03/25/2026
Last night the MLT Aikins Outlaws won the Winnipeg Law League championship. 3-2 in overtime.
(A huge update that I’m sure everyone was waiting for - I know)
I’ve been playing with this group for over twenty years, since I was articling.
I eventually left the practice of law but I never left the team.
Over the years the faces have changed. People get busy, life takes over, they move on.
New younger players come in and fill the spots. At some point I stopped being the young guy and became the veteran.
I’m pretty sure I’m now among the oldest players on the team and definitely not among the best.
I’m in my mid-40s. Four kids, a business to run, a calendar that leaves very little room for anything.
But I still show up every week to play rec hockey with a group of guys who are absolutely not good enough to take this as seriously as we do.
And yet here we are, celebrating a law league championship like we just won the Stanley Cup (& I don’t apologize for it!)
Here’s what I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older.
The solo stuff is great. I chase marathons. I train alone in the dark at 5am. I know what that feels like and I love it.
But it’s not the same as this.
Overtime, the finals, a group of guys who want it together.
The nerves are different.
The celebration is different.
The feeling in the room after is different.
Those moments get rarer as you get older.
The schedules get busier, the priorities multiply, and somewhere along the way a lot of people quietly stop making room for them.
I’m really glad I still do!