Sunday, June 20, 2010

Extra-special Fathers Day at RAP, and elsewhere...

Well I had every intention of spending fathers Day basking in the sun at RAP watching the Seals take game 3 of the home-stand, but alas different plans arose. I spent the afternoon watching my own daughter win bronze at the Pee-Wee C district championships at View Royal. A proud moment as a father on a special day.

Fathers Day also seems to agree with the Victoria Seals. If you remember last year, the Seals walked off with a victory on a dramatic home run by Jamar Hill, and it became one of the defining moments of the Seal's first year in Victoria. This year's dramatic extra-inning walk off home run by newcomer Mike Mooney seems like a similar kind of moment that a team can use as a catalyst to turn things around with.

Could this home stand - from the desperate hang-on victory Friday, through the disappointing loss and bench clearing brawl on Saturday, to the extra inning magic on Sunday - be the turning point for the Seals this year? Three games that bring a team together on an emotional level that bonds them for the rest of the season.

A few comments from yesterday's game seem to point to a more urgent sense of team pride, a desire to win at all cost, and a recognition of the team being bonded together. The capacity crowd saw a great game as well, and many were heard leaving with plans of coming back in the coming weeks.

I look to this weekend as being that turning point the team was in need of. Some new blood in Mike Mooney, a new found camaraderie on the team, and a new batch of impressed fans. Sounds like a recipe for future success for the Seals...