An Ordinary Fool

"Whatever talents I possess may suddenly diminish or suddenly increase. I can with ease become an ordinary fool. I may be one now. But it doesn't do to upset one's own vanity." -- Dylan Thomas

There is nothing like a game of darts to upset one's own vanity.  One minute you are on the top of your game and the bullseye is as big as a saucer, and the next minute you can't hit a double to save your life.  Jet lag, karma, rust, or bad lighting.  Who knows why, but some nights the darts are falling, and some nights the darts are not.  Unfortunately for The Ship, this was one of those nights.

We knew it would be a long night early on.  Rich started out with a runaway win, and then jumped out to a big lead in game two.  But, unable to close it out, he dropped the second game.  Andrew turned things around briefly for The Ship, by pulling off a sweep.  Fred and John followed with splits to round out S501 and put The Ship up 5-3 early.  But, maybe it was the elves, but things just didn't seem right.

Rich / Mindy started out Cricket with a come back win, despite having held a sizeable lead to start things out.  And right about this point on the night... The Ship's talents suddenly diminished.  There was bad strategy which led to a loss in game two for Rich / Mindy, despite out playing and out bulling the competition.  There were tough losses, as Fred / Andrew were swept in two close games to end Cricket, making the score 6-6 after the second round.

And then there was complete misfortune.  John / Fred were swept in the start of D501.  And in the second round, needing two Ship wins to just tie the night, Rich / Andrew dropped both games.  Ugh.  So, we ended with a 10-6 loss.  But, it doesn't do to upset one's vanity.  So we will be back next time, and I look forward to our talents will suddenly increasing.

Props:
Magnús Skarphéðinsson - For his dedication to education.

The Fool Has Learned The Game

"By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed." -- African Proverb

Welcome back, Ship, for another go 'round on this crazy darts ride.  This season we are kickin' it old school, with a roster that harkens back to some of our very first seasons.  So, with eight years and 15 seasons under our belts, it's time to see how much of this game we have learned.

The night took a little while to kick into gear, but we had to pity the opponent, because they only had three players.  This would  prove to be a big advantage for The Ship.  Rich started things off right with a sweep, and Andrew and Mindy followed with splits.  John took two forfeit wins in the last game, and The Ship was off and running with a 6-2 lead.

Andrew / John opened Cricket with a split, and Mindy / Rich capitalized on their Canadian match with a sweep.  D501 played out similarly, with Mindy / Andrew winning their Canadian match-up and Rich / John earning a split.  Overall, a solid 12-4 "wind-aided" win for The Ship.  Still too early to tell, but maybe we have learned this game after all....

Props:
John - For the theme, and 4 wins while downing half of Idaho.
Andrew - For 4 wins with new darts.
Mindy  - For 5 wins while updating Facebook.
Rich - For 5 wins, while accepting last season's Shippy Award.  (more on this season's contest to follow...)