Do You Know How Lucky You Are?

I was just surfing about over on modified, posting about how much I love Macs, when I came across a thread talking (yet again) about a footbag magazine. Personally, I believe that any such efforts should be coordinated and informed by IFPA, and that efforts to do otherwise are probably doing the sport in general a disservice. But I digress. One thing that caught my eye was Ken Somolinos offering up an article that he wrote a while back entitled: “Do You Know How Lucky You Are?”. I thought that I would re-publish his words here:

Do you know how luck you are?

by Ken Somolinos

Do you?

Footbag is easily as dumb as any other sport out there. In footbag you catch a small ball on your feet and dance around while trying not to drop it. In Basketball you bounce around a bigger ball for a long time, and try and put it through a hoop 10 feet off the ground. In Baseball you scratch your nuts, try and hit a ball with a wooden bat, and then run around in circles. In short, footbag is no dumber in the abstract than any other major sport out there.

But while some would argue that we are unlucky that society as a whole doesn’t economically reward us for our talents in this sport (the lowest paid player in the NBA, NFL, or MLB probably makes more than the combined earnings of all Open participants at this year’s worlds) , this may also be something of a blessing. In any case, people who love playing footbag are blessed in a way that fans of most other sports just aren’t.

I remember as a kid watching basketball on TV and fantasizing about playing against Jordan and Pippen. But even back then when I was faking out invisible defenders in my driveway, I was aware that this would never be more than just a fantasy. I knew that even if I should become a very skilled basketballer, I would never get to enjoy playing the sport with the best of the best. Not knocking my self-confidence; I`m just aware of reality.

I remember falling in love with footbag, playing during school in the lunch courtyard, playing after school in my neighbor’s big driveway. My love of the game developed much in the same way as my love of basketball did, and if anything, I had even more fun playing footbag. Now the thing that makes footbag special, is that while it’s totally random what sport you will enjoy the most, if you happen to fall in love with footbag, you will have opportunities that fans of other sports can only dream of.

I remember in January of 99 going to San Francisco for the first time, and calling up the first family to play footbag one day. I had met Sunil before, but he wasn’t at the session. I got to play with Carol W., Eric Wulff, and Tu Vu, all whom I barely knew. I was barely guiltless at the time, and my average string was maybe 5 tricks or so, all completely one-sided. And there I was, playing in the same circle with that year’s Men’s and Women’s World Champions, trading high fives and trying to learn as much from everybody as my nervousness-soaked brain could process. These were people I had watched on video over and over, and here I was, playing with the cream of the sport, giving passbacks, asking questions. Playing footbag. And after that, we went out to dinner.

Think about that.

As many, many footbag newbies over the years can attest to, the top echelon of footbag players will not just play footbag with you, but will hang out with you as well. And most of them are pretty cool too! Seriously, try just getting an autograph from the top players of any other sport, much less going to dinner or a club with them. I still like watching NBA games, but I have even less faith that Nick Van Exel will go eat Mexican with me than I do of him getting a game of one-on-one with me.

Now, you can debate why the top footbag players are so much more accessible. Is it because they don’t get paid anything? Is it because the sport is still such a small community? Is it because the sport is so young? Frankly, the answer doesn’t matter that much. The fact is, somebody who can only do toe stalls on one foot, but loves the game and is a fan, can play the sport they love with the best players in the world. They can learn from the top players. And they can often find good friendships with them. That is something beautiful and rather unique in the world of sports.

The other amazing thing about this open, accessible nature peculiar to footbag, is that when combined with the youth of the sport, you have the historic opportunity to meet some of the creators of the sport! Seriously, while there may be a chance you can meet (and even play baseball with) Derek Jeter, you can`t meet the guy who invented bunting, or even legends like Babe Ruth and Joe Dimaggio. Our sport is so young however, that people like Rippin’ Rick Reese and Kenny Shults, architects of modern freestyle, are still shredding at tournaments. Do you realize how lucky you are that the inventor of ripwalk can teach you how to hit it at a tournament? That’s like Babe Ruth giving you batting tips, or George Mikan showing you how to do a jump hook. Our children will be jealous of us. And if that still doesn’t get you excited, there is still the chance to make history yourself in this sport. I remember meeting Yacine Merzouk at 99 Worlds in Chicago. I think he could only hit 2 three add tricks, and this year he took third at worlds. Vasek didn’t know what footbag was, what, 3 years ago?

I have caught myself wondering at times what life would be like if footbaggers were rewarded for their efforts the same way other pro sports players are. But then I realize, that I am just lucky to have found something that I enjoy so much, that still gives me so much enjoyment after 6 years. Massive financial rewards disproportionate to what I do wouldn’t make me enjoy playing any more than I do now. At most it would just give me the freedom to play more. But the way things look now, I’m glad footbag is my hobby. I think about the friends I’ve made, about the places footbag has taken me, and about the fun I’ve had hitting tricks and combos. I think about the combos I want to hit next week, and I get excited knowing I have a good shot at hitting some of them. I’m excited knowing I will probably have fun even if I don’t.

Yeah, sometimes I have a bad session. But even then, I always take a moment to remind myself how lucky I am. Because really, footbaggers are amongst the luckiest fans and athletes in the world of sports.

Signed,

a fan.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Footbag Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.