Given that we only play one day a week, I was extremely anxious to play this weekend. On Friday afternoon, it started to rain. It wasn't heavy rain, but the drops were very large. It proceeded throughout the night, and as I went to sleep I had hoped that it would stop. When I woke up the next morning, it was still raining. I knew we would be in trouble.
We arrived at the field only to see the infield under water. They don't have quick dry here, so the first plan of attack was to spread the water around and rake it. We proceeded to do this, and it minimally helped. It brought me back to my days at Quinnipiac, when they would destory the field with sand and quick dry. It made me laugh a bit, but I also thought it was a quick and easy way to play. It started to look more somber by the minute, and seemed that we weren't going to play.
Normally in situations like these, they would postpone the games until Sunday. Unfortunately, this team was from Messina, Siciliy and had flown into Reggio. They were scheduled to fly out in the morning, so there was no choice. The only thing to do was sit and wait.
We waited for hours and hours for some sun to come and dry out the field. We started putting dirt on the field to try and help soak in some water. Guys played cards, ate, smoked cigarettes, and played various baseball games like pepper and fungo golf to pass the time. The interesting part of this all was the game was going to be umpired by two women. Never in my life have I had a woman umpire, so it intrigued me. Either way, they made it clear that by 6 a decision would be made.
We already knew the first game was out of the question, it was just a matter of the second game being played. After a long debate and many inspections of the field, it was decided to be unplayable. The teams indulged in some pasta, and then Messina went on there way. It was truly unfortunate that we couldn't play, and to have to wait another week just seemed impossible. There was only one thing to do, and that was to have a good time.
We drank a couple beers at the field in the locker room. After, it was decided that we would meet out at one of the local pubs. I went home, showered, and got ready. We were picked up and went on our way. The pub wasn't very far, and most of the my teammates and girlfriends showed up. We had drank some beers and had some food as almost the whole pub was focused on the Milan soccer game. It's amazing how intense these fans are.
The younger guys had decided that they were going to the disco. Chris and I had only been to pubs at this point, and were very curious as to what these disco's were like. We got in the car and went on our way. I rode with Fillo, and Chris rode with Alle. Our good friend Taka was going to meet us there.
They warned us that we may have a problem getting in because we were American. Turned out to not be an issue, and we walked in. There was an Italian rap group performing. They were awful, but I didn't say anything as I laughed a little bit inside. After they were done, crowds of people started to come in. The club was two levels, and it had a big stage in the center. It started to get really crowded, and the techno was bumping. It ended up being a good time, even though it was hard for me to communicate with anybody. Most of the people (girls) I spoke to understood exactly what I was saying in English, but couldn't speak back. I did my best to speak Italian, and I was complimented on my accent a few times.
Either way, it ended up being a fun night. We got back home at around 3:30 am and I went right to sleep. They told me that this disco was small, so I'm excited to see what the other ones are like. Sometime this week, I should be taking a trip to Venice. This weekend I will be in Rome. I'll keep everybody posted. Pray for no rain this weekend!
Talk to everybody soon and hope your having a great day.
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