We are all blessed to continue to relish the “F” in FGC for this annual tradition that sparks so many emotions, competition and debate. As the countdown to our next showdown on the course reaches closer to go time, anticipation and excitement continue to mount.
Team Red pulled the upset last year in commanding fashion to snap a three year winning streak by Team Blue. Is Team Red able to ride this momentum to even the series at four a piece? Or instead will Team Blue tighten things up both on and off the course to get back on track.
Captain’s Predictions
“Red by a billion. Team Blue thinks they’re going to come into FGC8 and hold it together, but once the hype train starts rolling, the beers start flowing, the excitement takes over, and everyone cannot control their thirst for friendship…. Team Red will be in the drivers seat. The reigning MVP will prove it’s not a fluke. Our quarterback Bo will channel his inner Scottie Scheffler by putting on a chipping and putting clinic. CZ will break out his irons when needed. Chuck will listen to Stroke City a thousand times. Romes will putt right-handed. That’s how Team Red will win back to back for the first time in FGC history.“
Overall MVP: Adam Strittmatter. “There is nobody on this planet that can hold onto enthusiasm longer than Adam. From the moment he hung up his turncoat and returned from being Benedict, he has done one thing… dominate the FGC as shown by his MVP trophy (note there is no actual MVP trophy, Stritts just bought one for above the mantle to impress LK). So what would prevent him from doing so again? Nothing… absolutely nothing. Why? First and foremost is the enthusiasm and excitement I mentioned before – it never wanes. Second is the investment he has made in his golf game, most notably the custom fit PXG driver he purchased where the shaft costs more than the head. But he’s also got a new PXG putter as witnessed in the FGC8 hype video and he’s been stroking more than just the parts. I predict Stritts will be the first multi-year MVP for Team Red in FGC history.”
“The Spanish philosopher Georgre Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Georgre was a visionary, and someone who I’m confident was specifically referring to Team Blue when quoted in the early 1900’s. FGC7 looked like a repeat of the Debacle in the Desert (FGC3). Some of us still have scars to remember that trip (FGC7), but mental notes of what not to do had long washed away. Maybe it was the Covid brain fog or just sheer excitement for a real FGC trip after the Poconos in 2020, but Team Blue started bad and never recovered, playing like a Satchel de Richards the entire trip. But, if the saying is true ‘that history repeats itself’, then Team Red had better be prepared in 2022 because the two biggest blowouts in FGC history came in back to back years following that desert trip! I have a feeling Team Blue comes prepared for a golfing trip, not a drinking trip, and returns to glory at the Big Cedar Lodge.”
Overall MVP: Bryan Spamer. “There are some who are just lucky, things always seem to go their way. There are others who work hard to get where they are, everything is earned. The latter epitomizes my captains choice for 2022 MVP. Having started his career grinding away on the burnt fairways of Valley Green after working the third shift picking book orders, Mr. Spamer has been given nothing and earned everything… including some important life lessons along the way. Going from MVP in 2020 to LVP in 2021 has humbled Bryan (as much as it can). “I don’t remember a whole bunch of LVP,” Bryan said, “I’m ready to go this year and in a much better mental state.” I predict Bryan will regain the confidence of his teammates and bring the MVP jacket back to New Cumberland to prove to his wife and kids that ‘Daddy’s Back’!