Some streaks never seem to end. There’s Cal Ripken’s Ironman streak. There’s the Boston Celtics record 7 NBA championships. There’s the UConn Huskies 107 straight wins in women’s basketball. There’s Joey Chestnut’s eight straight years of out-gorging everyone on hot dogs. For Takoma Park, the unbeaten streak of every sports team in the city since 1883 was truly remarkable.
That all ended on Sunday.
In the 7th game of the regular soccer season. The Blue team lost to the Orange team 2-1, to give a Takoma Park team its first loss in its 136 year history.
“I can’t understand how this even happened,” stated John Frye. “When the time ran out and the score was uneven, everyone just sort of looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and looked to the referee to make the call.”
The head referee, looking confused, met with the two assistant referees at midfield in what felt like an eternity waiting for the decision. After deliberating for 18 minutes, an announcement was about to be made.
“We got the kids together and explained the circumstances,” stated Coach Rodgers of the Blue Team. “We needed to make sure the kids understood what could take place and how to handle it emotionally.”
When the referees announced the Orange Team as the winner, a gasp could be heard throughout the city. Team mom, Shirley Miller was stunned. “These kids have never known defeat,” she said. “I feared for their well-being and immediately called our family therapist.”
The game had a major effect through the standings with only one game to go in the regular season. With the only recorded win, the Orange team sits alone atop the standings, with the Blue team at the bottom. All the other teams are shoe-horned in between with no wins or losses, but 7 ties apiece. League officials are frantically calling trophy distributors to figure out what type of medal for the Orange team, as this is new territory.
“It’s all good. To be honest, we’ve all been keeping score for every game and this is probably our 5thloss,” said Billy Donaldson, 8, of the Blue team. “We care more about what kind of snacks the parents are bringing at the end of the game, and we’re praying it’s not Kevin’s mom’s gluten-free granola bars again.”
