncontrollable mirth that welled up within all of us.  No one saw the actual toss from Zak.  And because of all the frivolity … I managed to recover briefly enough to grab the victory banner and wave it above my head.  Caleb assured me I would indeed win the wonderful funeral, but in the meantime he presented me with my very own basketball to take home.  Whew.  After that I didn’t think it could get any more exciting, but the show wasn’t over yet.  Bear crawl races were next on the agenda.  Thankfully they didn’t call for more volunteers.  Instead Zak and Caleb squared off.  No question of the victor in this one.  Caleb was off like a shot, mimicking the movements of a bear in hot pursuit of … whatever it is that bears pursue. 

And then it was time for the grand finale.  The last period of the game.  Once again the action was mind-boggling.  We could barely keep up with the goals in the midst of all the bumping and jostling that make up such an intense contest.  We heard the intermittent cries of the players: “Stop it, Caleb.”  “Flame on.”  “He whacked me in the peanuts.”  “Way to go, Zak.”  Our heads were spinning by the time the final buzzer blew.  It took a few moments for the score to come into focus … Torches – 7.  Flame – 7.  A tie game.  That meant overtime.

And during overtime we saw the most incredible display of heat-of-the-moment sportsmanship I have ever witnessed in a Living Room Hockey game.  Goalkeeper Zak appeared to have made yet another unbelievable save on a shot attempt by the Flame.  But wait.  He stopped play and declared to the scorekeeper that the puck had, indeed, entered the goal.  What unrivaled honesty and sportsmanship.  And as a result of his integrity, the Torches did lose the game, for time ran out as their final shot died just short of the goal.  Caleb immediately shook hands with his opponent, showing the crowd what a true sportsman looks like.  What a man, that Zak.  What a player, that Caleb.  In the final announcement the scorekeeper let the crowd know what the awards would be for the participants.  For the winning team … a kiss from the scorekeeper.  For the valiant losing team … free ice cream.  Now that’s the way to play some Living Room Hockey.

Ephesians 4:2-3 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Father, thank you for the learning that takes place virtually every time children play.  Give their parents/teachers a special anointing of wisdom.  They’ll need it.  Amen.