Back in my P.A.L. baseball days we had a Sunday morning double header scheduled. We played our home games at the local junior high baseball field which was part of a giant field with other baseball/softball diamonds and goal posts set up for football, lacrosse and soccer, among other things. The baseball field wasn't fenced in as part of the outfield shared space with ONE of the several soccer areas.

Anyway, on this fine morning we show up and the only other people in the entire complex are some 10-11 year-old soccer kids having a practice or something. Naturally out of the three or four other fields in this vast complex they could have chosen to run around aimlessly, they picked the ONE soccer area that bisected the left and center field of the baseball diamond we were long ago scheduled to play on.

So, before the coaches showed up, some of us players and parents started over there to tell them they had to vamoose. In natural d-bag fashion, they fell back on "we were here first." Despite the fact they were actually wrong because our game was scheduled weeks in advance and had priority on that particular space anyway because our school/town prioritized baseball (yes, even over football and basketball.)

Eventually the coach arrived, so we figured he'd sort things out. We stayed behind on the field as he sauntered over to discuss the matter with the soccer jerks. We could tell he wasn't making much headway as he began looking a bit agitated. My assumption was that they were falling back on the "we were here first crap." Eventually, he threw his hands up and began storming back toward the baseball field, but not before turning around and yelling back at them, "F*&k you and your Communist sport anyway." Every single person on the baseball field, our team, the visiting team and the umpires burst out into laughter.

That immediately became my go-to phrase anytime someone mentions soccer and is one of the top 10 things I retained from my high school years. It's still 100% accurate after all these years and a story many who were there still remember vividly.

In case you were wondering, we moved to another regulation field in a nearby complex. However, the original field was far better manicured which was why it was preferred. Also, the substitute field had an outfield fence and our coach didn't want to play there because he was afraid some of the batters would be swinging from their heels, trying to hit home runs...which is exactly what happened. He was wise in many ways and that was a baseball lesson I still carry to this day.

Back in my P.A.L. baseball days we had a Sunday morning double header scheduled. We played our home games at the local junior high baseball field which was part of a giant field with other baseball/softball diamonds and goal posts set up for football, lacrosse and soccer, among other things. The baseball field wasn't fenced in as part of the outfield shared space with ONE of the several soccer areas.

Anyway, on this fine morning we show up and the only other people in the entire complex are some 10-11 year-old soccer kids having a practice or something. Naturally out of the three or four other fields in this vast complex they could have chosen to run around aimlessly, they picked the ONE soccer area that bisected the left and center field of the baseball diamond we were long ago scheduled to play on.

So, before the coaches showed up, some of us players and parents started over there to tell them they had to vamoose. In natural d-bag fashion, they fell back on "we were here first." Despite the fact they were actually wrong because our game was scheduled weeks in advance and had priority on that particular space anyway because our school/town prioritized baseball (yes, even over football and basketball.)

Eventually the coach arrived, so we figured he'd sort things out. We stayed behind on the field as he sauntered over to discuss the matter with the soccer jerks. We could tell he wasn't making much headway as he began looking a bit agitated. My assumption was that they were falling back on the "we were here first crap." Eventually, he threw his hands up and began storming back toward the baseball field, but not before turning around and yelling back at them, "F*&k you and your Communist sport anyway." Every single person on the baseball field, our team, the visiting team and the umpires burst out into laughter.

That immediately became my go-to phrase anytime someone mentions soccer and is one of the top 10 things I learned in my high school years. It's still 100% accurate after all these years and a story many who were there still remember vividly.

In case you were wondering, we moved to another regulation field in a nearby complex. However, the original field was far better manicured which was why it was preferred. Also, the substitute field had an outfield fence and our coach didn't want to play there because he was afraid some of the batters would be swinging from their heels, trying to hit home runs...which is exactly what happened. He was wise in many ways and that was a baseball lesson I still carry to this day.