How do you explain your passion/hobby

[Zeke]

I have had some mixed vibes when i tell a girl how i spend my free time.

My last serious relationship didn't start off well as far as getting her to play or even appreciate footbag. The first time she tried it she asked, "Is this fun for you?" Devastating.

I never tried to get her to play again but she did respect the fact that I took it very seriously and it was one of the things, other then her, that made me happy. Sunday was set aside for the both of us to do our own thing and we had the rest of the week to be together. It worked out quite nice.

Maybe they dont have to accept it outright but could learn to later on. If they took a genuine interest in learning or participating in something you really love to do then thats awesome. If they never warm up to it...

Well theres always a one night stand. Wear protection and Godspeed, whatever the fuck that means.

[tuomoruutufan]

Yeah any gf i have is gonna have to understand that alot of my time will be devoted to footbag, I can show pictures of how fat and hidius i was before footbag and that should end the argument.

Footbag keeps me focused on a positive healthy lifestyle without this sport my life would consist of excessive drinking and a poor diet and very little exercise, Im not the same person when im not focused on footbag, This is who iam and this is the way im staying. If its between footbag and the gf, pack your shit woman!

But i will be up front about this as to make sure she knows what she has to share me with ahead of time. I have a super super addictive personality and without this sport things can take a turn for the worse in my life.

[tuomoruutufan]

Well saturday night i was on a date and on the night i met her at the bar my freinds were having a conversation about how much weight i loss. So on the date she asked me how i lost all my weight and i told her about footbag.

I told her to promise me she would watch me play if i told her what my sport was, I made her pinky swear. So now i get to explain to her about my sport and get a gurnatee second date out of the deal (I did this cause we had good repor and kinda knew this is a girl im gonna be seeing more than once)

She seemed pretty cool about it almost interested in what exactly it was, then she saw me posting about the big New years jam event on myspace and inquired about that. She even quickly mentioned that maybe i could teach her a few tricks!!

I doubt it would happen but hypothetically speaking how cool would it be to have a gf who shreds. anybody got good or bad stories relating to sharing your passion for freestyle with a significant other.

[Moxie]

Dating a footbag player could be very disappointing if they weren't as interested in it as you are. It would be a constant state of disappointment because you know that they've seen the light and they're still not totally devoted.

I don't usually bring footbag up right away when getting to know someone that I'm interested in. But if it comes up for some reason, "What are you doing on Sunday afternoon?" I'll definitely tell why I'll be at the park. Footbag is a big part of my life and surfing or bike trials might be a big part of his. If I'm interested in him as a person, I'll be happy to get used to dating a person who's totally into ______. I assume he would do the same for me if he likes me.

Also, I think it would be very easy for some people to be a little intimidated by footbag because most of the time when I hear people on here trying to figure out how to talk about it, it seems all engulfing. A person wants to know that there will be enough time for them in other person's life.

[tuomoruutufan]

Yeah moxie you nailed that right on the head, its safe to say 99 out 100 times what you said will hold true.

I would be by no means dissapointed or expecting a girl to get into footbag the way iam but i will offer ample oportunity, But if it happens than that would be awesome, i mean think of the traveling you can do to all the big footbag events around the world together. I know alot of guys dream of it and ALOT of them will never acomplish that dream cause face it we chose a growing underground sport with very few players and 0 national attention. But it doesnt hurt to dream.

I would love to see a pole taken by all female footbag players on wether or not they enjoy/prefer dating players cause you girls have tons of options and oportunities to meet a guy who you immediately share a common interest/bond with.

This has light bulbed an idea for another topic, so check that out. i just dont want to get off topic

[Faco]

I never, mention footbag to women, talking about your hackysack obsession is not hot.

Sad but true.

[Uranos]

not true

many people walk past and say "hacky sack muscles!"

[acxel22]

I don't explain it, I show it.
on winter when I can't demonstrate it, I got my video Ipod and show a video of Jim Penske ripping it up.
When people barely pay attention to it when I show them (live or video), I'm happy about it because I know that person is not interested in what I like, therefor, in who I am.
I'm really fast on my decision, and I always loved it so, I'm cruel

[mc]

when I'm playing, I try to explain it by busting a huge long string. When someone says I have too much time on my hands, I say, "nah, too much time on my *feet*!", and when I'm not playing, and it comes up casually, I tell people I like to play hacky sack.

[Tsiangkun]

not true

many people walk past and say "hacky sack muscles!"

Go back and reread my post. I think you parsed the meaning of the word 'talking' incorrectly.

[Uranos]

lol ok

[sniikeri]

I always try to show footbag in real life at the same time I tell about it. Especially if I can sense that the person who I'm telling about it seems to think that footbag is a game for kids.

[kyle]

Ok i have recently become single and have recently made it a point to talk to and meet new girls.

I have had some mixed vibes when i tell a girl how i spend my free time.

Yes i do alot of things besides footbag like party with freinds, ski, camp, backpack, scuba dive, hockey. But the main thing i focus on daily is footbag.

Some people have shown genuine curiosity to how hackey sack can be turned into a sport.

Unfortunately i have noticed most people have shown skepticism towards the idea that i play hackey sack everyday.

We have all realized that nobody has seen this sport and nobody can truly appreciate the skill and athletisism thats involved unless its viewed in person.

Whenever i introduce my footbag hobby to someone, i explain that footbag is a lot like soccer juggling. To the vast majority of the US population, this sounds a lot more interesting that Extreme Hacky Sack! And footbag is probaby closer to soccer juggling anyways. Soccer jugglers usually practice alone, and play in circles - plus they do a bunch of tricks. On the other hand, hacky sackers usually don't practice alone and tricks aren't very common as hacky sack is much more of a fun social game than anything else. I usually leave footbag to that simple description until i can show said person, in person. Of course if they have no idea what the hell soccer juggling is then you'll probably have to ellaborate and say, 'its similar to juggling, but w/ your feet, and way cooler '.

[beenjammin]

When ppl tell me I have too much time on my hands I say
"when I stop dropping the bag i hvae too much time on my hands"

[professor]

I usually explain that it's a sport and I go to competitions for it. Which they reply, "Competitions?". I then say, "Yep, I've been to 2 already in Oregon and Washington and I'll be going to the World Championships in Florida this year."

That usually impresses girls/guys/old people/squirrels. Americans appreciate competition above almost everything else so this works very well.

[footymatt]

ok I can't help on the girl thing, that's something you have to test for yourself. One pointer though....don't be affraid to say anything. If it's all you it's all good. If the girl don't like you because you play footbag, then ask her for a one nighter or somthing. But move on dude, there's a lot of girls out there. I had a buddy in texas who told me if you ask 10 girls for "a pizza and f**k", one of those girls will say yes, the other nine will slap you. I said no way man that won't work. So he did it at a bar, the 10th non slaping turning away from him girl said yes. They never made it to eating pizza. Point is, just do it man. Say whatever, girls know who they want.

As far as talking about footbag, I just do it, who cares if someone thinks it's dumb. I can do it, they can't, they're jelous.

I grew up in Germany and now live in America, I grew up a german-american, with both cultures. I can say that yes Europeans view new things different than Americans. But I think that regardless of where you come from, if you see footbag, want to play footbag, then you'll play footbag, otherwise they can keep to themselves and I could care less. Besides in my views, most people are interested in watching footbag because it's like juggling, it's all flash to them. They're own little circus show to admir for 5 secs before going back to work and forgetting what they saw. Screw the ant.

I love playing footbag.

[Drew]

What Matt said. 100%.

[slapdash21]

I usually explain that it's a sport and I go to competitions for it. Which they reply, "Competitions?". I then say, "Yep, I've been to 2 already in Oregon and Washington and I'll be going to the World Championships in Florida this year."

That usually impresses girls/guys/old people/squirrels. Americans appreciate competition above almost everything else so this works very well.

i agree with this completely. i always cut right to the tournament/competition term-drop (so to speak), and usually round it out with a "yeah, there's a whole technical scoring system, with each move being worth a specific number of points based on its components. thats the most complex my explanation ever gets, and i have more simplified versions for...stupider looking people.
but yeah, if you just tell someone its a sport, and talk about the shoes and the bags or stuff like that, thats fine for someone who's already interested but the common passeryby (especially in america) is more interested in you quickly proving that its a sport, and a sport that encourages and flourishes with competition. hacky sack, with all its good feelings of community and team work would be a bitch sport.