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[Image] LTJG Erik "Big E" Olson sizes up his next shot Thanks to heavy lobbying from one of our number, the 0402 officers spent some time playing croquet. Yes, croquet. You wouldn't think that a bunch of manly military folks would play such a "sissy" game, but it's actually a lot of fun. And it remains one of the few sports which one can play with beer in one's hand.

Why croquet? Well, it turns out that in 1982, some Naval Academy midshipmen boasted to men from nearby St. John's College that they could best the liberal, Socratically trained "Johnnies" at any sport. St. John's chose the sport: croquet. From that time on, the two Annapolis institutions have met on the croquet pitch to vie for the "Annapolis cup." It's now apparently a big to-do in Annapolis...it was even featured on NPR a few years ago. So far, the Johnnies have had more success, winning the cup all but a handful of times. While Aaron Kakiel, the aforementioned lobbyist, was not a member of the USNA croquet team, he did get sucked into the sport, and thus taught us all how to maneuver through the wickets. A little surreal, but a fun time indeed.