BOCCE BALLS!!!!

As part of our last hurrah to summer, Bob and I attended a local Community Day in a neighboring town.  As community days go, this one was fairly typical with funnel cakes and hot dogs for sale, dunking booths and Go Fish booths for entertaining the kiddies, and fundraisers for school groups and organizations.  However, what set this community day apart from others is that this one kicked things off with an early morning bocce ball tournament.  Yes...you heard right...BOCCE BALL!

Who knew bocce ball had such a ferocious following?  Here I thought bocce was an easy-going lawn game played by old Italian grampies (excuse my stereotyping please, but I've led a sheltered life).  Ho no, it is a serious and competitive sport played by young and old.  And the reason why I know it is competitive is that only ladies who are too good to play with other ladies are allowed to play with the men!

The tournament was replete with brackets (as in basketball brackets!) and team uniforms.  Rookie teams, like these fresh -faced young men, valiantly fought against wily veteran teams who sported t-shirts that proclaimed their many victories. Teams came from all over the state.  One even persevered through a closed interstate to arrive in time to avoid a forfeit. Now, that's what I call competitiveness.

 Play was intense....

 Deep strategizing and reflection went in to every throw...

And then there was the measuring....

And fancy throwing techniques...

But ultimately, there was just lots of fun and good -natured competition.

My son-in-law and his rookie teammates might not have won their matches, but they held their own against some veteran players and learned a few new moves to boot.  I learned something too...bocce is not what I thought it was.

Have you any experiences with bocce ball to relate?  What unusual events have you encountered at community days?