What a season we had in 2022! It may seem like a previous lifetime ago for some, starting the season in frigid May conditions with guys sporting tuques, mittens and a questionable selection of their wives’ yoga pants under their shorts. It wasn’t long thereafter that we were taking mid-half water breaks and fighting for the shade of the one tree that adorns Potvin NW. What really sticks out to us is how many ups and downs every team had over the course of the year. – Here’s how we’d sum it up:

• It’s a Boy! (Light Blue) crawled before they walked before they ran and became men, all in one season, winning the title before regressing to the womb with a performance in the playoffs that left them cranky and curled up in the fetal position.

• Pinky Blinders (Pink) came within a razor’s edge of winning a three-horse race for league glory, but were outgunned at the death. In the following (post)season, it was more of the same: a promising start that ended in tragedy and heartache.

• Liverpickled FC (Red) showed up completely loaded. They were the life of the party at the start; then they got a bit defensive, but still managed to hold everything down. Ultimately, despite things getting somewhat sloppy, it was really just the last shot at the end that did them in.

• The Dad Bod Blues (Dark Blue) proved they really do have guts. While slightly thin at the top at times, they pulled their weight on the back end and returned to their suburban mancaves with great stories to tell, and that’s no joke.

• Half the Players We Juiced to Be (Orange) were a bright and vibrant team, but their possession in the box proved pithy, which resulted in them settling near the bottom of the standings. However, once given a good shake, they played with zest and had a sweet run when it really counted and almost squeezed themselves into the Founders’ Cup. We hope the whole experience was a-peel-ing and didn’t leave them with a sour taste in their mouths.

• Yellow No Submarines (Yellow) found themselves in way too deep and under great pressure for most of the season. Just when we assumed they were completely sunk, they rose to the top and found themselves in rarefied air. It was a great final to watch, well fought between two tough teams. Huge congratulations are owed to U-boat. All you need is love, love (and maybe a penalty)… love is all you need.

Awards

Individual Spirit of the League – Congratulations to the six model gents who were nominated by their teams for the Spirit of the League Award. Glenn Borbely was selected as the winner (hats off to a supremely fine gentleman!), but all of you deserve a round of applause for embodying what we all want this league to be for many years to come.

Team Spirit of the League – Bravo to the Dad Bod Blues and their manager, Eben Crofton: they had zero cards issued this season. What an outstanding achievement and again something to be very proud of.

Best Team Name – Hey there, Half the Players We Juiced to Be… thanks again for making us type it out one last time. Turns out you were selected (possibly randomly but they tell me it was a vote) as having the Best Team Name of the season. Well done to the creative minds responsible!

Indoor Season

We are working away behind the scenes to get everything ready for the Indoor season, which kicks off on Thursday, November 3rd. We have not yet completed the team rosters, but will have them done soon. We hired a world-famous octopus to assist with the selection process, but he has been somewhat of a difficult-to-work-with diva. We’ll get there. Just get yourself in tip-top shape for November 3rd and keep an eye on your inbox for an email from your manager.

A hearty congratulations is owed to Chris Bradley’s “It’s a Boy” (Light Blue) team for taking home the trophy this summer! We brought in a consulting firm to help us improve the prize satisfaction index and the resounding recommendation was to give you guys free beer! So congrats!

Light Blue has won a $200 bar tab for the team, to be used at The Bad Alibi at the year-end party (Oct 15th). Only time will tell whether Chris is forced to drink all $200 of it himself, or Dave Willey will allow a call-up from the spares list to help out. Ah, but what about the Cup, you say? Well, we plan to deal the same fate to the team that takes home the Cup this year! On a side note, if Light Blue wins the Cup too, we will just reallocate all party funds to renting out a party limo for them, and the rest of us can just stay home and watch that HBO show about the dragons and long-haired blonde people.

We have not yet sent out the polls to determine the Best Team Name and Spirit of the League awards but will do so in short order so we can announce the winners at our End of Year party (Oct 15th, remember?).

Hello gents,

In the classic fable with which you may or may not be familiar, about a hard-working ant getting organized for the approaching winter and some silly singing grasshopper (I think it was a grasshopper, it’s been a while), we at the BA strive to be the ant. That is to say, it’s time to start looking ahead to the cold days that will be here all too soon and stock our underground… uh, caverns… (ok, I’m really starting to regret this analogy) with stuff to keep us warm and happy – you guessed it (you did?), it’s time to think about the indoor soccer season!

Indoor Registration is OPEN

We have been working hard behind the scenes of this fantastic outdoor season to get things ready, and as of right now, indoor season registration is open. A few things to note:

• You must register ASAP – we will fill out all the spots in no time at all. This message is going out to a lot of people that are anxiously awaiting the indoor season, so please don’t delay.
• People not previously registered with the BA are required to have a BA member sponsor them for two seasons (reminder that you are only permitted to sponsor one player at a time.)
• Indoor season starts on Thursday November 3, 2022 and will run through to May 4 th , 2023.
• New this year: please select a jersey size on the form and upload a headshot that is clear enough to identify you easily – it will really help us when building and balancing teams.
• Not new this year: your registration, and therefore your spot in the indoor season, is not complete until you have sent your payment to baslpayments@gmail.com – my advice is to do it immediately, before you have any chance of forgetting! Please include your full name so it is very clear who the money is coming from.
• Don’t delay! Register here.

SAGM and End of Year Party Dates

Every entrance into another season is but an exit from the last… I think that’s how the expression goes? I don’t have time to check. As we wind down a great summer season, we wouldn’t want you to forget about two important things we do to cap the season:

• We are planning to have our Semi-Annual General Meeting on Saturday, October 1 st at the Bad Alibi, right after the morning’s games are finished.
• We are planning to have our End of Year Party on Saturday, October 15 th at the Bad Alibi, right after the morning’s games are finished.
• Details to follow on both, including a survey to get attendance numbers – this is important and allows us to plan both events. Please watch your inbox for that.

Alright, that’s it for today! Short but sweet! As always, thanks for taking the time to read this – you are all part of what makes this league so great and we are committed to keeping it that way. Please remember to show your support for our sponsors and our favourite pub.

May your gamedays be warm and your beer cold!

Your BA Executive Team