#20 Princeton University upset #14 Brown 10-7 today, in the first
round of the CWPA Eastern Championship, being held this
weekend at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool. It was the only game I was
able to attend this fall, and my nephew Tim made sure it was a
memorable one for me. The win places Princeton against Bucknell
on Saturday in the semi-finals. This weekend's champ goes to the
Final Four, and hopefully it will be Princeton's third trip
in four years to that celestial plateau.
Tim has been my connection to P.U. for the past four years, and I
find myself having some separation anxiety just thinking about his
impending graduation and my sudden dis connection from this local
venerable institution. Let's see, which niece, nephew, or daughter
is worthy of carrying on his legacy......
 |
| Post-game interview with Tim |
Tim grew up in California playing water polo, in the state well-known
for producing the best water polo players. To me, he's become the
quintessential collegiate student-athlete. He visited Princeton
while still a high schooler, and stopped in to the restaurant to see me
and get a free meal. I knew he would choose to play here, and I also
knew that he knew that being so close to us, he'd have the
opportunity to come visit once in a while for some
wine and a home-cooked meal.
It's already November 16th, and he has yet to swing by our place this
fall. That's okay....Thursday's OFD, and we'll catch up then.
Meanwhile, go get 'em Tigers tomorrow. I'll be watching from work.
Hopefully we can talk about the upcoming Final Four
on Thursday, over cigars and port.
 |
| Final game for Seniors at Princeton |
Update: After losing in the final minute of the game against Bucknell
7-6, the Tigers bounced back and beat Mercyhurst on Sunday for
the bronze. A bittersweet moment for Tim and all of us. We'll still
hash it out on the manporch sometime late Thursday.
Lots of OFD's coming up this next week for everyone, that is for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt kills me that I wasn't able join you, Julie and Bob there to watch my favorite nephew. Ok, he's my only nephew, strictly speaking. But what's so cool is that he played what was surely the best game of his entire Princeton career-- scoring four of their ten goals--when the team absolutely, positively needed it the most this season. The cream always rises to the top!
ReplyDeleteUsed to play water polo myself - grueling, exhausting sport. Only the strongest survive.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite spectator sports. Non-stop action, and it never ceases to amaze me about the ball control these guys have. And stamina, and strength.....
DeleteDon't know about it being such a good spectator sport. My youngest son was big on it, so I watched a lot. Most of the action is underwater and invisible to the crowd. (I recall the Russian-Hungarian match in the 1950's when there was blood in the water.)
DeleteI reluctantly disclose that one of the reasons polo appealed to my son was that his league was co-ed. (I'm now curious as to what went on under the H2O's surface.)
DeleteI am amazed at the mauling that goes on!
DeleteOn your Update, Baydog: Hash is now legal only in CO and WA. We will have to port-age across this disappointment on the manporch. And the young ladies will no doubt be stoked, too.
ReplyDeleteWe'll just have to make due. You usually have some pretty good Dominican to go with the Portuguese wash-down.
DeleteCollege daughter is more than up to the task. She may even try to start a beer pong tournament. You don't have a ping pong table, do you?
Unfortunately no pp table for beer pong. But we could play Prince of Wales; the circular table on the manporch is conducive.
Delete