FootNotes

Back With a Vengeance

On September 20th of this year (1995), I gave myself quite a scare. See, I have had spinal surgery twice since my days as a small lad. This particular night I was removing a sweatshirt and heard three loud snaps followed by a ton of pain. I was taken to the hospital where all checks for paralisys were negative.

I still had difficulty moving my neck and turning my torso without pain. I finally saw my surgeon and he said I probably ONLY tore the scar tissue away from my spinal cord.

While an active footbag player, my true love was hockey, and the doctor said I could resume a week later. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same, too much discomfort. Thankfully, I can still kick. I can now dedicate all my free time to improving my skills. It'll be slow getting back into it and there may be days when the 'ol back says no way, but it's too much fun to give up.

I've been a member of the WFA for a long time and have been kicking since I joined. I love the mag (which I'll probably read a billion times during the New England winter ahead) and the staff is great, always very friendly and helpful when I call.

Rob McLaughlin
Warwick, Rhode Island
member # 4969

Teeing Off on Golf

As an individual who feels that the top level of professional footbag net is one of the most exciting games played in today's sports culture, I feel that we do ourselves a disservice when we include lesser games in the World Footbag Championships. Of course I am referring to footbag golf.

I am an avid golfer (ball and disc) and have participated in hundreds of golf tournaments. I understand the excitement of making an awesome drive and sinking a long birdie putt. The camaraderie and bonds developed on the golf course are like no other and make golf, in nay form, a very fun game to play. But, the skill level needed to compete in footbag golf and the skill level needed to compete in footbag net are light years apart. These two sports are not of the same breed.

To the non-player spectator, footbag net and footbag freestyle are two incredibly fun and exhilarating sports. I believe these are the forms of footbag that will take this sport to the masses. If we want footbag to grow so there will be more competitors and more prize money, prospective sponsors have to see that we take these competitions seriously. But when we pay purse money donated by the sponsors to the winners of footbag golf, we appear to be less serious about the desired level of competition.

Footbag golf does not suck. Awarding prize money and overall points to footbag golf does. I do not suggest that we abolish the game, but it should not be a part of the World Championships. Or, possibly, it should be a demonstration sport (no purse or overall points).

I know this letter will not be well received by a lot of WFA members, but I think we have to ask ourselves a few questions:

If you were a prospective sponsor of a footbag tournament, do you think your customers would be more excited about viewing footbag net or footbag golf?
Why would someone want to sponsor footbag golf? What image does this project to their customers?

I know these are not easy questions, but if we are serious about the sport of footbag, we have to face the facts and make some hard decisions.

Greg James
Memphis, Tennessee
member # 3432

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do...

Something has been gnawing at my psyche for a while now, and I have finally been compelled to write it down. To put it succinctly, the west coast has such a better grasp on the sport of footbag (net AND freestyle) that the east should hang their heads in shame. My point is further strengthened by the Worlds this past summer in San Francisco. Okay, so Eric Wulff was the highest finishing American and he's from New Jersey, big whoop. It's probably the radiation. If an alien landed on earth and picked up a copy of Footbag World, his observation would be "Hey, these guys on the west coast have a great thing going, but geez, the schmucks on the east are fumbling over themselves like cattle on a freeway".

The caliber of adds and the sheer number of men and women executing them is so much higher in the Pacific time zone, I wonder what the easterners have been doing for so long. Astronomers also are confused by this quagmyre, because it seems that lately, the sun has set on the east coast. I guess I have no particular point to my ramblings other than a warning to those people just getting started in footbag--pay no attention to anyone behind the Appalachian curtain!

Gib Fotter
Winnemucca, Nevada
member # 14137

The Power of a Good Egg

My name is Keith and I am currently ranked 1,500,050 in the world and you can imagine how proud I am. But after the WFA footbag tour team came to my school and taught me the fundamentals of footbag, by next year I should be ranked 1,500,001 in the world. They not only taught the basics of footbag, but they also taught the benefits of teamwork and how if you work at something long enough and hard enough, and don't just do it, but feel it, you can do anything.

I cooked over 200 egg sandwiches to help pay for something I have never before witnessed. We worked hard for weeks raising money for them to come to our school and it was definitely worth it.

Keith Swens
Riverhead Alternative High School
Riverhead, New York

Not As Easy As It Seams

First let me say that you have a great mag. I especially like the "Tricks of the Trade" section you put in. And the "Doctor, Doctor" part was great, too. However, the first time I tried to empty some of the pellets out of my footbag my seam kept closing up. So I figured out that you can stick a straw in to the hole after you've opened up the seam. That speeds up the pellets falling out. Also, it's a great way to put more pellets in to your footbag. Hope you don't mind the tip. Keep up the good work.

Nathaniel Leachman
Tracy, California
member # 20984

FootNotes is a regular feature in Footbag World, and in each issue this space will be reserved for staff editorials and general reader response. This is YOUR space, so if you have any issues you would like to address or letters of feedback, just send them to the WFA offices in care of FootNotes, World Footbag Association, P.O. Box 775208, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. Or send letters and comments via e-mail to <wfa@worldfootbag.com>. Footbag World reserves the right to edit all letters for clarity and space. Writers whose letters are selected for publication in FootNotes will receive an extended eight-issue subscription to Footbag World. Please include your WFA membership number upon submission.

CONTENTS

On-Line Edition by Steven L. Goldberg, January, 1996.