The Crocodile

I would like to start off with an apology. I know that your coffee has tasted lifeless and your bagel bland with the absence of POLOandPASTA to fulfill your morning routine. I will strive to see that this blog never sees a drought of 6 days with no post again.
In my defense, I’m writing about my job. How exciting can a blog be about one's job? It’s the same thing day after day. Can you believe that they actually want me to work Saturday’s too? And that is when they expect me to work the hardest. I finally understand the drag that people have been telling me for years about the grind of going to work.
How many of you want to strangle me right now? HAHA
The week itself actually wasn’t that exciting. My days are typically spent reading or driving into town and just walking around. I usually head over to the pool to get in a lift before noon and then have lunch at the restaurant afterward. When I get more comfortable with my Italian and the train system, I plan on taking day trips to nearby towns (Milan 40mins, Genoa 2 1/2hrs, Florence 3hrs). Everything is so close in Northern Italy that I can just hop on a train, spend the day exploring around a city, and be back in time for practice at night.
In the pool we focused for our game on Saturday vs Chiavari, a pretty strong team located just south of Genoa. All I heard the entire week was that they have a big, left-handed Croatian center whose nickname was “The Crocodile” because his go-to maneuver was to grab the testicles of his defender to gain better position. GREAT. The whole week I had to give a pep-talk to my boys letting them know that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. They were skeptical, so was I.
Saturday afternoon we all arrived at the pool around 1:30pm, hopped in a bus and hit the road to Genoa. While the rest of the team zoned out and tried to prepare for the game I was busy taking in all the sights of the amazing towns we passed. There were so many little villages scattered along hillsides and down the rivers. Of course my camera was in the back of the bus (not like anyone has ever won a Pulitzer shooting from a bus window flying down the highway at 100km an hr).
Close to 3hrs later we finally arrived in Chiavari. After a clear drive the whole way, the damnedest thing happened; it starting hailing right when we hit the exit from the freeway. I’m no profit, but I knew that couldn’t be a good sign. ..
The game started and the environment was awesome. With no huge football (soccer) teams nearby the town’s biggest sport is water polo. They get a strong turnout and bring great energy. The whole right side of the stands were packed with teenagers who brought drums, flags, and whistles (which kept confusing me the whole game). They sang songs the entire match of which I did not understand but I feared they weren’t being nice to our mothers.
We started off solid with a quick counter and goal right away, 1-0. Immediately following we went into a deep hole and they went on a 4 goal run, 4-1. Shit. What just happened? Their fans were going nuts. As much as I loved the atmosphere I was tempted to storm up into the stands and ring one of the kid’s necks to shut-up. Our coach laid into us at the quarter break. I think a rough translation was “Pull your head out of you’re a$$”.
We did! From the start of the second all the way to the middle of the 4th we went on a 7-0 bashing. With the wind out of their sails and the crowd growing silent we were able to hold them off to an 8-6 victory! This was an excellent challenge to see how our team deals with adversity; and we rose!
I know all of you are dying right now wondering, “But Russ, what about your jewels?” I appreciate your concern and I’m very happy to tell you, “They are A-OK”! There were a few close calls where I definitely felt him treasure hunting, but I was always able to shift away from the croc’s grasp to a place of refuge. While the goods were kept good he did manage to familiarize my face with his elbow as well as fist. The jaw was pretty raw the next day but to recap; no earned ejections or goals from their center.
Bus 1 - Crocodile 0

-Bus #10