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LIZZARD BIO
Early Days
The lizzards are a class E team consisting mostly of guys who have been buddies since we were kids. Most of us have been playing softball together for almost 10 years and raising hell for longer than that. We used to be called the schmoo dawgs, and then changed our names to the Lizzards when Rita's lounge started sponsoring us several years back. We didn't do to well on the field in those days, but we did begin to gain notoriety for our off the field activities. We began to gain a reputation as the kings of having fun win or lose. Most of us were single, going to college, and living life to the fullest. On the field we weren't a bad softball team we just had trouble getting it together when it counted. A lot of our games ended in losses. There have been some lizzards who don't take losing very well so there were times that words were exchanged with each other, umps, fans, and league directors. I guess a six pack and a competitive spirit are not a good combination. For the most part we handled losing admirably and even the guys who didn't just needed 10 minutes and a cold beer to get over it. Even though we weren't winning too many games we drank more beer than any other team and had way more fun.
Present day Lizzards
What has changed from then to now you ask, well the truth is not much. We still enjoy softball, beer, and life in general. The difference now is that we all finally have jobs and most of us have found girlfriends or wives that can put up with us. We still have more fun than anyone, but most of us are a little bit more responsible about it. On the field we've progressed into a pretty good ball team, we're winning a lot more games now than in the past. Some of us still have trouble handling losses but it isn't so bad because we're winning more. We play hard and we play to win, but we also play to have fun!!!!
Over the last few years we've done well. We've placed in several tournaments and even won one in 1997. The tournament we won in 1997 may have been our best showing ever on and off the field. It was the second annual Dan Herrera Memorial Tournament. A tournament held in Springer to raise money for a scholarship in honor of Dan who passed away in 1995. It was memorable because Dan was a very close friend of all the lizzards and it meant a lot to all of us to win his tournament. It was also memorable because we beat Budweiser of Las Vegas to win the tournament after drinking a whole keg of beer between about 15 guys. It was a performance on and off the field to be admired.
1999 Season
While we all wish we could have had a better showing on the field we had a lot of fun, and it was a very memorable summer. We placed third in the Class E division of the Custom Classic in Clovis NM, we had a real shot at making it to the title game but coming back up through the losers bracket took it's toll on us . We lost our first game, won five in a row and ended up giving up a big lead and losing the game to get into the championship. We finished our league in 2nd place and ended up getting third in the postseason tournament, we were a run away from making it to the championship. It was kind of a dissapointment because we really felt that we should have been in the title game. We also played in the Memorial Day Tournament, 4th of July tournament, and Labor Day Tournament, all held in Santa Rosa. We also played in and hosted the Dan Herrera Memorial Tournament. Although we didn't fare well in the tournament we did a good job running the tournament, giving the Herrera family a chance to just enjoy the tournament rather than do all the work.
2000 season
The Lizzards had another good season as we drank a lot of beer, and played some good softball at times. We placed 4th at the Custom Classic in Clovis. For the second year in a row we lost our first game and played our way back through the losers bracket. We placed third in the Dan Herrera Memorial Tournament, a tourney in which we were a couple of runs away from the title game. We finished second in our league but choked in the tourney. We played in 4 other tourneys with our best finish being a 6th place finish in the Labor Day Tourney in Santa Rosa. Apart from the softball field 2000 will serve as a transition period for the Lizzards as our sponsor and favorite watering hole, Ritas Lounge, shut its doors.
TEAM MANAGER: Dave Chavez
Email:
david_chavez45@hotmail.com
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