A Tough Battle in Bologna

In our most physical battle to date, the Elephants Catania lost a hard-fought game to the Bologna Doves 57-43 last night in Bologna.

Much contrary to their peaceful name, the Doves came out tough, using a blitzing style of defense and a solid rushing game against us.  We fought resiliently, playing our second consecutive game without our most explosive player Matt Epperson, who has been sidelined with a rib injury.

In the first quarter, we took the lead 7-0 on a great catch by Gregorio Barbagallo, but the Doves answered quickly to tie the game at seven.  The rest of the first half was a see-saw battle, with us taking the lead 28-21 just before half-time, but the Doves scored as time expired to end the half at 28 all.  

In the second half, the Doves capitalized on big plays, including a punt return for a touchdown and a pair of long touchdown runs.    As I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, they played extremely physical and were perhaps our most aggressive opponent of the year.  Our offense did our best to keep us in the game, but in the end ran out of time and made a few costly mistakes in a game with no margin for error.  Final Score: Doves 57- Elephants 43.  

On a positive note, I was very impressed with the play of WR Salvo Persano, who caught his first touchdown pass of the year on a beautiful post route, and WR Gregoria Barbagallo, who caught two long TD passes as well as a number of other big plays.  This just goes to show how much football is a team game, and that every week there will be different players with the opportunity to make a difference.  Attaway Ragazzi!

While we did not win the game, it was perhaps one of my most enjoyable personal experiences of the year... as we battled a strong opponent in a tough game which forced us to compete at a high level.  If you have played sports competitively, then you know the feeling of being "IN THE ARENA" and leaving everything you have on the field.  That is the feeling I left Bologna with last night - and is the only true measure in my opinion of how one competes.

My grandfather, hall of fame football coach Frosty Westering, wrote a poem paraphrasing Theodore Roosevelt that captures this feeling - entitled, "The Man in the Arena."  It goes like this:

THE MAN IN THE ARENA

The MAN in the Arena you will know, by the type of character he will show.

His face is marred with blood and sweat, as he continues to battle with an eager mind-set.  

Some men will fold when they struggle with pride, they lose their desire and fall off to the side.

Others grow stronger overcoming their flaws, enjoying the challenge and not the applause.

The thrill of the battle, that is the KEY.  Which brings out our best, that only God Sees.

So whether we win, or whether we lose, we experience a JOY that few people choose.

The MAN IN THE ARENA, that is the spot... so go for it now and GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!

~ J. Twice

(Please excuse no pictures for this post as I am traveling with my family in Florence.)