The Origins of the Underhanded Compliments

Clockwise from upper left: Summer League Champs; Spring League; Summer League opening day; Fall League

"Team”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning number 4b, is “a number of persons associated in some joint action, now esp. a definite number of persons forming a side in a match, e.g. in a football match or a tug-of-war.” This usage, per the OED, dates at least as 1529 when it is found in John Skelton’s poem Vox Populi.

That is of course the bare bones definition, but it has been my experience & the experience of most who’ve played sports that there are “teams” & then there are “teams.” I am very gratified to say that the Underhanded Compliments, whose exploits will be covered in this blog, is definitely one of the latter.

It’s hard to say what makes a group of people cohere—mutual liking, an atmosphere of respect, a shared sense of both play & seriousness. All of those factors & more have been a part of the Underhanded Compliments softball team. We came together as an independent team in the Portland, Oregon Underdog Sports league as part of the Sunday Irving Park spring league in 2014. Of the 15 players on that original team, 12 continued with the team for the remainder of the year (Summer & Fall seasons), & 10 are still on the team as we look forward to this spring’s opening game on March 22nd. It’s great to have such a stable base!

The players are for the most part an athletic bunch: most if not all the men have a baseball background, & a high percentage of the women have played fast pitch softball, several at highly competitive levels. In addition, we have volleyball players, football players, competitive runners, bicyclists, & at least one competitive figure skater!

But this is also a team that enjoys lifting a few glasses after the games or a few cans of beer at a practice. It’s also a team that laughs easily together.

The Chain!

To tell how everyone came to the team would involve many stories; but the single largest contingent on the Spring ’14 team came from a softball team called The Chain that had competed in, & ultimately won the championship in Underdog’s Lillis-Albina Fall League. Five players on the opening day roster came from The Chain: Andrea T; Colin R; John H.; Mallory O; & Monish S. In addition, Ariel W. was a sub in the Spring League, & Maddie B. joined us in the summer & fall. While Andrea, Maddie, Mallory & Monish have all moved on, we have recruited Emily K from The Chain for Spring ’15 (& beyond we hope!)

It’s a great group of people—I feel so lucky & privileged to be a part of this team!

Later this week: 2014 season recap & pre-season 2015!