Three out of four ain't bad

In 1999, I was a founding member of a volleyball team I named The Towel Boys. The team name was my concoction, and I was solely responsible for our pre-game cheers while still contributing substantially to our level of on-court play (because it can't all be about the cheers). I, along with 3 of my closest friends Willy, Suzie and Paula, were lucky enough to form what we considered to be our dream team: the Towel Boy era had begun. In its various incarnations from 1999 through the 2002 Gay Games, the Towel Boys won numerous medals in international gay volleyball tournaments and were singled out as the by-far-most-fun team at many a tournament. (Secret: that was the title we always fought the hardest to win)

Ultimately, we were all just happy to explore our volleyball potential while creating memories alongside such amazing friends. The original four Towel Boys played on- and off-court for about 2 years until, inevitably, injuries and competing priorities saw us go our separate ways. Suzie and I continued flying the Towel Boys flag as the only two founding members, but we always looked back to those early days as the benchmark of what we wanted to accomplish. While Willy, Suzie, Paula and I never stopped being friends -- I still liken us to those Sex and the City gals -- our circumstances changed over the years since our first taste of the tournament tingles. We don't see Paula on a regular basis, I've been in Australia for the past year, and regular face time has been hard to maintain.

While its unlikely that the four founding members will ever play together again, I'm damn stoked: we're three-quarters there! Willy, Suzie and I will share a court for the first time in five (!) years at a tournament on March 19 in Vancouver, followed the next weekend by the best annual volleyball tournament in the world Calgary, the Apollo Cup! How stoked am I?! Check out the wet spot in my crotch as I write this!

And get this: we'll be joined by two of my other favourite people, Joe and Patsy. Simply sharing the court with these gals means we'll have an amazing time and will be frontrunners to win the "Sexiest Totally Most Fun Team at the Tournament" crown. (It's a tiara, actually)

It may not be the Towel Boys. It may not be our original dream team. It may not be anything beyond a commitment for a couple of tournaments. But whatever it turns into, it'll be a hot time. I'm all acquiver!