Yes, we played bocce during a tornado. About a hundred people didn’t show (and who can blame them?) but that still leaves quite a large number of people who were willing to brave the most extreme weather conditions known to Central New York (except in the winter) for their sport. No pictures exist because, quite frankly, it never stopped raining. But that’s okay because pictures would have been inadequate. Tornado bocce was so epic that it simply must be narrated by that deep voice guy who narrates every movie preview.
The craziest part of the day was when everybodies cell phone went off at the same time with this message.
It freaked a few people out, but nobody that I know of left – we stuck it out, finished our games, and in some cases went into the bar for a few drinks and then finished our games.
The scary truth is that this was not just a tornado warning. An actual tornado touched down and here is a picture of it.
Actual damage was done too, and here is a picture of that.
As usual the bocce gods were kind to us, and we never got any of the serious stuff. 10 years without canceling due to weather and counting!
A lot of people didn’t show due to weather, but both bounty teams did.
The Double A’s were the first bounty team and they were protecting $40 for the rest of the league against Stealth Fox 3. Double A’s won the first game 11-8 and Stealth Fox 3 won the second game 11-8, meaning things were dead even going into the decisive third game. Double A’s won that game 11-6, meaning the first bounty will be worth $60 next week.
Turbo Bocce Champs Mark & Robb were the second bounty team. They played The Mean Girls with $60 on the line. All three of these games were close, but Mark & Robb managed to win all three, meaning that the second bounty next week will be worth a whopping $80!
20 Point Club
Angelo Isgro of Kiss My Ace lead the league in scoring this week with 22 points, and now can always say that he once lead his bocce league in scoring during a tornado.
Christos Christou of Beauty and the Beast continued his hot play with 21 points.
Rob Mead of Puzzles, Justin McLaughlin of Blue Balls, and Bobby Lupi of Bocce Against the Machine all scored 20.
5 Bocce Club
Greg Griffo of Los Moppines lead the league with 8 bocces.
Joe LaCelle of Stealth Fox 3, Angelo Isgro of Kiss My Ace, and Monica Angelosanto of Ball Busters each had 7 bocces.
Mickey Morey of Stealth Fox 3 and Phil Martino of Black Jesus had 6 bocces.
Bobby Lupi of Bocce Against the Machine and Kate Kelly of Ball Busters had 5 bocces.
Multiple Ace Club
Greg Griffo of Los Moppines and Mike Geiss of Mike & Mike can both now say that they threw two aces in tornado grade wind. Impressive accomplishment!
Unfortunately there are no pictures on our Facebook page this week, but I’m sure there will be plenty more next week. A new member did ask for bocce tips on the forum, though, and I took the time to give a rather lengthy response. So, if you happen to want to read all about how to play your best bocce, you can do so by clicking HERE.
