We were about 45 minutes into the debrief of Game No. 280, our first match of Season 11, when longtime Weasel Christian Kline dropped the ennui word.
"You were part of that Eastern ennui," he said to Jake Trotta, one of last season’s recruits. "No one wanted to do anything. People trusted each other."
Then he paused and shook his head. "Why can’t I ever be next to the guys who trust people?"
The season opener ended by time limit after just four years in the following center counts:
Austria (Jake Trotta): 7; 23.113 points.
England (Matt Sundstrom): 7; 23.113 points.
France (Ryan Yates): 7; 23.113 points.
Germany (Christian Kline): 0; 0.000 points.
Italy (Sean Clarke): 2; 1.887 points.
Russia (Brandon Fogel): 6; 16.981 points.
Turkey (David Kodeski): 5; 11.792 points.
The supply center chart is here.
It was a nice start to the new season. Three of the players–Yates, Clarke and Kodeski–were new to the club, and two of them had never played before. And we also picked up a prospect from among the four spectators.
A high school buddy of mine was in town on business. He played Dip with me a few times in the ’90s and was really interested in the game. When he left, he told me he’d plan a future business trip around a Red Wednesday so he could play with us.
So, we’re off. The next game is Sunday at Brian Beck’s home in Morton Grove. And we’ll be back at the Red Lion on October 14.
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The make-up of this game says a lot about our club, I think.
First, the fact that there were three new faces. We’re committed to growth, and we’ll welcome with open arms both brand-new players (Ryan and David) and players who are new to us but not the game (Sean).
Second, we know that many newcomers won’t stick, but some will, as evidenced by Jake and Brandon, two of last year’s many new recruits. (And David Spanos, one of the four spectators, was also a new recruit last year.)
Finally, rounding out the board were two of our Season 1 vets: Christian Kline, who first played with us in January 2006, and Matt Sundstrom, who first played with us in August 2006. Those who stick stick hard. (Two of the spectators were Dan Burgess and me, veterans of the club’s very first game 10 years ago.)
And finally, another word about the fourth spectator, my buddy Jeff, who’s pictured above looking over Christian’s shoulder.
When I arrived at the Lion around 6, he was already there and — aided by server Courtney Stahl’s “He’s one of yours” — had found Matt Sundstrom. (Courtney has played a few games with us as well. She and Jeff share the same last name, but they are not related.)
Eventually, the new players arrived so Matt started teaching them to play, which gave me a chance to catch up with Jeff, who lives in Dubuque now. We moved outside to enjoy summer while it lasts, but once the game started, Jeff kept running in to watch the adjudications.
Worth noting here that Jeff has played the game before, but other than a brief stint as a replacement player for a Guthrie’s game years ago, not since the early ’90s (http://www.world-diplomacy-database.com/php/results/player_fiche10.php?id_player=108090). But I think we hooked him. As I mentioned in the article, he said he’d like to play in a bar game next time he’s in town for work.
“Give me enough notice, and we’ll plan a game for your next trip,” I said.
“Second Wednesday of the month?” he asked, rhetorically. “No, I can plan around that.”
One more thing worth noting: With this game, Matt Sundstrom takes sole possession of the lead in total league games played with the Weasels. The top five are:
[list][*]Matt Sundstrom, 103 games played.
[*]Jim O’Kelley, 102.
[*]Nate Cockerill, 89.
[*]Mike Morrison, 78.
[*]Peter Lokken, 67.[/list]