As Summer begins to wind down and August receives its final heat check – let us go back once more to Summer of 2008. Around the time Anchorman and Dodgeball hit Blockbuster was the same time pavement scorched the summer tournaments at Y camp. These tournaments took place within the same arena as Adamball and it just so happens that this was the summer that a dynasty would be derailed.
The dynasty at hand deals with the Madcows and their rise through the ranks of prisonball history. Every prisonball team had 2 counselors, 3 counselors in training and 5 campers. The primary counselors for the Madcows were always John Finney and Anthony Wedemeyer and their roster normally had depth. If ever the time came where counselors might have to miss – certainly Adam or D.Swick would step in.
Madcow Dynasty
For the select few who remember the Madcows in Newark, Ohio – you know who separated the Madcows from any ordinary prisonball team. The counselor in training went by the name of Pierce Cashdollar and deserves immediate enshrinement if ever there was a Prisonball Hall of Fame.
The way that Cashdollar put his spin on the game forever changed the way that it was played. He could throw knuckleballs, curveballs and competed like a true athlete. Getting ‘out’ in the game lands one in prison – thus creating jumpball opportunities. Pierce timed jumpball return attempts and defensive robberies incredibly well.
Above all else, Pierce talked the best smack and backed it up twice as well. Prisonball only existed during this era because it was ruthless and required a great deal of grit and moxy. Nobody was spared from that round red rubber prisonball that could be palmed by anyone who picked it up. Except when Pierce picked it up he could make the ball do tricks and used them masterfully.
Stomps on the Concrete
During the prisonball tournament of the 2008 summer the Madcows faced One Woman Army in the championship. The game was heavily contested as Madcows were favorited in the matchup. The challenger – One Woman Army only had one woman on their squad. I was one of the campers & the one woman played softball at my Catholic high school.
The game swung back and forth in spurts much like highly-driven recreational basketball. Ultimately, the winner could not be determined so the game went to sudden overtime. Now, in sudden overtime the rules stated that each player must faceoff one on one and throw the ball that is in their box [the size of two standard foursquare boxes] to determine a winner.
Bylaw Says Sudden Death
The game carried on and Madcows grew weary of the strategy deployed by One Woman Army. I believe the OWA opted to use some sort of pump fake method to persuade the opponent into throwing their ball first. They would then use their ball to block the incoming strike and return to sender at their leisure. For the most part, I believe both parties would agree that the main point of contention that day came down to time of possession and decision-making during sudden death.
Ultimately, Madcows suffered defeat to the One Woman Army who had an under-the-radar athlete from Muskingum County named Tyler Watson and their powerhouse woman Sarah Kanoski had an absolute cannon. My abilities on the team resemble my abilities today in a great way: I played my part in bringing people together. While I wasn’t the most shifty or nifty – my decision to bring in Clayton Plute from Granville gave us a great advantage versus their campers.
Some might call me observant – well if you noticed that then you are observant too!
My memory hardly fails me when it comes to remembering the fond pieces of my Midwestern upbringing.
Call me lucky, call it selective – I call it a blessing to share and reminisce within these moments.
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