Trying to Get Together

In the CFCL there are two days a year we pretty much have to get together.  The first day, Draft Day (last weekend in March), is mandatory.  I think we can all agree that without a Draft Day there isn't much point to the season.

So every year at the end of March all the owners meet and draft their 23 man Active Rosters and their 17 man Reserve Rosters.

Then, sometime after the baseball season ends, we get together for our annual CFCL Banquet and Awards Dinner.  There we hand out the prize money and trophy as well as the awards that were voted on (MVP, GM of the Year, Nick Esasky Award; these awards were defined the last two weeks).  To date, I don't think we've ever not had the banquet.  Certainly the Earth would spin, taxes would be due and life in general would go on if we didn't have a banquet.  But life would be just a little less fun if we didn't try to get together at least once in an atmosphere that isn't charged with the stress of Draft Day.

So in the late fall/early winter we commune at a local pizzaria and rehash the season, catch up with our personal lives and generally enjoy each others company.  The only drawback is that we have three owners (now four) living out of town and they're certainly not going to travel in town for pizza, beer and awards.

** Editor's note - as of this posting we have not had our 2013 Award Banquet.  Due to  many schedule challenges, I have not been as dilligent as in past years in putting together the Award Ballot and e-mailing it out.  It will happen though.

Beyond Draft Day and the Awards Banquet the CFCL has not had many in or out of season get togethers.  It hasn't been from a lack of trying.  Back in the late '80s we tried for a summer bar-b-que.  We sent the announcement out in our type-written, snail mailed newsletter.  Of our eight owners, we had about six "sort of" reservations.  So in full anticipation of the owners realizing that nothing could be better than a CFCL bar-b-que at my mom's house, I went out and bought, among other things, about five pounds of potato salad.  Only problem was, just the Copperfields, Rebels and possibly the Penguins attended.

More recently there have been efforts to try to have a league outing to the Kane County Cougars.  Many years it never got past the suggestion stage.  In 2013 we actually did make it to the game.

There was also the time back in the early 2000's when the Copperfields hosted a CFCL Bar-b-que in Downers Grove.  Just down the block was a baseball field where we played softball, although Glorified Batting Practice may be more accurately descriptive.

So the intent has always been there for the CFCL to get together more than twice a year.  But considering four owners live out of state, four owners have young children and their active schedules, seven owners are married and all have busy professional careers, carving out a mutually acceptable weekend day to have some fun has proven to be challenging.

In 2013 we made it happen - and didn't even have any left over potato salad.