By Dave Gil de Rubio

This was my first foray into this storied tournament. And yes, an education was had. Here are some of the lessons I gleaned.

1. Mike Dudolevic’s Party Van is an Eric Clapton/Phil Collins Free Zone despite Twin Dekes’ propensity for grooving to Yacht Rock

2. Ten people do in fact fit comfortably into said Party Van.

3. Glo sticks notwithstanding, no one really took into account the lack of light involved with partying on the beach that made it feel like we were having dinner at one of these joints except with lots of sand and cheap beer.

Dining in the Dark

4. According to Caroline Webster, aggro jam-band reggae is in fact a thing.

5. I’m not quite sure if the phrase “Roll Tide” was actually an invitation for any team we played in the tournament to do just that.

6. Apparently there was an unspoken goalie union code that involved not allowing Rich Glanzer to score and to also endure endless heckling.

7. When digging the eighth goal out of the back of the net during a 9-1 drubbing by the aforementioned Twin Dekes, when they’re going into Soft Rock Mode and providing a soundtrack for the arena, the Michael McDonald/Patti LaBelle duet of “On My Own” isn’t really what I’m looking to hear despite the absolute appropriate timing of this song.

8. I don’t think Ernest Hemingway realized that The Old Man & The Sea would be what people would start calling Coach’s storied attempt to wrestle the Atlantic Ocean into submission (cover photo).

9. James Stein proved that you can be a fertile, over-40 goalie who can get the job done and win a championship.

10. While Craig LaCombe did his part in showing that fatherhood has softened him up to the point where he resisted the urge to go full frontal while taking the time to briefly pilfer the Tournament Cup.