SubscribeYFC — Typical camp dynamics
The longer I’m here the more fantasy camp seems like regular sleepaway camp.
In a high-price establishment, everything is taken care of for you. The accommodations, the activities,the laundry, the health care, the take-aways — and there are some nice takeaways. Seems to be something new every day. Today it was a pair of Nike running shoes and a hand-drawn caricature of the late Johnny Blanchard, a super sub for the Yankees of the early 1960s who was a staple at these camps for several years.
As in every social situation, a group dynamic begins to establish itself. There are one or two “alphas” because, hey, somebody has to take charge. That honor goes to Mike S., a toughie from the Monmouth County area who anchors third base. Then there are the quiet kids, in this case Craig, a software executive, and Bobby, a dentist, a pair of buddies from upstate New York, and John, D. a 60-something Southern gentleman from Tennessee. Three more friends — John M., Gene (known around here as “Gene and top of the order,” a nod to where he normally bats on their softball team), and Tony (the shortstop who doubles as the sub-Alpha). They’re the funny kids, quick with a self-deprecating joke. Nick, an accountant, is on the fence and can go either quiet or sub-Alpha. And, of course, Ira and his friend Rich who, at 75 is the elder statesman of the Bombers.
Which leads to another point: the reason we are all here. Without naming names, most are here for the sheer spectacle and enjoyment. If we happen to win a few games, so much the better. But if we were that good, we’d be the real ex-Yankees down here and not the paying customers. A few of the more competitive among us forget that, quick to annoyance when one of us makes an error in the field, though not so much at bat. It’s easy to win together; it’s tougher to lose. You hear quiet comments suggesting the finger of blame at this one or that, of an opportunity missed, but you know what? At the end of the week we all want to go home with pleasant memories of playing in a major league facility, puttin’ on the pinstripes, and pretending that we’re livin’ the dream, even if it’s just about sports.
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