http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/n ... 84&k=31005
Note to self: Insult footbag fraternity at your own peril
Avalanche of angry e-mail after column compared activity with making rude hand sounds
Scott McKeen
The Edmonton Journal
Monday, October 23, 2006
A new reader of this column writes:
Mr. McKeen:
Please die.
Thank you,
Andrew.
Well, Andrew, thanks for taking the time to write. It's always nice to hear from readers. And thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind. Some of you know that I enjoy reader response columns. They're fun, intellectually invigorating and a great way to clean the clutter from the e-mail inbox. Here's one, from Austin: "Why don't you just shove that (censored) article up your (censored), you (censored)."
Wow, it really was a great week for reader input. My column of last Wednesday inspired people from all over the planet to write in. The column was about my experiences as a judge in the Edmonton's Got Talent Contest at the Comic Strip comedy club. I mentioned that one of the competitors, Rory Dawson, made quite an impression with the audience and other judges. Dawson is a footbag competitor, who expertly juggles a hacky sack with his feet.
I also mentioned how Comic Strip owner Rick Bronson compares my judging style to the blunt and caustic Simon Cowell, of American Idol fame. Maybe I got a little caught up in the comparison. I suggested Dawson's footbag talent was little better than making potty sounds with your hands (hand fluffing) or making the Vulcan peace sign.
And ping, ping, ping went my e-mail. I received notes from as far away as Texas, Germany, France and Australia. Turns out footbag is a well-organized, popular sport around the world.
One player posted my column to an international footbag website. Thus, John dispatched to me a brief, to-the-point note. "I only e-mailed you to say one thing," wrote John. "(Blank) off!"
To the uninitiated -- that would be me, last week -- footbag is the competitive sport that evolved from hacky sack. Footbag now branches into two main disciplines. One is freestyle, where players are judged on the calibre and difficulty of their juggling tricks. The second is footbag net, where players kick and spike a ball over a net. It's like foot volleyball.
These tricks and kicks take years to master and involve high levels of skill. If you don't believe it, check out some of the video footage on the Internet.
But is it a talent? Well, my new e-mail friends in the footbag nation argue quite convincingly that it is a talent. And they found a flaw in my logic. I'd argued that the word "talent" is more suited to people in the arts - musicians, singers, visual artists, actors and comics. Yet I also mentioned Wayne Gretzky's talent. But if I believe an athlete like Gretzky has talent, why not a footbag star? Point made. Point taken.
I regret naming Rory Dawson. While public figures are fair game in this column, I've made it unofficial policy to keep the gloves off citizens. Oops. Sorry Rory. Turns out that Rory is a gracious guy. Not only is he a skilled footbag player, but he's in his third year of mechanical engineering at the U of A. He achieved honours marks last year. Rory also volunteers at the YMCA. You guessed it. He teaches footbag to children.
What did I learn from all this? First, footbag players are not just committed, but they're enthusiastic e-mail writers. Second, talent isn't an easy thing to define. Third, if you dish it out, prepare to take your lumps.
One footbag correspondent said my judging style isn't up to that of Simon Cowell. He said I'm more like one of the judges on America's Got Talent.
The judge?
David Hasselhoff.
OK, ouch.
