A conversation with Marg Geddes captain of the Sharks

"Thank you for recognizing and honouring our team’s master plan of ultimately being the top team by simply outlasting everyone. The team has been together for twenty years – my longest relationship so far…

It was 1990 – the Soviet Union was beginning to disband and the Cold War was coming to an end, the wall had fallen and Germany was being reunified, Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar for best picture, Wind Beneath My Wings won best song and the Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup. At an international conference, a computer scientist, presented his idea for linking computers; the World Wide Web. And in B.C, our football team was formed… composed of women who had attended a two-day player clinic. Clinic coordinator and league executive Rory Kine became our first coach. The team was named after the ¾ cut, white and black, Nike football cleats called, “Sharks," that most of us wore.

We wore blue jerseys and were sponsored by an insurance company called Nexia. Janice Miller was a first QB, followed by Penny Treen. We celebrated anytime we actually got a first down and then gradually started making our way into the end zone. When Penny did not return for an upcoming season, Rory told me I was now QB. I remember Rory and then later, our second coach, Ian, shouting from the sidelines, “Marg what defence are they in, read the defence!” – well, I had no idea and I ran a lot. 

My receivers stayed with me during those years of learning: my first center, Jill who tore both her ACLs at the football field, Leah, Buck, Sam, my other center Anne, Darlene, and Karen. My quarterbacking lasted about ten years, ending when my doctor referred me to a specialist for shoulder and elbow repair. 

The specialist said "We will scrap this and cut this and re-attach that…" 

I said, 'How about I just stop throwing?' 

That is when Sonya and Allison took over at the helm. And now, I am the one shouting, “What defence are they in?”

Robyn Sussel, a childhood friend from Chilliwack, not only played football but is largely responsible for keeping us fashionably dressed. She joined the Sharks in 1992 and brought us a sponsor – Metropolitan Press who bought us new jerseys. There were only about eight teams in the league at the time and three wore blue. We decided to switch to the very trendy – 90s burgundy and grey. At the time, Robyn was dating a graphic artist, Gus who designed our first shark. Robyn later married Gus and left the team for a few years while raising young children. We grew tired of the long sleeves catching on our elbows and we changed jerseys to a cropped sleeve – paid for through chocolate bar and cooler sales. In 2008, Robyn returned to the Sharks. She and Gus now had a very successful graphic company called, Signals Design. One of their artists has designed t-shirts for the very hip t-shirt shop, Ironhead, and Robyn asked him to update our logo. Robyn, thank you for your contributions on and off the field and sponsorship of the Sharks for the last twenty years.

If you track down the league trophies you will find the Sharks engraved on the B Division Trophy, the Consolation. We even won the A Division in 2004; the Swallows had folded and the Reign did not play that season, but who cares? We won! 

We  were never voted the Most Sportsmanlike Team because we or maybe me, argued with the refs too often. 

In 1996, we were one of the first teams from Vancouver to go to the Duncan tournament. We eventually won the Grounded, Mid-Flight and the Top Flight Divisions. The truth is that as the years go by, I don’t really remember games that were won or lost; I remember the people and the way I was treated. An encouraging word from a ref, or someone from the opposing team, meant a lot in those early years. And of course, I remember all the ways in which the Sharks supported each other.

There were new relationships and there were break ups, people got sick and injured and recovered. Marriages and divorces occurred, family members passed away and children were born. Cards were signed, gift baskets delivered, cakes were consumed, there were parties and showers and weddings and funerals. Hugs and so much support could always be found at the football field. And not just within our team. What I will always remember is the strong sense of community that exists in the league.

Early in the Shark history, our best player at the time Leslie was overjoyed at the news of her first pregnancy. The team missed her contribution on the field but rejoiced in her growing belly as she cheered week after week from the sidelines. The joy of her son’s birth was quickly followed by tragedy, as he died three days later from a heart condition that had gone undetected. Some team members attended the funeral and I remember all the hugs and support given to Leslie when she returned to the team. She had a silver locket that contained her son’s photo and a lock of his hair that she would gently remove and carefully place in her gym bag before playing. Leslie and her husband went on to have two healthy children. She later left the team due to the demands of motherhood. But I think that football provided a welcome distraction and she found solace in her teammates during that difficult time. 

Another teammate, Karen Simpson, came to practice one afternoon and announced that she could only play the beginning of the season because she was pregnant. She told the team before she told her husband. Later that season, during play-offs we misread the schedule and left the field to change wet clothes and have some lunch. We received a call from a player who had remained at the field, saying we were playing right away. We scurried back to the field but were only six and at that time you had to start with seven or default. Karen was on the sidelines eight months pregnant and bundled up in a long winter coat and hat. We looked over at her – she began to take off the coat and managed to squeeze into a jersey for kick-off. We like to tell Alec that he is the only boy ever to play in the Women’s League. Alec is now twelve.

 The jokes, the long talks and gentle teasing – teammates keep you humble. Last Spring, I arrived at the field with some big news – I had just bought a ski boat. and it needed a name – my teammates suggested, “Mid-Life Crisis."