The Games We Play!

The team I've belonged to for the last ten years or so told me they were a football team. I was sort of new at the game and wasn't sure I'd really benefit that much from joining the team. I debated it for awhile and vacillated back and forth. After all, the practices and the team meetings were pretty far from home.

After a few years, I was convinced to join. I jumped in with all the energy and dedication to the team I could muster. I gave it my all and then some. 110 percent? Maybe more like 200 percent. I have to admit that in the beginning, I did feel that the immediate benefits did show promise of more and better things to come if I'd only get more involved and really go all out to win and help my teammates win too.

After awhile though, I started discovering that some of the supposed benefits of team membership were not available to me – even though that was not disclosed upfront. I started feeling like a second class team member – benched because the coach might like someone else better.

Then I started noticing some dissension among the other team members. Many were also not happy with some aspects of the entire organization – from the top on down. Many were quick to dish out their personal opinions in private, but always held back when and where it might have counted.

Over my tenure of membership with the team, things sort of went up and down a lot – as far as fixing the problems and making us all happy. But along the way newer and bigger problems were festering under the surface and eventually they, too, were seeing the light. So here we go again. Up then Down, Up then Down … on this team rollercoaster.

For several years now, I've threatened to quit the team but just kept procrastinating that sort of finality for fear that it would be an irreversible mistake.

This year, however, I came to the realization that my team membership really didn't count for much. Whenever I suggested something that I thought would smooth out the roughness or actually improve the team, I was told, “IT CAN'T BE DONE!” Then, of course, when everyone forgot who actually made the suggestion, changes were made where the team coaches and management could take the credit if it all went well. And if it didn't go well, well, then they found ways to manipulate the outcome so that it either looked like all was well or it just plain confused us so much, no one wanted to challenge them.

This year I discovered that the team I joined … remember the one that said they were a football team? … well, I discovered that they were really playing a game with a round ball and getting very excited each time they scored game points racked up two at a time whenever the ball swished through a hoop.

It's very hard to take someone serious when they say they're playing football but refuse to use the proper regulation ball and score points according to the established standard.

This year, for the first time in my ten years of membership, I neglected to pay my dues. It's been several months now and no one has come forward to ask why. Guess my team membership didn't count for much, eh?