Champions!

Me, posing with the trophy that we don't get to keep. It's just a photo prop.

The Screaming Squirrels won the roller championship on Thursday. It was our third overall but probably our most clear-cut win.

Back in 2003, we had to play a best of three series against the Hurricanes. We easily won the first game, lost the second, but the third was never played due to Hurricane Isabel. Technically, we split the title (with two current teammates).

We won in 2005, but the Hurricanes were upset (1-0 I think) in the semifinals, and they were considered a much better team. After that season, they moved up a level. We were happy to win the title but couldn’t help but think that it would’ve been much tougher had the Hurricanes won.

This year, we only had trouble against one team – The Whale. They lost in the first round. But they were also a lower seen than us, so we didn’t feel too bad when they got knocked out. Plus, we beat the top seed in the finals, 3-2, after going down 2-0. We had lost to that team the first game of the season, then beat them later in the season.

It was the third roller hockey title for the Screaming Squirrels. We also won three in ice. Back 2002, I won a ball hockey championship with three of the other Squirrels on a different team.