The G. Michael Perry Memorial Softball Tournament for Special Olympics Wyoming

I just posted on Facebook about something near and dear to me, and then I thought "Hey! I have a blog! Maybe my 4 readers will want to know about this, too!" So here's a little bit about what the Mike Perry Tournament is and why it's important, not only to me but for the Special Olympians in Wyoming...

For those of you who haven't known me long, when I was a sophomore in high school, my dad passed away. He'd undergone a heart transplant in 1990, and I got a bonus 11 years with him because of that. He was my little league coach for our all-girls team The Angels (none of us throw like girls and we all play harder than you). If I wasn't careful, I'd get cornered on the couch with him and a HUGE baseball encyclopedia, listening to him elaborate for hours on the stats of the Greats.

I also am lucky to have two incredible siblings. My older sister, Allison, has Down Syndrome. She was also coached by the one and only Mike Perry, and she also doesn't throw like a girl . After we moved to Wyoming in 1999, she had the opportunity to get involved in Special Olympics Wyoming. Not only has she worked for them as their Receptionist/Office Assistant for over 10 years(!) but she is an athlete as well, competing in bowling, swimming, basketball, and, until the early 2000's, softball. My dad coached the Special Olympics softball team and got a huge kick of the tenacity, skill, and enthusiasm of the players.

Due to budgetary restrictions, SOW dropped softball from its program. This left a gaping hole in the sports schedule for athletes. From May until October, there are no opportunities to practice sports and be active.

So, in 2008, I founded the first G. Michael Perry Memorial Tournament for Special Olympics Wyoming. Teams from all over the state practice all summer for a one-day tournament in August. The tournament is double-elimination style and includes individual skills competition for those players for whom team play isn't ideal. People from the community volunteer their time as umpires, scorekeepers, BBQers (mmmm the hot dogs!), and cheerleaders. Families get to cheer on their players. Teammates get to encourage one another. But most importantly, these athletes are moving, competing, and having fun.

My description of this event does not do justice to the feeling in the air on the day of the tournament. The GMP might seem like a small thing, but it is a great thing.

It costs approximately $2,000 to host the tournament each year. The Perry Family hosts the event, and relies on the generosity of sponsors and donors like you. Whatever is not covered by donations comes out-of-pocket from yours truly It's uncomfortable for me to ask you all to give to an event you don't directly benefit from and that you might not ever get to be a part of (unless you're in Casper, and then WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!). I understand how much money $20 can be, and that it's just not possible sometimes to give to everyone who asks.

So here's what I'm asking from you: If you can and would donate by either purchasing a t-shirt or by making a donation on the FirstGiving page, please do! If you cannot, please leave a comment or email me with encouraging words for our athletes. I'd like to print that in this year's bulletin so that they can see that people all over the country are cheering for them! Time and encouragement are equally as important as money.

Thanks for reading my charity manifesto! The tournament is on August 23, 2014 this year! The links are below:

https://www.booster.com/mikeperry2014

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/playball/mikeperry

T-shirts are on sale only through Sunday, June 22, but the FirstGiving page will be open until the day of the tournament. 

Love always,
E

Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys!

University of Wyoming
GAME DAY.

GO POKES!

Why's everyone suddenly so loud?

After Germany won their third EM game against Denmark, thus advancing themselves to the quarterfinals (which they won against Greece), the people in Mainz were totally pumped! I watched that game at the Eisgrub Bräu with friends, and as we exited the pub after the game, we found the streets lined with cars, young people hanging out of the car windows and sun roofs, yelling, waving flags, and being generally elated. The car horn honking continued for at least an hour after the game had been won. Germans are, in general, very reserved in their actions and expressions (as contrasted to Americans who get reallyexcitedabouteverythingomg!). However, when it comes to soccer, Germans like to get wild, and it's so much fun to see!

I didn't watch the quarterfinal game against Greece. I know, I know, horrible of me. Instead, I went for a swim for the first time in about 2 months, knowing the pool would be nearly empty. Walking the mile from my house to the pool was like getting a preview of the world post-zombie apocalypse. It was empty. No cars driving down the road. No pedestrians. Nothing. I'm surprised I didn't see tumbleweeds rolling down the street. And I was right-- the pool was nearly abandoned, which was awesome. And the minute I left the pool, I knew Germany had won because I could hear the car horns blowing from way down in the middle of the city. It makes me wonder how soccer victories are celebrated in other countries, and it makes me really want to see Germany win their semifinal match up. This place is gonna go berserk.

I have a little video clip of the car horn celebrations after the Denmark game, but it doesn't seem to want to load. I'll try later.

Berlin: EM'12, Germany versus The Netherlands

As previously mentioned a few days ago in this post, I watched the EM 2012 Germany v Holland soccer game from amongst the crazy Germans at the Hyundai Fan Park in Berlin which is set up at the Brandenburger Tor. It is so nice to see Germans decked out in ridiculous Germany gear and getting rowdy in support of their country. As Americans, we often don't realize how cool it is that our culure incorporates massive amounts of patriotism into everyday life. I highly doubt I'll see another game throughout the tournament in a setting quite like that. The best part of it was having about 15 other Americans with me who have been here for a year, just like me. With a little face paint, some flags, and of course German leis, we celebrated the extravaganza in style.

Gracia and Clayton getting flags in their proper place- the cheek

Joe doing a great job being a Germany fan

Diana and me waiting for kickoff

Diana, Geoff, and Jennifer

Americans in Deutschland

The Dutch players are hott. Am I right? Or am I right?

DEUTSCHLAND WINS

Ron only wears partial sunglasses at night

And, I am by no means a skilled videographer, so bear (bare?) with me here...

The fans after Germany scores goal #2 (nummer zwei):

The after-party

Soccer lesson: UEFA Euro 2012

Oh, is Germany ever soccer crazy right now! They (not me, I'm a clueless American) are anxiously awaiting the start of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament. What's that, you say? You're an American who doesn't understand anything having to do with soccer either? Unless I hear the specific words "World Cup", I haven't a clue. And even then, my knowledge extends more to how to throw a successful World Cup backyard barbeque and, thanks to 2010, how to properly annoy everyone with the use of a Vuvuzela than it does to the actual sporting event.

For the last, ohhh I don't know, every day of my working life here I hear talk of soccer, er sorry 'football', over the lunch table. And between desks. And in the elevators. And on newspapers. Really, one cannot escape it. I'm used to being well informed about sports. Over the last year while I've been living abroad not only have I fallen completely out of touch with American sports, but the two sports that seem to be popular here - football and handball? - are two over which I know nearly nothing. So I've done a little research for my own sake and possibly to help keep you from looking like an idiot if you happen to bump into a really enthused European.

Basics: UEFA stands for Union des Associations Européennes de Football. The name comes from Switzerland. The UEFA's 'About Me' page says, "The organization is one of 6 continental confederations of world football's governing body FIFA*." There are 53 total associations in UEFA.
*FIFA! As in World Cup! I know this one!

Ok, so what is exactly going on in June that has everyone so pumped? That, my friends, is the UEFA Euro 2012. From June 8 until the finals on July 1, sixteen teams will be competing in this final tournament hosted this year at 8 different locations throughout Poland and Ukraine.

That's right, this is the final tournament. The tournament really started in 2010 when 51 entrants were drawn into 9 groups. Matches were played on a home/away basis (I think this has something to do with the points system?) between 3 September 2010 and 11 October 2011. From that play, 9 winners and the runner up with the best record against top 5 sides (I don't know what that means) in their pool qualified directly for this finals. The rest just... I don't know, snuck their way in, maybe.

Germany is in Group B for the tournament. There are Groups A-D. They are grouped with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal. Their first game is June 9 at 8:45pm. I'm really looking forward to it because that's right about the time I go swimming, so the pool will probably be pretty empty. Lane to myself! What's up!

I'll be pulling for Germany, not because I live here, but because I hear that the Portugese language is even more grammatically confusing than German, and I refuse to support such a thing.

As your treat for reading, or perhaps skimming through, that whole thing, here is a picture of the Rhine River as seen from the Seilbahn in Assmannshausen, Germany!

Da Bears

It's SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! go America!

But really, sorry everyone out there rooting for Tom Brady errrr I mean the Patriots. And sorry to everyone rooting for the Manning brother who actually gets to play in Indianapolis this year errrr I mean the Giants. Why sorry? Because I don't care who wins. That's right. I don't care. I'm a Bears fan, so I'll take the side of the NFC and therefore side with Giants fans on this one, but all I really care about is this:

Take it away, Shufflin' Crew!

A small tribute to the Boogeyman

There was some news that saddened me this weekend. Derek Boogaard, 28 year old professional hockey player, was found dead. In college, Kenny and I spent hours on YouTube watching clips of his fights. He didn't score often or have very many assists, but I bet his teammates knew that he had their backs when he was on the ice. Check it out, and rest in peace, Boogeyman.