Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 7, 2020 7:31:56 GMT -8
A chat on the old sports thread got me reminiscing about the pick up games we used to have growing up.
You could literally just show up at the park, and choose from a number of games going on during that particular season. Football was the easiest as boundaries could be made pretty much anywhere, and didn't really need to be straight. Hell, we didn't necessarily even need grass, and played on the street when we didn't want to walk over to the park. No pads, no helmets. Lots of bumps and bruises.
Baseball in the back yard was fun while we were really small. You really had to muscle up to hit it over the fence. What we finally figured out though, was climbing the fence to get the tennis ball we just crushed, kinda slowed the game down.
It's a bummer driving by empty parks and school yards in the afternoon. I'm thankful I got to experience all of that. Just wish my grandkids could.
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RSM789
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Post by RSM789 on Feb 7, 2020 10:09:23 GMT -8
When we didn't have enough for football, we would play "kill the man with the ball" (AKA, "smear the queer"). Basically, whoever has the ball, everyone else tries to tackle. Once down, that person throws the ball up in the air and everyone takes off after whoever catches it. Looking back, I don't know what the incentive was to ever pick up the ball.
As a 10 year old, I was playing and bent over to pick up the ball. Another kid jumped on my back, with his knee near my clavicle. As I hit the ground, my clavicle snapped (you can hear it when it happens). It is one of those bone breaks that can't have a cast on it, they just put on this harness that kept the bone pulled back into place.
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Feb 7, 2020 10:35:02 GMT -8
On occasional I drive back to my old neighborhood in Los Angeles to see the old house. I look at how small that front yard was and cannot believe that my brothers and I would play touch football on it. Neighborhood baseball was played in the street and if you really nailed a pitch and hit it into the ivy slope in right field everyone was pissed at you because you’d never find the ball again.
In the 1980s I was impressed that so many kids in our neighborhood would gather in the cul-de-sac with their rollerblades, sticks and tennis balls to play an incredibly aggressive, physical game of hockey. I saw boys become men in that cul-de-sac. It was fascinating to watch. Two years later there were formal leagues and dedicated courts with adult coaches and rigid practice schedules with loud, angry parents and burned-out kids. I remember thinking that there’s no sport so fun that adults can’t screw it up. Reminds me of HSFB, now that I think about it..............................Luca
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Feb 7, 2020 17:51:20 GMT -8
When we didn't have enough for football, we would play "kill the man with the ball" (AKA, "smear the queer"). Basically, whoever has the ball, everyone else tries to tackle. Once down, that person throws the ball up in the air and everyone takes off after whoever catches it. Looking back, I don't know what the incentive was to ever pick up the ball. Ah, I can clearly remember this game as a kid--which could be played on any grass surface with nothing more than a football. Good times. A schoolyard favorite in Junior High was Wall Ball, where one threw a tennis ball against a wall among a large group of boys. If you dropped the ball that was thrown off the wall you had to run and touch the wall before someone else picked it up and threw it themselves against the same wall. If you lost that race you were eliminated from the game. Another variation allowed anyone along your path as you raced to the wall to punch you in the shoulder as you ran the gauntlet. Less violent were baseball games Iike "three flies up" and "pickle." |
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SK80
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Post by SK80 on Feb 7, 2020 18:17:16 GMT -8
"Pick-Up" games growing up...? "Pick Up" my skateboard yep!
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 7, 2020 18:58:53 GMT -8
When we didn't have enough for football, we would play "kill the man with the ball" (AKA, "smear the queer"). Basically, whoever has the ball, everyone else tries to tackle. Once down, that person throws the ball up in the air and everyone takes off after whoever catches it. Looking back, I don't know what the incentive was to ever pick up the ball. I busted a gut on this one. No kidding... what the hell possessed us to ever WANT to pick up the ball. What's even more funny is no one ever won. I still can't figure out how the damn game ended. |
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 7, 2020 19:18:24 GMT -8
On occasional I drive back to my old neighborhood in Los Angeles to see the old house. I look at how small that front yard was and cannot believe that my brothers and I would play touch football on it. Neighborhood baseball was played in the street and if you really nailed a pitch and hit it into the ivy slope in right field everyone was pissed at you because you’d never find the ball again. Geez...more back yard stadium memories. Hose bib was first, short tree 2nd, lemon tree (damn thorns and all) was 3rd. Dead pull over the fence was a HR (cute girl lived there). Straight ahead shot was a grand slam regardless of runners(neighbors cool with climbing the fence), and left center was an OUT - big dog at that house, and had to go all the way around the block and knock on neighbor's door. Here's the cool thing, the neighbor behind home plate put a gate on our fence so we didn't have to climb over. Damn... Those were the days. |
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Post by ProfessorFate on Feb 7, 2020 19:44:18 GMT -8
When we didn't have enough for football, we would play "kill the man with the ball" (AKA, "smear the queer"). Basically, whoever has the ball, everyone else tries to tackle. Once down, that person throws the ball up in the air and everyone takes off after whoever catches it. Looking back, I don't know what the incentive was to ever pick up the ball. I busted a gut on this one. No kidding... what the hell possessed us to ever WANT to pick up the ball. What's even more funny is no one ever won. I still can't figure out how the damn game ended. The only place I ever played that was at Servite. But we had teams. The sophomores against the seniors for example. There were no goal lines to defend, or strive for, so you killed the ball carrier, and after we unpiled, the ball carrier would throw it up in the air to one of his teammates. Why? I don't know. You'd think you'd want to throw it to the other team. How did it end? The bell ending the lunch hour, of course. Never played baseball in my back yard, but did manage to hit a home run when I was alone...right through the neighbor's bedroom window. My dad put in a new window, and I was banned from hitting a ball in the backyard ever again. |
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 7, 2020 20:08:05 GMT -8
So what did the teammates do when the ball carrier was getting crushed? Cheer?
Here's a back yard baseball tip... Small souvenir bat from "Bat Night" and a tennis ball.
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Post by ProfessorFate on Feb 7, 2020 20:32:26 GMT -8
So what did the teammates do when the ball carrier was getting crushed? Cheer? No. As I recall we laughed our asses off.Here's a back yard baseball tip... Small souvenir bat from "Bat Night" and a tennis ball. Thanks, but my baseball days are over.The only things I'm willing to play in the yard now, are football, volleyball, badminton, or croquet. |
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 7, 2020 20:48:12 GMT -8
Oh there's more. We had a pool growing up, so we'd play "torpedo". Fill a yellow wiffle ball bat with water, then shoot it underwater at each other. You couldn't move or you'd lose. If you didn't have one of your hands under water protecting your nuts, you could really lose. Most of us figured that out after the first loss.
The good news is we've advanced a bunch from our childhood. Now we play Braveheart with our kids. Soak some bean bag full of water and throw it high in the air so it lands on the other person's head. If you move...you lose. Better than throwing boulders at each other, right?
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Post by ProfessorFate on Feb 7, 2020 21:28:23 GMT -8
Oh there's more. We had a pool growing up, so we'd play "torpedo". Fill a yellow wiffle ball bat with water, then shoot it underwater at each other. You couldn't move or you'd lose. If you didn't have one of your hands under water protecting your nuts, you could really lose. Most of us figured that out after the first loss. The good news is we've advanced a bunch from our childhood. Now we play Braveheart with our kids. Soak some bean bag full of water and throw it high in the air so it lands on the other person's head. If you move...you lose. Better than throwing boulders at each other, right? We used to put model planes and model boats in the pool with cherry bombs or M80s with the fuses that somehow would burn under water. At least that beanbag game is a lot safer than the arrow game in the movie "Grown-ups." And did you ever make one of these stingers out of your sister's bobby pins? Remember what would happen if you loaded it and then dropped it? Amazed we didn't put an eye out.  |
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Feb 8, 2020 13:34:28 GMT -8
It looks like an IUD. What the hell is that?...............Luca
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Feb 8, 2020 13:36:15 GMT -8
It looks like an IUD. What the hell is that?...............Luca I thought it was the ebola virus. |
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Feb 8, 2020 14:00:33 GMT -8
Yeah. Or maybe one of those unnecessarily complicated things you stuck on the back of a corsage for a high school prom.
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