Cougars: Cougars' Circus Is On The Air!

Once upon a time in Chicago, for many children there seemed nothing better than an afternoon of Bozo and his hour-long show filled with games, cartoons and slapstick comedy, like a pie in the face or a bucket of water. Back in the 1960's and 70's, the weekday noon hour was when time stood still here, and the pop of baseballs and clap of jump ropes ceased as kids across the city waited indoors around television sets for the announcement over the airwaves that ''Bozo's Circus is on the air.''

-New York Times, June 13, 2001

What wonderful memories Bozo’s circus provided for many of us when we were kids. That opening when the announcer would say, “''Bozo's Circus is on the air” was so exciting for me! It was such a fun-filled hour.

After Tuesday night, we can all now say, “The Cougars are on the air!”

Even though our ticket waiting list is not 10 years long and all are welcome, thanks to the modern wonders of technology, we are now live streaming our games! A fun-filled hour for all as we relive our youth on the field (and air our errors)!

For our inaugural broadcast, we did not match the millions of followers that Bozo had. Instead we had one viewer, Diddy, who is undoubtedly, one in a million.

All it takes is a Twitter account and the Periscope app. Follow your own Ringmaster Ned, @radtkescott, turn notifications on, and every game day and you will be transported to our three ring circus at Howard Park.

We had a doubleheader slated as the 6-7 Cougars were facing the 2-11 Valley Lodge in the opener and the 9-4 Chicken Shack in the nightcap.

Valley Lodge started quickly and dropped three on us in the top of the first. To show them we were not clowns, we matched them in the bottom of the inning with consecutive hits by Boom, Rads, Fort, and Martini followed with ropes by Thejokewriter and Philthy, which pushed our three across the plate. Tied up 3-3.

The second inning was quiet as both teams went down 1-2-3. Valley Lodge scored a couple in the third and we stepped on the dish once in the fourth with hits by Thejokewriter, Philthy, and L-Ski.

The remaining innings had no tallies but we pulled off another wonderful wheel play which is more fun than the Grand Prize Game!!

In the end, we could not get that sixth bucket and we lost a tough one 5-4.

The wonderful thing about a doubleheader is the redemption it offers. We moved over one field dropped our gear and went to bat against Chicken Shack determined not to have a rerun of the last game.

Rads, Fort, and Martini all had first inning hits to notch a couple early runs. Shack halved the lead with one run in the bottom of the inning. Cougars 2, Shack 1.

In the second L-Ski, Pastor Ted and Diamond Dave loaded the bases but we could not capture that final base. Shack mirrored us that inning and loaded the bases with no runs scored. A Garfield Goose egg for both of us.

In the third we went down 1-2-3 on about three pitches and the Shackers tied the game up with a lone run. Even at 2-2.

In our fourth we could not score and Chicken Shack took the lead in their frame. Our opponent may be Chickens but they are certainly not cowardly and they do bleed their team color. OB hit an infield shot that drew an overthrow at first base then used his winged wheels to take the extra base. JD tracked the ball down and fired it to Flandog covering second base as OB's headfirst slide met Flandog’s shin. OB went to the hospital and his pinch runner went on to score.

In our fifth, down by a run, Flandog led off with a hit and Pastor Ted followed suit. Diamond Dave moved them over and Boom singled to load the bases. Rads hit a ball to the right side scoring Flandog and Fort followed with a two run single. In the bottom of the fifth the Shackers scored one to make it Cougars 5, Shackers 4.

In the sixth, JD led off with a hit followed by Philthy, The Lip, Flandog, and Pastor Ted for a couple runs. The Shack loaded the bases but we were able to stop the rally. Cougars 7, Shackers 4.

In the top of the last inning Boom got on base and we manufactured an insurance run by hitting the ball down and hard. In their bottom half, the Shack put two men but our Wizzo defense allowed no runs.

The Magic Arrows were on us this game and the Cougars won 8-4.

After the broadcast ended, the wonderful and thoughtful Lipinski family hosted the postgame. Sure pizza and beer are a great pairing, but Cooky must have been in the kitchen to provide the sweetest part of the night.

Postgame Pills

In the 1990’s the main characters on Bozo’s Circus were falling ill to old age. In 2001 the show was canceled because of tough competition. Sadly, essentially no Bozo episodes from the shows' first two decades were saved.

The Cougars will over time fall to Bozo’s same fate because of old age and competition. In the meantime, the Cougars are capturing memories with commentaries, snapshots and now cinematography.