Who doesn't love winning a trophy?

I'm not much of a fisherman.

One sister married a lifelong recreational fisherman and hunter from the Midwest. They live there. So when he started coming east on vacation he wanted to hit the previously unavailable salt water. So I'd go with him and he'd teach me what he knew and what he was learning.

My other sister married a guy who fished some as a kid and throughout his life, but has really gone nuts with it in the last few years.

A few years back we started going out on a charter for striped bass with a coworker/friend, who is one of the best striper fisherman in the area. This year we added a trophy. Biggest fish of the day wins the cup. I landed a 38-ish pounder early on and held the lead most of the day. Near the end of the day, brother in law II landed a contender. And he had the heaviest weighed second fish. After a second weighing at the dock, the Captain ruled a draw on the two heaviest fish. So we headed to a marine shop with a scale where my fish weighed 37.3 pounds and brother in law II came in at 37 even.

So now I have a shiny new cup on display at my home. My wife has agreed to let it have a prominent place for showing, at least for a little while. Neither of my sister's cared to have it so displayed in their homes.

It's always fun to win a trophy and a life goes on, the opportunities to win one diminish significantly. So I enjoyed drinking beer from the cup and posing with the cup and the winning fish.

By the way, after my newly won cup, my newest favorite trophy is the one given to the winners of the Arena Bowl winner. It's so obnoxiously big, how can you not love it? It's only the fifth time the Foster Trophy has been awarded, though this was the 22d Arena Bowl. Good for them.