Mitchell College - Thames Log Yearbook (New London, CT)

Page 73 text:

There are times when the man becomes deathly afraid, not of physical injury, but of indecisiveness, a harbinger of impending failure. These are crisis situations. Sometimes he loses sight of the puck in a scrambled entanglement of sticks, legs, and skates. Then, he relies upon his intuition in trying to position himself so that the invisible puck will meet him. Here, he plays a passive role and suffers from uncertainty. Intuition is very important to a man in such a situation. At other times, he cannot react to a bullet-like shot from an enemy's stick. It is physiologically impossible for the mortal's neuro-muscular system to fire and contract in time to fend such a threat. He knows that feeling of impotence well. He sees what is happening but it is as though he were paralyzed for that split-second which seems an eternity. In a situation such as this, the man again relies upon precious intuition He guesses a predetermined path of fire and begins to react before the shot is actually taken. He saves, very often, in this manner, even though this method is his last resort. But he'll do anything to thwart failure. Such is the nature of this man and his position. When his mission is over, the man, if successful, receives, at best, meager plaudits from his confederates and const- ituency. If he has failed, he receives nothing for his efforts though they were no less noble. In either case, is the private hell of this man worthy of his confederates, his constituency, or himself? Ask him. He'll say, I don't know. Such is the man's nature determined by his mission.

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His mission is to defend an area four feet high and six feet wide. He enters his assigned area, as a test pilot would slip into a jet cockpit - with power and a crude facade of nonchalance. The man tends his area by scraping the ice surface with quick, sideward motions resembling the movements of a crab confined to a small, rectangular box. Then, he sweeps imaginary ice chips off to the side of his domain with smooth sweeps of his huge stick. There is a long, pregnant pause before the blaring of the Canadian and American national anthems. He never sings, it's not his style. To mouth the words would truly be superstitious and meaningless, perhaps insulting, because it is not HIS superstition. The singing of the anthems is a social ritual. Perhaps it brings nations good luck, but right now, he doesn't care about nations. He scarcely hears the anthems and is almost totally unaware of the many heads tuming his way. He realizes that the ritual is over only when his five confederates slam their sticks against his massive leg pads - another ritual, but one that never fails to move him. His squinting eyes are fixed upon the black nibber disc held by an authority figure standing some ninety-five feet away. His eyes will seldom stray from that disc. To lose sight of that object is the cardinal sin of men of his position. To allow that object into his domain is the mortal sin. The puck is dropped, the contest begins. His problem now is strictly geometric. He must cut down the angle between the disc and his territory. His tools are lightning-quick reflexes, intuition, and forty-five pounds of defensive equipment. The man is the last line of defense. Any puck entering his domain taints himself, his confederates, and his constituency. He is ultimately responsible for all these sins. Many times during the contest all eyes are upon the man, but he is not conscious of them unless he fails. He cannot fail, but if he does, thank God for the mask.

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Department of Athletics Brawn More College Brawn More, Connecticut April 14, 1974 To Dear Mr. XVeiser, Our national scouting staff has informed us that you are one the greatest boccie players in the New London area. We are especially impressed by your ability to toss the jack ball, which seems to have become a lost art in this age of decadence. What Brawn-More envisions in any athlete is a person who displays a flair, a flamboyance, a panache, if you will, for his respective sport. Our scouting staff has taken great interest in your panache and con- cludes that you have the potential for developing into the ace jack baller for the Brawn-More quartet. As you know, Brawn-More's boccie team has eamed a national reputation. Perennially, we are ranked among the top ten, according to the Dunkel Rating Index. So we hope that you do not take our plaudits with tongue in cheek. Our entire Athletic Department has evaluated your demonstrated abilities, and all three of us have concluded that you would represent Brawn-More well, because you personify the philosophy of boccie. Therefore, to obtain your services we are prepared to offer you the following: 1. A full boccie scholarship totaling 513,200.00 over a four-year period plus 31,000.00 for books and incidentals. 2. A work-detail consisting of sweeping an 8 by 10 foot room once each semester ftwice a yearj for which you will earn 358.80 per week allowing you to retain your amateur status unless you declare yourself a professional janitor.