Mission Accomplished: SuperPowerBottoms win gold, Rise of the Spartans V-ball Tourney
April 3, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
SuperPowerBottoms at Rise of the Spartans Volleyball Tournament
It’s been a week, and I’m still on a high after the SuperPowerBottoms won gold at TSVL’s Rise of the Spartans volleyball tournament. Winning gold in the lowest pool was definitely one of my big goals for the year after this team was put together last fall, but to actually accomplish the goal feels so much better than I could have imagined. The most amazing part is that no one on our entire team played competitive volleyball last year. We came in as rookie team, and I came on as a rookie captain, and somehow we came together in time to accomplish our goal.
We played the tournament in Mississauga, which was a nice change of pace. The great thing about the facility is that it had enough courts to accommodate the entire tournament, meaning we wouldn’t be spread out across the city of Toronto.
I’m really proud of how the entire team played on the last day. We ironed out a lot of the kinks in our game from the first day. We came into the second day as the top seed in the lowest pool of the tournament. It was a different feeling for us, and I had to make sure the team stopped thinking of ourselves as underdogs and start dealing with the pressure of being the favourite and living up to our seeding. We started out playing the lowest seed, a team that had given us all heaps of trouble the day before. It was great that we kept our intensity up and put the team away quickly and conserving our energy.
Our second match was against I’d Hit That Flamer, which was a combo team made up of members of I’d Hit That and Flamers, two teams that are ranked in higher pools than SuperPowerBottoms during TSVL (Toronto Spartan Volleyball League) weekly league play. The match was ridiculously close, and we were able to squeak out a hard-fought victory.
From the loser’s bracket, Boom (also ranked higher than us in weekly league play) escaped with a narrow victory over Botox, the team we beat at the start of the day. The scare seemed to kick Boom into gear as they also beat I’d Hit That Flamer in three close sets to face us in the finals. Since it was double elimination and we had yet to lose, Boom had to beat us twice to win. Unfortunately for us, they managed to beat us the first two sets, so it all came down to a final winner-take-all set to decide who would be going home with the gold medal.
I will remember this final set for a long time to come. The first major turning point was when our middle blocker, FarmerSutra, went up and won a two-on-one jump ball. That was the first sign to me that we wanted it more, and the play definitely helped to discourage our opponents. The final set ended up being extremely scrappy, as both teams played it safe and there were very few errors. We were having difficulty finishing points as our best hitter, WideReceiver, sat out the final set (due to set rotations), and I don’t think I had a solid hit the entire set, so it all came down to defence.
The moment I will remember forever is the 22-20 point (Boom was ahead and serving). We had taken our final timeout shortly before, and we came out of the timeout doing our pattented SuperPowerBottom circle jump as a final way to show unity and focus us for our final push. The point went back and forth for a while before Boom pushed the ball into the chest of our back middle player, Stretch.
The ball bounced about a foot from where it hit our player’s chest, and I was at least half the court away. Given the score, I just had it in my mind to not let anything drop to the ground. Once I saw the ball bounce on his chest, time almost stood still as I dashed across the court in three galloping strides. I dove and barely got my outstretched knuckle on the tip of the ball. Somehow, some way, the ball shot straight up and we went on to win the point and then the match.
Now, I’m not usually one to brag about my play, but that was the dive of my life. Even the linesman looked in shock at the play given the importance of the point.
I’m amazed at how much SuperPowerBottoms has matured in the last few months. Next week we have a tournament in Montreal, which is more of a fun excursion, and we end the year with a league-wide playoff. We have a lot of work to do, and we’ll have to play even better to have a shot at the playoffs, but I’m confident that SuperPowerBottoms will rise to the occasion.
I’m not sure if this comedy is allowed, but I’m going to try it anyway
March 24, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
One more day before I film my first video production. On the great advice of a great friend, I have decided to film my comedy set about the SuperPowerBottoms, my gay volleyball team and not-so-subtle stab at promoting rights for bottoms everywhere. Haha, talk about the opposite of mainstream. The video will be targeted to a very specific demographic, but I’m hoping that that demographic will really appreciate it.
The big news of the week, though, is that I have found my own comedy muse: hot blonde actress and improv student Holly. While doing improv, I discovered how much I love collaboration which isn’t something I get to do at all in stand-up. While brainstorming with my muse, I’ve decided to try something off-the-wall and maybe even against the rules.
I’m going to write a stand-up for someone else. I will be the Tina Fey to her Amy Poehler (check Saturday Night Live). Writing stand-up for Holly is actually kind of exciting because of her great acting ability. She has a uniqueness to her look and great timing on her delivery, but at this point in time she is more of a performance artist than a writer. Writing for Holly will allow me to really push myself creatively. I’ve written for my own stand-up persona for so long, that I think writing from the perspective of a young, hot blonde will be very interesting.
The end goal for this writing project is to have Holly perform her material as an opening act when my one-man show debuts (now with a bonus woman!) at the end of this year or early next year. The fact that I’ll be writing both acts will lend itself to some great continuity and some comedy tricks that I’ve been meaning to try and which I don’t think have been done before, as a headliner generally doesn’t write material for their opening act.
Anyhow, with my two current projects progressing well, I’m getting excited and more inspired than ever. It feels great to be pushing the boundaries of an art form that I love so dearly.
SuperPowerBottoms up to G Pool in Toronto Spartan Volleyball League (TSVL)
February 10, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
The SuperPowerBottoms volleyball team, which I happen to captain, has made its way out of the H Pool in our weekly league play. I’m super excited, as it’s the absolute best we’ve played as a team. Everyone on the team truly deserves the victory. Hopefully we can maintain the stellar quality of play next week when we face the tougher competition of the G Pool.
This week’s move came on the heels of last week’s amazing play. We actually scored enough points to move up to G Pool last week, but we were deducted six points for various infractions. We weren’t too happy about it last week, but it kind of makes this week’s victory all the more sweeter.
I think the one missing ingredient from our great early success in the Montreal Big Jump tournament last autumn was our athleticism. We’re all fairly new players to volleyball, the majority of the team having never played competitive volleyball before, so we can’t match other teams on mechanics and experience. The one bonus we have over all other teams in our league is pure youth and athleticism. We’re the youngest team in the league by quite a bit. We’re also all good athletes, especially considering the height of half of our team.
Last week, one of the other teams’ captains mentioned that we made them feel old because of our hustle and effort. It’s something I had forgotten about for sure. This week, I think we did a great job of continuing to hustle to every ball.
I think our biggest hurdle to athleticism was our hesitation in not completely knowing where we should be on the court. You can be the quickest person in history, but if you don’t know where you should be, then it’s all for naught. I’m really excited that everyone has come together so well the past couple of weeks.
Top nine random reflections of 2008, my first year in Toronto
December 11, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
My first year in Toronto has been a wild, wild ride for sure. There are a number of things that stand out, though most of all would be the sporty gay Asians who’ve welcomed me with open arms. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever found a city so initially welcoming in my entire life. Within my first two months of living in Toronto, I was off to Montreal to play volleyball with a great group of guys.
My dayjob has gone extremely well, having been promoted twice since working here. The only part of my life that hasn’t gone according to plan would be my comedy career, though most of that is my own doing by not focusing enough on it.
1. Toronto is the most welcoming city I’ve ever lived in
2. Changing cities means basically starting over in the comedy business
3. Montreal is a great city, but how long will I love it if I go there five times a year
4. Business people are much more in shape than in Calgary
5. Nintendo’s Wii Fit is the best game ever
6. Politicians are kind of hot lately
7. Toronto’s gay community is a lot like the cast of Gossip Girl (in a good way)
8. The more expensive the haircut, the less chance that they’ll shampoo your hair afterward
9. Baskin Robbins is dangerously close to my new house
Big Jump . . . tall, dark and bottom, hot players approached
October 12, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
What a wild and crazy volleyball tournament. My team improved so much, it was crazy. I’m super lucky to have a team that stuck with me through some crazy decisions. There is no way a novice team should be playing this good.
The most drastic decision I made was to try out a new formation mid-tournament. Not only is it crazy that we’re already playing a 6-2 formation, but I went and decided to enforce a new, modified version built specifically for this team’s strengths. The fact that they adjusted is astounding.
In fact, they not only adjusted but fluorished in the new system. We had three separate matches where we thought we played the matches of our lives, each topping the one before dramatically. Strangely, this wasn’t even the best part of the tournament.
My team, SuperPowerBottoms, became notorious across the entire tournament in all the right ways. We were known as the most spirited, fun-loving team. In fact, we received a standing ovation after we lost our last match, narrowly missing out on a medal.
It was crazy that we even had a chance to medal. In our weekly league, TSVL, we were ranked 31 out of 32 teams only just recently. This weekend, we played teams ranked in the top 20 and lost out on a medal by only four points. I can’t believe I am writing this. We are playing top 20 volleyball after only six weeks as a team.
Did I mention that no one on the team has ever played competitive volleyball before? It’s crazy.
I’m going to take a nap. Bye for now.
VS
Big Jump . . . recovery day after a grueling day one
October 12, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
What a day. After breakfast, we went straight to the tournament. We arrived late and missed practice. This was especially troublesome as I wanted to implement minor changes to our formation.
All turned out well as we saved the new formation for our second game. We are ranked fourth out of five teams tomorrow and have a great chance for a medal.
I am astounded with how quickly my team, made up entirely of novices, adjusts to strategy changes. I have thrown very complicated formations at them and they take maybe one game to adjust.
For dinner we went to the tournament banquet. We were so hungry that we danced on stage to move ahead in the lineup for food. It was totally worth it.
VS
Big Jump . . . wandering at night around Montreal is fun
October 11, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Taking a suggestion from a Facebook friend, I decided to end my restlessness by taking a walk in downtown Montreal. This may not have been the best idea as I’ve run into a number of shady characters. I guess I’m not too worried. I did grow up in the ghetto after all.
It’s now 6:00 a.m. I used my new iPhone GPS to map my way to the closest Chez Cora. I LOVE the food here.
My food is coming. Bye for now.
VS
Big Jump . . . awake and alone in my hotel washroom
October 11, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
The drive to Montreal was fabulous and fierce. The conversations ranged from volleyball to sex to cheese.
Team registration was at a strip club that was chock full of hotties for those into the beefy type. As always, my friends are urging me to “seal the deal.” Lately I’ve been known as the Hopeless Ho.
This nickname stems from my unbroken streak of celibacy since moving to Toronto. I go as far as bringing people home, but then it usually ends in cuddling. I don’t know what it is, but there is a mental hump I can’t seem to get over.
I always thought I was a relationship guy, but right now my career takes priority. This wouldn’t be so terrible except that I am hopeless with single sex and am now celibate. If only I could find some middle ground.
I have probably said too much but it is 5:00 a.m. In Montreal and I can’t get to sleep. I am writing this from my hotel washroom so I won’t wake my teammates.
I hope I will be alert for today’s tournament. I’m nervous to be captaining a team at a major tournament for the first time.
I’ll update as the tourney progresses.
VS
Big Jump . . . and we’re off to Montreal with SuperPowerBottoms
October 10, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I am on my way to the Big Jump tournament in Montreal with my gay volleyball team, SuperPowerBottoms.
I’m riding in the car with Luke, nicknamed SizeQueenDiva. My team nickname is HopOnTop. Also in the car is Khamla, BlackHole, and Ryan, “Versatile.” We’re meeting the rest of the team at the hotel tonight.
Super Power Tuesday, the new TSVL season begins
October 7, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Tonight I’m playing volleyball with my team, SuperPowerBottoms. We are a part of TSVL (Toronto Spartan Volleyball League), and tonight is our forth week of league play. We started out ranked 32 out of 32 teams. We’re currently ranked 31!
We actually have a lot of potential as a team. I genuinely believe that we can be a Top 20 team by year’s end.
We have a big tourney in Montreal this weekend. I’ll blog and send photos while I’m there.
Bye for now.
VS
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