Late Night Chat

I promise this is the last poem about dogsled racing (for the year, anyway). It's not really about dogsled racing, but about the obsessiveness and borderline insanity of the fans -- myself included. It's not a literary gem, but it tells a fun story. This time we were following the All Alaska Sweepstakes, a historic race that's run only once every 25 years. This year the purse was the largest ever: $100,000 winner-take all, and some big names were running. But the trail was isolated and reports were sketchy. A group of Iditabuddies decided to meet in the chat room to wait for the results. This poem tells the tale. (Don't worry. I'm not in the habit of chatting on the computer until the wee hours of the morning, but it's definitely something to experience once in your life):

Late Night with the Sweepstakes
(from the Central Time Zone point of view)

It’s 11 pm and we’re in chat
Wondering where the teams are at
There’s Heidi, Di and Fladog Fan
Who’s Scott Davis, do you know the man?
An unsigned out teacher, that’s my guess.
Just like Joe Runyan’s GPS.

It’s 12 a.m. and we’re in chat
Wondering where Jeff and Mitch are at
Tangles just went back to bed
Flowerpower and Libby are here instead.
What’s the latest from Josh’s blog?
How’s Lance doing without his lead dog?

It’s 1 a.m. and we’re in chat
Wondering where the leader's at
Sugar river and SC Race fan
Are sharing tales of the Breaker clan
Meeting a musher would be a treat
Meeting an idita-buddy would be sweet

It’s 2 a.m. and we’re in chat
Wondering where the winner’s at
Lower 48's here and Tangles is back
John even came to join the pack.
We’re sleep deprived and playing pranks
A report that Lance has joined the ranks.

It’s 2:30 a.m. and we’re still in chat
Wondering where the info’s at
There must be problems with the ham
Then we see two dog teams on the cam
Heidi says, “I’m calling Nome.”
We anxiously wait for her to phone.

It’s 3:00 a.m. and we’ve leaving chat
Now we know where the winner’s at.
Mitch Seavey has won the race
A worthy musher gets first place
The idita-buddies can go to bed
While visions of sled dogs dance in their heads.