Wounded Warriors

This week guest blogger Danielsen recaps the Cougars Tappers matchup.

A couple of weekends ago, as I walked out my front door, I saw a firetruck pull up and block the end of the street. At the other end, the hook and ladder truck was parked. As one of the firemen got out of the truck I asked what was going on. Turns out, the Wounded Warriors were making their annual bike ride from Chicago to Highland Park and the fire department was hanging the American Flag over Green Bay rode to salute them. 

Coming into our rematch with the Tappers this week, the Cougars felt a little like wounded warriors, themselves. However, unlike the actual heroes, who sustained severe injuries in service to their country, the Cougars’ have sustained their injuries in service to pursuing the dreams of their youth.  Entering the game, Bobi was given the challenge piecing together a rag tag list of players who’s nagging injuries are turning our postgame conversations into ones that the elderly people have at church.  What hurts, who are you seeing about it, and what pills are you taking? So, with bandages and wraps, the Cougars took the field against the equally banged up Tappers.

Right off the bat, the game looked lost as the Tappers placed their hits in the gaps and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Cougar bats were dormant in the bottom of the first. As the game progressed, the Tappers continued to hit well but thanks to Chad “Keep On Running” Chastain getting picked off base not once, but twice, the run total stayed at 3-0. Some heads-up base running by Lil’ Rads and Martini snuck a few runs in and suddenly it was 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 5^th. Then, Cougar bats came alive, pushing across 4 runs giving the good guys a 6-3 lead. A scoreless 6^th brought us to the final three outs. Then, everything changed, Tapper bats came alive and when all was said and done, the Tappers had scored 4 runs and taken a 7-6 lead. Three up, three down in the bottom of the 7^th brought cheers to the Tappers and a Cougar team in shock. Patched up and bandaged together, we had let the game slip away.

So, a sleepless night last night replaying over and over a play I could make in my sleep, when healthy, brings me back to the Wounded Warriors. You see, the Wounded Warriors have a softball team.  They travel the country playing against other local teams to raise funds to help their fellow wounded veterans. Not only do their actions provide inspiration to others, but being a part of the team gives them camaraderie, purpose and the ability to pursue the dreams of their healthy, full bodied youth. It truly demonstrates the power of sports to heal the spirit. And the courage of these men, not only in serving their country, but also in facing a life forever changed as a result of that sacrifice.

While the loss last night still stings, the lesson of the brave men and women who have served our nation makes me grateful, they served and sacrificed so that we may gather every Tuesday night to play.

Happy Independence Day to all of our veterans and thank you.

http://woundedwarrioramputeesoftballteam.org