Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
WE ARE THE N.A.D.S. ...
This team first ran in the Hood to Coast Relay in 1989 and has become, at least to us, a vital part of the race. Unfortunately, the lottery system in 2002 marked the first and only year our team was not found on the icy top of Mt. Hood nor the watery coast of Oregon. Instead, we watched baseball. As history has now proven, WE WERE SORELY MISSED!
Our team started out, benignly, as the North American Distance Sprinters (however, we have never excluded South American, European, African, or Asian runners). In 1992, due to the insistence of the crowds and our fellow runners our team, purely out of convenience, shortened it's name to the acronym NADS. (How something like this could happen I'm sure comes as no surprise to those of you on the team who work for AT&T, formerly known as American Telephone and Telegraph.) Although NADS is a simple, thoughtful name, it has endured the ignominy of puns, jokes, and outright references to certain anatomical parts as spectators, our fellow racers, and even the event announcers love to cheer - "GO - NADS".
While historically we have finished the race in the "middle of the pack", we are one of, if not the most, well known and beloved teams in a race of 1,400 teams. In fact, in 2001, an overwhelming majority of our fellow racers saw fit to vote for the NADS as the team having the Best Team Name, or some such. To be the only team recognized out of 1,400 was obviously quite an honor. We were gracious in our acceptance (although we had left prior to the awards ceremony) and proudly carried our award with us back to the 2003 Hood to Coast in the form of $180 of gas cards from ARCO (real "tight wads" when compared to AT&T sponsored events). As team captain, I must say that honor marked one of the high points in the history of our team.
To be a NAD is not just about the cheering crowds at every checkpoint, or being the only runners on the road cheered by every van that goes by, or being petitioned by an endless stream of runner's wanting to know when and where we hold our try out's, or people wanting to buy your uniform from you, or needing to clear away spectators posing for pictures in front of and on top of our vans so we can drive. What is the essence of being a NAD? FUN, FUN, and more FUN!
- Brett Davis, Captain of the N.A.D.S.
Our team started out, benignly, as the North American Distance Sprinters (however, we have never excluded South American, European, African, or Asian runners). In 1992, due to the insistence of the crowds and our fellow runners our team, purely out of convenience, shortened it's name to the acronym NADS. (How something like this could happen I'm sure comes as no surprise to those of you on the team who work for AT&T, formerly known as American Telephone and Telegraph.) Although NADS is a simple, thoughtful name, it has endured the ignominy of puns, jokes, and outright references to certain anatomical parts as spectators, our fellow racers, and even the event announcers love to cheer - "GO - NADS".
While historically we have finished the race in the "middle of the pack", we are one of, if not the most, well known and beloved teams in a race of 1,400 teams. In fact, in 2001, an overwhelming majority of our fellow racers saw fit to vote for the NADS as the team having the Best Team Name, or some such. To be the only team recognized out of 1,400 was obviously quite an honor. We were gracious in our acceptance (although we had left prior to the awards ceremony) and proudly carried our award with us back to the 2003 Hood to Coast in the form of $180 of gas cards from ARCO (real "tight wads" when compared to AT&T sponsored events). As team captain, I must say that honor marked one of the high points in the history of our team.
To be a NAD is not just about the cheering crowds at every checkpoint, or being the only runners on the road cheered by every van that goes by, or being petitioned by an endless stream of runner's wanting to know when and where we hold our try out's, or people wanting to buy your uniform from you, or needing to clear away spectators posing for pictures in front of and on top of our vans so we can drive. What is the essence of being a NAD? FUN, FUN, and more FUN!
- Brett Davis, Captain of the N.A.D.S.
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