Team Schweatyballs

This is how Brian and I will be spending the next 5 Thursday nights:

(and yes, I realize that everyone else in the "big city" has been playing kickball for years and this is only the second year its been around in GF...look, we're in the middle of nowhereville...obviously it takes a little while for things to come out to these here parts!)

(in Brian's own words)

If anybody doubted the degree of my sportiness you could either read for post of Sea Kayaking, and how amazing I am at it. Or you could come to Apollo field and watch me and team SchweatyBalls kick some middle-aged ass on the kickball diamond. Prior to last Monday’s rules and introductions meeting I hadn’t played kickball since 1994, but I found out pretty quickly that something had been missing in my life all these years, and it was kickball. Here is a brief rundown of the rules.




No Bounceys on the pitch – our opposing team last week had a lot of trouble with that one. They were quite quick to point out that we “couldn’t bunt” yet all they did was bounce the ball. Things get tense on the diamond.



No bunting. Again, what’s wrong with small ball?



You either catch the ball for an out, throw them out on base, tag them or paste them as hard as you can below the neck with the ball. Obviously hitting somebody in the face was a dream of mine, but I like winning more and since they get to take a base if hit in the face I have shelved that dream for now. We’ll see how it goes if we are ever majorly down, which I doubt will happen since we kick ass.



Other than that its standard softball rules. 7 innings, no extra innings, 15 run rule after 4 innings, 10 run rule from then on out.



THIS GAME IS AWESOME. All contestants on team SchweatyBalls was in the competitive groove, and some turned in definite all-star performances. We had some amazing diving catches in the outfield and our pitcher was throwing darts the whole time. After winning the first game we tied the second game through 7. Even though the official tally is that we tied the game, we decided to play it out and eventually lost in the 8th. Boo on that.



THINGS THAT ARE NOT AWESOME: Being sore as shit for 5 days after you play kickball. Every player on the team was sore the next day, and it wasn’t from pounding Natty light’s in the parking lot after the game. I had to physically lift my shin onto my quad to cross my legs, I guess that makes me awesome?



LONG STORY SHORT: If there is a kickball league in your town you had better get in the game.