The Irish call it softball too...

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Sean and I were the only ones that decided to participate in the softball tournament. And by 5am on the day before the tournament started, we were registered through the Irish Softball Association to play with the Marley Martyrs of Dublin. Our teammates were solid softball players - something I hadn't expected when I heard that they played softball here. There were some differences here and there, but all in all, the game is played exactly the same as it is back home. The one welcomed difference, however, is that the teams seem to have a good repore with each other and are constantly joking around with one another during the middle of play. It's all playful, and it made the games much more entertaining.

I hadn't realized that it had been a long time since I'd swung a bat when I was talking about all my baseball experience to the Dubliners on the night we were recruited to play. Over the course of the 12 games we played during the weekend, I only managed to get the ball out of the infield twice. It was extremely embarassing, considering that these Irish players who were new to the sport were crushing the ball. Even the girls on the squad outhit me. This made for some good jokes about my "legal bunting" abilities (it was illegal to bunt in the rules). I also managed to strike out. So all in all it was a bad experience at the plate.

The weather was absolutely dreadful while we played. There were only two rain delays over the course of the whole weekend. Which wouldn't seem so bad, but it rained pretty much the entire weekend. The constant rain was broken up by well placed and much needed patches of sun that had all the fair-skinned Irish folks running to their bags for sunscreen. It was hilarious.

Sean played extremely well. And all the other teams fell in love with his Texas accent and his demeanor. He was very popular on the sidelines and added to the joking during the games. We ended up becoming good friends with the team that hosted us and shared quite a few beers with them in the evenings. Best of all, we won the tournament. It was a surreal experience, but one that was totally welcomed. We felt at home in Ireland with our teammates, we had a group of friends to hang out with at the pubs, and we were given an opportunity to feel the glory of winning a championship before we'd even unpacked our luggage (which was waiting for us when we arrived home - Thank God). And I had a complete blast, despite a performance that honestly made me question my masculinity.

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Photos

The victors
The squad in all their glory

It's actually 10pm in this picture
Walking to a university pub

A ringer?
Don't let the stance fool you...I sucked.

Sean pitching
Sean's pitching abilities were put to good use.

Staying dry
The team huddled under a tent during one of many torrential downpours over the course of the weekend. This was right before our final.