It should not take that much to base up a team

[Reginald Rutledge]

It's very frustrating when you hear guys say "Oh, it's gonna take me some time to create this team and run the bases." I know guys egos are so big that they don't want to lose but when you are in it not just to win, that should not matter. Granted, no one likes to lose but the reality is that if you know what you are doing, you can create a team in a matter of 4 hours or less.

Three weeks ago, the SWC started its season. Coming into the game, I had not even had a team ready to play. I just like to act like I've got the teams prepared as I try to hype the game and get people enthused about playing. In my first game against "Rookie" and his Texas Tech Red Raiders, I had no sleep as I rode to Austin that evening, reffed a game, went to sleep for about 2 hours, and got up and base up a team that had nothing on them in 2 hours.

By game time, I was exhausted but felt an obligation to play games and wanted to. One of my opponents did not want to play, which frustrated me in driving 4 hours, and the other one, Rookie, later admitted he was in no rush to play the game but felt he had an obligation to play me because of the drive. Well, Rookie won the game as he played brilliantly.

I walked away with my thoughts about why do people do that, not play games when given the opportunity. It frustrated me because if one of the purposes of the game is to interact and have fun, are we putting our own self-serving interest of wanting to win over just the camaraderie?

Now I am faced with a similar situation with Notre Dame. Iowa was by all account, railroaded into playing the game and played admirably. Iowa coach, Ernest Claiborne, in turn set up a game between the Fighting Irish and Volunteers for this weekend. Many people want to watch the game. Unfortunately, the game will not happen. I can't understand why as it takes just a few hours to put a competitive team on the field.

I am just wondering do others feel this way or am I a lone wolf. Granted, by some accounts, I am not a great player so it should not be even worth not getting ready for and getting a win off me. But for me, I just want to play the games and finish the season without rushing at the end.

Do you experience this?

Reg