Kickball, the thrill of the feet

The Football Capital of the South has taken up a different kind of foot-ball.

Birmingham Kickball has assembled dozens of players for monthly matches in the sport of (schoolyard) kings. The group’s most recent match pitted two semi-randomly selected teams in an 18-17 extra-inning blowout at Crestwood Park.

And while the trash talk ran high — including a mooning — it was all for fun, if not charity.

The good-natured rivalry always leads to the same results: a post-game celebration at Rojo on Southside.

We interviewed Sam Frazier Jr., indie filmmaker and self-described kickball lackey, about this retro-hip game.

• Who started kickball in Birmingham?

As far as I’m concerned, kickball for adults started with Arik Sokol when he organized a charity game day three years ago. With the exception of a very painful and unpleasant personal incident I experienced at the hands of one of the “charities,” it was considered a smashing success and the most fun any of the participants had had with his or her clothes on.

At any rate, I bothered Arik enough over the next couple years to hold the event again. I think there was some sarcastic comments on my part that all the charities were doing fine and didn’t need his help, so it was a good thing there was no kickball event that year, and so on.

Eventually Arik relented, somewhat.

So now I, along with David (Phipps) and several other people, help Arik with Birmingham Kickball. We have games at 3 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month, and we are starting to organize challenge matches on other dates as well.

Sam Frazier Jr., a kickball organizer, goes to bat
in style during the April 1 game at Crestwood Park.

• What is your role?

I suppose I’m an organizer and a bit of a promoter. Does this make Arik the founder? Lord help us.

I made the very bad promotional video on MySpace. Look for an even worse one coming very soon.

Somehow, I also got roped into being responsible for bringing the cooler and water to each game. I guess this makes me part lackey as well. Wonderful.

• How long have you been playing?

I believe we played our first practice game before we formally started the league sometime in September. That was when the crew of Jennifer West’s film, “Piece of Cake,” was supposed to take on a group of twentysomething skater dudes. They never showed up, though.

I think this practice was enough to make Arik remember how much he dearly missed the game and finally submit to my kickball nagging. So in October, we played our first league game.

Arik Sokol, second from right, explains the rules before the match.

And here’s the pitch.

• Why kickball, as opposed to softball or flag football?

Have you ever met softball or especially flag football players? You don’t want to, believe me. You’ll never come across any group of people who takes themselves more seriously than either one of those people. Did you know there’s a Sugar Bowl Championship held in New Orleans for flag football? How wack is that?

Anyway, this is not what we’re all about.

Kickball puts you back in middle school, except with only about half the pressure. Also, no one’s a loser in kickball, so long as you go to Rojo afterwards and get tanked.

• Are you going to form a league and teams?

That’s a possibility, but it might be taking it a tad too seriously. We’ll have to see.

The way it works right now is people show up and we try to divide the teams with an eye towards keeping friends together and a keeping the sides equal. So there are team captains picking players, and no one being the last one chosen, etc.

But, in these warmer months we might expand what we do. The challenge matches might be a step in this direction. We have our first such game against the Tragic City Rollers, a women’s roller derby team, under the lights at George Ward Park on May 24 at 6:30 p.m.

I think you have to consider us the underdogs because the only exercise most of us kickballers get is our monthly game. I’ve been to the Tragic City Rollers’ site. Those ladies are fit.

David Phipps, a kickball organizer, waits on deck.

The team huddles, as the game moves into extra innings.

• Favorite moment?

It’s not exactly a moment, but my favorite game was this past month’s game. I think we had three extra innings and the final score was 18-17. Not exactly a defensive standoff, but a hell of lot of fun.

I’ll tell you my least favorite moment though.

In Arik’s original charity game three years ago, my team, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, was tied against an unnamed medical insurance company in extra innings. They shall remain unnamed as if I were to name them they would probably either A. sue me, or B. start denying my coverage in some way.

At any rate, one of their players kicked a ball to shallow center field and I, playing second base, sprinted out to catch it. Unfortunately, just as the ball was in my arms I collide with our center fielder, Hal, whose knee hit me — well, hit me where nothing should ever hit a man.

So I drop the ball, roll around the ground in pain, and everyone on Team Sidewalk rushes over to make sure Hal and I are okay. One of our players, thinking I had injured my knee, asked me, “Did you pop it?” I answered in what could only be described at the time as a falsetto voice, “I hope not!”

Meanwhile the medical insurance company rounds the bases and wins the game. Did I mention they were a medical insurance company? Apparently, the irony of that was lost on them.

In the end, everything turned out as it should. Neither Hal nor I were injured. Also, the insurance company lost badly in the next game. So justice was served.

Good times, good sportsmanship.

• Today’s game is at Crestwood Park?

Yes, this is a temporary location for us. We had been using the fields at Avondale Park, but they are being used for Little League right now. So we checked out a few alternative locations, called the city, and got permission to use the field at Crestwood Park in the interim.

Everyone from the City of Birmingham to Southside Little League has been extremely accommodating to us, and we are very appreciative of that.

Birmingham Kickball takes the field at 3 p.m. today at Crestwood Park. The event is free and open to the public.

Also:

• Back when kickball meant something …

Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2007, 12:07 pm, in B'ham, Culture.
For this entry: E-mail | comments feed | trackback.