Don't Stop Believing.

My curling team, the Flaming Disasters, took to the ice this week, and the new (extra-amateur) league is proving to be a good fit for us. Not only do we have a lot more in common with the other teams, but we're now curling in a three-sheet quonset. If it were any more traditional, we'd be curling outdoors with frozen ice cream pails.

Anyway, last night I was calling for them to sweep, and I started singing the guitar solo to "The Final Countdown"... and that sort of set the theme for the evening. When I wanted a take-out, I'd ask for the Eye of the Tiger. And when it was my turn to throw, our vice-skip gestured broadly at the house. "Just put it in here somewhere," she said.

"Is there anywhere you need it?"

"Anywhere you want it!"

"That's the way I want it!"

And that's when our lead broke out into air guitar.

Needless to say, it was our best game so far. After previously losing by scores of 9-1, 11-1, and 9-2, we went into the last end with the score tied at 3-3. Our second suggested, "you know, we could just end the game right now..." we laughed, and the other skip and I headed down to the far end of the ice.

As we stood there, waiting for our teams to get into position, I said, "You know, we don't have to play this final end. A tie wouldn't be bad, would it?"

His eyes got a faraway look... he, too, was a skip by default, also used to guiding his inexperienced team to crushing defeats. "No, it wouldn't... but we can't. We must go on."

I nodded. "Very well. But let it be said, when people took upon this game in days yet to come, two teams stood upon this ice, and they had curled well."

He nodded solemnly. "Trapped in a system beyond their control, forced to play the game."

"But for one moment -- one undeniable moment, they were equals."

And with that, the final end began, and we lost the game 5-3. But we won our self-respect.

Not to mention a new theme song.