The significance of the day that made it stand out from the other schools and gigs is that this particular school was the location of the very first footbag tournament ever, in 1978. We performed our final show in the gym where Johnny ran the event all those years ago, which was a nice full circle. The kids and crowd were very excited to here that all footbag tournaments derived from the one that was run at this school waaaaaaay back in the day. The dynamic we have with the shows is that Johnny MC's mostly and I freestyle as he breaks it down. This is in reverse the dynamic Nick and I have, with myself MCing and Nick playing. Anyhoo, it was great to stand back and listen to Johnny tell stories to the crowd about the firsts days of footbag, the sport essentially being invented right down the street from the school. Johnny said the gym had not changed much from the days of the first competition, and that the floor was just as slippery now as it was then.
gearing up for the show
Earlier that day Stalberger had hosted a class about the different footbag designs, including the very first footbag model (produced). It was quite different from even the models in the late 70's.
pancake
It basically was a two panel pancake made from pigskin. The footbag above is from the early 70's, and still holds up pretty well (was able to pull a stall with it).
Prior to the mid day demo, the school handed out research sheets for the kids, whoever came back with a 10/10 won a free footbag. I thought that was nice.
After the big show, Johnny told me to check out a location down the street, basically the first place of business for the Hacky Sack company Stalberger started. It was a house that was turned into a business address essentially, and it was where Stalberger first started doing business and promoting footbag. Now days it is a tattoo parlor, while driving by I had to stop and take a picture.
The people inside saw me taking pictures and asked what I was doing. I told them about the history of the location, and they were happily surprised that footbag and Hacky Sack had originated from Oregon City and that location. They showed me around the place, I could see where Johnny probably set up his office. They then demanded a show, and one clerk working there mentioned he had watched Zohan the night before. All in all, they were very nice people.
I had an hour and a half break, then it was off to the Weds. night Reed College Juggling/freestyle session. We had a great shred down with the usual gang. It was a busy day for footbag and an enlightening day for me. It looks like the winter and spring are also going to be very busy as we are expanding our footbag biz in 09. One thing this means is that we will be performing many more shows and touring the schools. It is a nice way spend the day and is very rewarding. I can't ask for more!
R
