Winston-Salem’s rich tradition of hockey

Winston-Salem’s rich tradition of hockey

QIC: Wobegon

Date: 11-3-2017

PAX: Peta, Mutton, Hedwig, Thistle, Whirly, Gepetto, TPS, FNG now Snorkel

Tonight around 20 pax will join around 2,000 other people for the return of the Carolina Thunderbirds hockey team to Winston-Salem. Minor league hockey has been a part of our town for over 40 years. It’s true! Let’s learn….but first….

Warm-O-Rama

All IC

Side straddle hops  20

Abe Vigoda  10

Imperial Walker 20

Merkin 10

The Thang

Mosey to the plaza

From 1973 to 1977 the Winston-Salem Polar Twins were our town’s minor league team. Then, after a break, the Thunderbirds came in 1981. So we did the following:

Partner replay up stairs and down (though most Pax decided to add in some length around the top)

• 73 merkins (the Winston-Salem Polar Twins started in 1973)
• 77 LBCs (and ended in 1977)
• 81 Squats (the Carolina Thunderbirds started in Winston-Salem)
• Plank for 6

Then in 95 and 96 we had the Winston-Salem Mammoths

Give ‘em a hand….

• partner relay 95 Over Heads and 96 Seal Claps
• Al Gore for 6

97 to 99 there was the Winston-Salem Ice Hawks

• Partner relay 97 left muttons, 99 right.

Mosey around top to front of Milton Rhodes Center

Meet the St. Petersburg/Winston-Salem Parrots. They began the season in St. Petersburg, Florida and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 30, 2002. 2002-2003 was all we got from this avian squad.

• So we’ll do 23 split jacks IC…and then parrot, or repeat-o!

Mosey to the lot by BB&T and the U-Haul place

The follow year,2003-04, the Winston-Salem T-Birds returned. So, in honor of when the first formed in 1981…

• One pax do, supermans other does…
  • 1 burpee
  • 9 WW2s
  • 8 squats
  • 1 diamond merkin

Flapjack!

Next up….in 2004-05 the Winston-Salem Polar Twins  and then in 2007-09 Twin City Cyclones hit the ice. So…

• On pax banana plank, the other:
  • 4 Plank Jacks
  • 5 LBC
  • 7 Overhead claps
  • 8 left lunges
  • 9 Right lunges

Flapjack!

And finally…
Now in 2017 the Carolina Thunderbirds are back…

OYO….

• 20 LBC
• run peremeter of the lot
• 17 merkis
• Head to lot for Mary

BUT FIRST. The refs sent the pax to the penalty box for two minutes. 

• People’s chair against the wall
• 5 jack reachers down the line

Mary was sort of by committee with standard fair of Freddy Mercs, low flutter, heels to heaven, american hammer and probably something else. Then closed out with 5 merkins for no good reason.

COT:

We welcomed David Daily, our FNG. TPS brought him out, he is his sister’s husband, engineer and scuba diver. So we landed on Snorkel. Welcome!

Announcements: 

• Gepetto made a great comment about remembering the mission of F3 ( The mission of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership) as we go about the daily beatdowns–things get less fun and meaningful when everyone is quiet and the 6 is left behind.  With changes in site Qs and lots of FNG let’s not forget this. We could all do burpees by ourselves in a parking lot, the group chatter and support is really important.

Prayer concerns

• Mutton asks for friend’s daughter who is dealing with sever depression, now that family’s other daughter is dealing with a growth on the leg and tests. Pray for the whole family.
• YHC mentioned the passing of local news personality and YHC’s former boss Denise Franklin as well Bill Bloxham, the homeless gentlemen who passed away this week. Pray for families and community members.

YHC took us out.

While YHC feels like this beatdown was a little light in execution it looked good on paper and everyone seemed to enjoy and learn a little bit about the wacky history of minor league hockey in our fair city.

Several Pax asked me how I got into hockey, being from Texas and North Carolina. Short answer is–we got our first HD tv about ten years ago, found a Carolina Hurricanes game on TV… it looked awesome in HD, no baseball was on so I started watching….got into it… there you go. I’m not a life-long puck-head, but there was also a time I did not get up at 5am to do burpees in a church parking lot with dudes. Life is full of twists and turns, ya know? Keep your eyes open.

Always an honor to lead a great group like this.