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Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe,

This is not the article I wanted to write for this week. There’s nothing fun about what’s been happening around the world, as the COVID-19 Pandemic has disrupted so many things we hold dear. Birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, and everything in between have been put on hold, postponed, or relegated to weird drive by parades where you can kind of see your friends and family for a fleeting moment. It’s rough. Some of us are out of work and really need the distraction of social co-ed football, but alas, it’s not here yet. I myself have been furloughed, so there’s nothing to do but sit around my log cabin here in Des Moines, and wait it out. At the very least, for what it’s worth, you guys in Buffalo are much further along that we are here in Iowa. You’re close.

But this article was SUPPOSED to be about the first week of the Spring 2020 season. It was supposed to begin April 25^th. I would’ve loved talking about the new stand outs in the league, the surprises, the ridiculousness that I would’ve heard multiple stories about at the bar. It was a PERFECT day for football. Sunny, 60 degrees. Considering we’ve started the last couple of Spring sessions in the snow, how perfect would that have been? I would’ve definitely talked about how Lenny smiled upon us and gave us a perfect day for Week 1. I still think he caused the weather last Saturday, even knowing we couldn’t play, just for a laugh. It’s the same reason it was 78 degrees and beautiful here in Iowa last Saturday, and all I could do was some work around the cabin.

Anyway, I wanted to write SOMETHING. Sure, part of it is because I have nothing to do all week anymore, and maybe I need to be locked in a room away from the little godfathers here that really should be in school, but I also feel like I owe you guys something to check into. It’s been a bit quiet on the site, and I guess we could’ve done some very blatantly biased bar brackets or something to engage the TSL universe, but I we all have a lot more important things to think about I guess. However, perhaps I can inspire a little hope! You know why?

The Topper Sports Spring Session is STILL a go for Mid to Late May. Yes, I know, it can still change. Topper wanted that to be pretty clear. But we’re getting CLOSE guys and gals! Soon, you will hopefully descend upon the Rose Garden with the biggest smiles and happiest of attitudes. The race for social co-ed football immortality will once again begin anew. We’ll have new teams! Old faces in new places! You can bring your dog again! Just you know, the doggo has to be on a leash that’s held by an adult at all times. There’s even going to be an exciting, slight change to MY articles as well!

I’m happy to announce that I won’t be randomly making up the lines for your games anymore. I challenged the good people on the TSL QB Rankings committee to use their math, spreadsheets, and free time to give me much more accurate lines for the games. That means no more complaining! I’m kidding. You’re going to complain still, Blasé. But it could be a fun change to see some ‘accurate-ish’ lines. I’m also going to make it a point to email more captains this season about their teams. I obviously can’t see the games live, so the more info your team gives me, the better my articles can be. Some of you already email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. but really you all should start. Get your team its publicity! Give your stars some shout outs! If you’re not screaming about how your girl should be the D5 MVP, you shouldn’t be a captain anyway!

I wanted to take just a quick second though, and give a special shout out to my good friend Rameer. If you didn’t know, he’s going through a lot right now. Honestly, a lot doesn’t cover it. It’s not my place to rehash what is going on, so if you’re uninformed, please go read The Rant. Rameer does so much for this league, and when we lost Lenny, he really stepped it up even more. Sometimes he doesn’t get the credit he truly deserves. And now, there’s a chance we may not even see him until the Fall session. The league won’t be the same without Rameer scowling on the sidelines because someone did something stupid or snarling at the refs to get these games started on time. We love you Rameer. Know that.

But Godfather, you said this part was going to be inspiring and happy! I know, I know. Obviously the idea of not having Rameer around is terrible. (Okay, maybe not to ALL of you.) But here’s the silver lining. Yet again, the TSL universe stepped up. If you didn’t know, Coach Jay and Emily are going to be helping with some of Rameer’s duties in his absence. They’ll be the go to people for any ref scenarios that may arise. It’s so awesome to see that every single time this league looks like it might take a hit, more of the amazing TSLers step right up to keep the league they love up and running smoothly. Well, as smoothly as anything Topper related can be.

Another awesome thing? We have a record setting amount of people in Breakfast Club! Old faces and new faces have combined to get us 8 full teams! (Well, 7 full teams, and one team with Dave Walter, so they’ll always be short in the first half). The Draft was supposed to be taking place Friday Night, but we are going to hold off once again until Topper gets stuff figured out. Eight teams for Breakfast Club is fantastic. Another good thing? Two more weeks of not playing football means the fields won’t be destroyed ASAP! Topper told me the week leading up to last Saturday had snow and rain. The fields would’ve been soft as we trampled on them. Here’s hoping the nicer weather sticks around to keep them in top shape.

We’re so much closer to our Weekly Family Reunions. We’re getting through this together. I hear about the weekly league zoom meetings too. We have each other, like we always have. Football has always been about friends and family. Winning is nice too, of course. But so many of us have found boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, husbands, lifelong best friends, and families just from this league. It’s the thing we’re most proud of. All of YOU are the greatest thing about this league. You’re putting in the work. You’re staying safe. You’re doing what needs to be done so that sooner rather than later we can kick off another awesome season of the Greatest Social Co-Ed Football league in WNY, and probably the world. Just hold strong. Football is coming. We got this.

Keep your heads up.

-The Godfather

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