Martinex1: Two questions to kick off the week! ("Kick Off" may be the appropriate expression today!)
QUESTION 1: What sports did you play back in the Bronze Age? Was it common in your neighborhood to pick up a game? Were you on an organized team? Little League? Soccer? Football? Basketball? School sports? Intramural? Hockey? Tennis? Golf? Miniature golf? Ping Pong?
QUESTION 2: Or were you more involved in clubs or other activities back in the Bronze Age? Chess club? Theater? Yearbook? Boy Scouts? Girl Scouts? AV Club? Explorers? Glee Club? School Paper? Speech or Debate? History Club? Band?
Tell us some of your stories; let's see if we share any common ground! Cheers!
14 comments:
Good morning, everyone!
I was not at all into sports when I was very young. I didn't care to watch it on TV, and was about as unathletic as they come. However, once I hit junior high (1977-80), my interest began to surge. I grew, gained a little coordination, and ended up competing in football from 8th grade-sophomore year, and track from 8th grade-junior year. A knee injury my senior year ended that, and it's actually an issue that still can cause minor problems today. But I have stayed active in adulthood, and have a brace if things are going to get serious. Now I enjoy watching sports (particularly baseball, and most college athletics) on TV most nights.
No clubs for me in high school!
Doug
I played soccer from age 9 to 15, one season of baseball when I was 8. I was a pretty good defender.
But more importantly, my favorite Bronze Age sports-related comic would have to be 'Strange Sports Stories' #1, featuring the devil playing baseball against the Metropolis Meteors! Written by Frank Robbins, art by Swan and Giordano!
Entirety of elementary school, which was pretty much the end of the Silver Age: CLASSIC physically incapable, skinny, uncoordinated book-worm type of kid. Probably wouldn't have been so bad if my parents hadn't been trying to "fix" my flat fleet via a podiatrist who hadn't updated his methods since approximately 1935. So through 6th grade I was exclusively wearing these huge, clunky, custom-made, black leather orthopedic clod-hoppers-- not allowed on the gym floor, mind you. I was easily in the bottom 20% of my classmates on natural ability-- and I'm pretty sure I hit the bottom 20% of that 20% with the help of those shoes-(!). Generally, I was among the last 3 or 4 kids chosen for any outdoor gym class teams. (Although-- those shoes did tend to boot a kick-ball a mighty distance--)
Question #1: 7th & 8th grades- Tried out for the football teams, 'cause- well- about 80% of the boys did. And being such a small school (about 100 or less in our graduating class, I think?), it's not like you had to "make" the team. If you stuck with it and came to practice, you were on. Even if 3rd string or so. And my folks FINALLY switched podiatrists, so that I could wear normal tennis shoes w/ inserts-- which vastly improved my active life. I wasn't good at all-- but I surprised myself by being able to at least DO most of the PT required.
9th grade- Didn't do any organized sports, but DID join the ski club (I think my Dad was a chaperone or something)-- and was SPECTACULARLY awful on the rented equipment, until a pal suggested I try getting "short" skis instead of the long ones they usually foisted on beginners-- and that was a game-changer.
10th grade- Played football again (JV), and was a little bit better at it, but never gonna be a starter. Tried out for the baseball team in the spring (JV)-- again, if you tried out, you were on the team. I was almost comically awful-- never got a hit, made one easy out that I nearly over-threw-- and our team was in the cellar, but I was a HUGE dugout chatterbox, and it was a heck of a lot of fun. At the year end sports banquet I was given the "Best Singer On the Team" Award-- as I would stand in the infield singing YELLOW SUBMARINE when things were too quiet. . . (Did Ski Club again that winter--)
11th grade- My childhood pal, Bryan? My devoted comic-book co-conspirator? He'd done Cross Country in 10th grade, and so I figured I'd give that a try as well. Definitively mediocre-- my best time was in the exact center of historical best times (at that point) for our school. I HATED running (remember the feet?), but I loved the coach, and my best friend was a true regional star, so I stuck with it. Then did Ski Club (and started training for Ski Patrol w/ a pal). Then. . . the track team (!!), in the three distance events. At which I was dreadful. But stuck it out.
12th grade- Repeat of 11th-- although as a new Ski Patroller I was spending a TON of time at our local area that winter.
HUGE life lessons throughout all of this, of course-- going from being an envious and kinda resentful "I Hate Sports" little kid to being someone who understands the value of participation and contribution-- and perseverance-- and team-spirit, without having to be the star or top-performer. Probably the most distinct life-changing moment was that first X-Country practice I went to-- the Coach simply said "short run today-- just do the 2.25 mile circuit then come back in for a meeting." I'd never run more than a quarter mile in my life w/out stopping (Jr High football practice, basically-), and was, like, "So- this is how I die. . . ", but my buddy partnered up w/ me, and he was pretty slow himself, and we just ran along at an easy pace, and amazingly we were back at the school a short time later. . . without stopping. Could NOT believe it. Next day-- 5+ miles (and a new pair of shoes--).
Oy- sorry for the memoir!
(maybe "Activies" later today?)
HB
Oh man, for question 1- I was such a scrawny kid, with glasses, unathletic. I was the walking cliche of the nerdy kid. Last to be picked for basketball, volleyball, etc.; absolutely detested physical education (it just seemed to emphasize my inadequacies).I did play neighborhood games of touch football, and especially wiffle ball. I actually was a fair hitter, but not fast on my feet. In high school I did play some ping pong tourneys, and in college actually was on a bowling team (and won a trophy for winning the year end tournament, which truly shocked me). I have always liked to watch baseball, particularly my Cincinnati Reds.
Oh, by the way, Marti- love that Stange Sports tale about the headless baseball team! I had that as a kid when it was reprinted in the first issue of DC Special (the Carmine Infantino issue).
Question 2- I was definitely more involved in non-athletic activites. I was in Spanish Club (loved going out during the holidays singing Mexican Christmas Carols). I was in art club. Also was involved with the High School literary magazine, and did illustrations for it. Also, my sister was very involved with a local ballet troupe, and I frequently helped out with stage work and set decoration. In the later Bronze age, during my college years, I was on the staff of the University newspaper as a photographer. Also was on the Student Senate at art school, and ran a weekly film series in the auditorium. That involved making a trip to the Indianapolis Public Library and borrowing a film each week, ranging from "2001: A Space Odyssey" to Charlie Chaplin's "Gold Rush". We'd make up posters and hang them around campus. Good times...
1. I was never much of an athlete, but I did like soccer, so in high school I played on the school's team for my first three years, but in my senior year I decided not to because the coach was a real jerk (he often threw temper tantrums during games if we didn't play well, and, similarly, get into heated yelling matches with the refs; it was really embarrassing). I went out for track my senior year, mainly for something to do in the spring, and competed with rather lackluster results in both distance (1500 m) and sprints (100 and 200 m).
2. I wasn't in any clubs, as I went to a rather small high school in a pretty rural area, and besides sports there weren't many extracurricular activities - the only clubs I remember existing at my school tied to specific classes, like one for Spanish students (I took French, so that was a no-go for me), and also the Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America, for students taking vocational agriculture and home economics respectively (I took home ec as an elective my freshman year, but as I recall students only joined those groups if they were committed to taking those classes all four years).
I was on the staff of the school newspaper during my junior and senior years, but that was done as a part of journalism class. Also during those years, I was in student government, and was even student body VP in my senior year.
I loved playing games with my friends... mostly. I do remember "Kick The Can" and "Freeze Tag" and all the rest. The way my elementary school worked, once you were finished with lunch, you could go outside for recess. The faster you ate, the quicker you were outside. The quicker you were outside, the better options on balls and swings and play sets.
Thursday were hamburger days. Lunch was the burger, a handful of lettuce, a spoon of beans and a peach half. You'd shotgun your milk, stack everything in the burger, and I do mean everything, slide that in your mouth and you were out the door before most kids were through the line.
We did the sports in season. Fall was football, spring was basketball and summer was baseball. I hit my full height in 6th grade so for most of Junior High, I was not bad. Middle linebacker, Fullback/Tight End. Then High School, most everybody else had their growth spurt so I concentrated on band.
I did do soccer and baseball outside of school but that was more to be outside than due to any ambitions or ability.
By time I got to High School, I added Debate and Student Council to Band. My Freshmen year, one of the Juniors put me on the committee to do the morning announcements. I loved it!!! LOVED IT!!! I did have to do a two week suspension my Junior year. We would read the lunch menu each morning and one day the menu said "Chef's Surprise". I commented "Surprise it will be edible" and got called out on that.
Looking back, I would have done tennis, cross country and swim team. We opened a pool my sophomore year. Not so much because I could play those sports, but those were the ones that were co-ed teams. I loved me some "cos".
I also took art classes during the summer so I could draw a really good horse's head. Since our mascot was the Mustang, the cheerleaders would get me to draw on the banner the players ran through. Cheerleaders.... hmmm.
I've mentioned before that they split my freshmen class to open the new high school. When my sister graduated, she had 637 seniors. When I graduated, we had under 300.
My high school offered Spanish, French and Latin classes. But, due to our community, they also offered German, Czech and Polish. So there's that...
End Part 1.
Start Part 2:
Went over the character limit... again.
(Loca.
Loca.
Dance or die.
Loca.
Loca.
She's playin' dumb all the time
Just to keep it fun
To get you on like ah!
Be careful amigo
She's talking and walking just to wake you up
She'd die for your love
But your love's only mine, boy
Sigo tranquila
Like I'm on a beach in Anguilla
Sippin' my Corona
Like it's nothin' goin' on
I ain't leavin' you alone
What is meant for me
No other girl is gonna take it
So give him up
And I'm crazy, but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
You like that it ain't easy
Loca, loca, loca
I'm crazy but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
Crazy but you like it
[Dizzee Rascal:]
That girl is a naughta
I heat up when I touch her
Chica caliente
Got me rapping to merengue
I feel so el presidente
I'm runnin' shit and I'm lovin' it
She's got a mean lil' butt,
But you should see what she does with it
She keeps it down low, down low, down low
I can never get enough, oh, no, oh, no
She gives me the runaround,
But I stay chasin'
But I mean, yo, I'm in love
With a crazy girl
But it's all good
And it's fine by me
Just as long as I hear her say, "Aye, papi"
And I'm crazy, but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
You like that it ain't easy
Loca, loca, loca
I'm crazy but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
Crazy but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
You're the one for me
And for her no more
Though you think she got it all
I got one kiki
You're the one for me
And for her no more
Though you think she got it all
I got my kiki
Of course she doesn't know the things
That I'd do to please you
Take you to the medico por el caminito
They saw your girlfriend looking for me with a rifle
Cause we're dancin' Mambo
Oh, what she don't allow it?
I really can't help it
If I make the lady loca
I don't want no trouble
I just wanna hit the—oh!
And I'm crazy, but you like it
'Cause the kinda girl like me
They're running out of in the market
And I'm crazy, but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
You like that it ain't easy
Loca, loca, loca
I'm crazy but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
I'm crazy but you like it
Dios mío
That girl is loca
That girl is loca
That girl is loca
Pure madness
Loca
That girl is loca
That girl is loca
You're the one for me
And for her no more
Now you think she's got it all
I got my kiki
And I'm crazy, but you like it
Loca, loca, loca
You like that it ain't easy
Loca, loca, loca
La loca, la loca, la loca, loca
Loca, loca).
I was (and am) terrible at sports, so my only school sports were in gym class; we did baseball, flag football, volleyball, basketball, badminton, and track at various times ... plus hockey, broomball, ringette, cross country skiing, and curling, since I live in Canada. I played football and baseball in the backyard with my friends and enjoyed that a lot more than school sports ... much less pressure.
As far as clubs go, our school wasn't big enough to support a lot of clubs; yearbook and theatre are the only two I can think of, neither of which I was into. I was a Cub Scout when I was really young, but I think it was discontinued because not enough kids were interested.
I generally enjoyed sports at school, although I wasn't any good at them. Doing extra Games was also a way to escape having to do German lessons. Soccer, tennis and track and field were my favourites. I hated cricket and circuit training.
I was never in any schools clubs. That would have required me to spend more time in school than I legally had to.
Among other things, our school had a kayaking club, a fact that always intrigued me, as kayaking was seen as a thing that only posh schools did, and our school was definitely not posh.
I played Little League baseball and was horrible for the first number of years. I was only put in the games for the mandatory two innings and was typically relegated to left or right field. The one game that only nine kids showed up for and I was destined to play the whole game, ended with me running into the fence for a homerun and needing stitches in my forehead.
I have to say I did get much better in my last year and played regularly.
I played football for two years and was equally bad.
In high school I played soccer for a season. And I joined the Speech Team - both not good.
Somehow I didn’t hit my stride until much later.
Ooo! Hey Marti, DC also had a brief sports-themed title during it's "Still Only 20 Cents!" period: CHAMPION SPORTS. Written by Joe Simon, it looks like. Anthology book of back-up feature-type sports tales. Just this side of those Lee Jeans Stips/Ads. . . (I've got the first issue downstairs-- that's howcome I know it exists at all. . . )
Boy, it does sound like a lot of us were in the same league (ha! As it were. . . !) athletically, more or less, eh? Although the spectrum's still fairly broad. And I think the neighborhood/vacant-lot type of games might be a whole 'nother subject. (VERY rough touch football on the snow-covered golf-course for several Thanksgivings!)
But hey, let me go ahead and toss in my own school-activity as promised. 'Cause I did keep pretty darned busy with the extra-curriculars. . .
Concert Band/Marching Band-- throughout all of School, yup. Trombone player. Received the John Phillips Sousa Award my senior year (It still has a place on top of our piano-! Heh-heh--); Jazz Band for 3 years; Pep Band for. . . 3 years, maybe? I was definitely a Band kid.
I was in, I think, all but one of the plays/musicals put on during my high school years-- which obviously had a lasting effect on my life-direction. Helped build sets on about 3. I was a definitely a Theater kid, too.
National Honor Society and a couple of other academic sub-groups (that I don't quite recall--)-- although those didn't take much time. I was able to hang with the Brainy crowd.
Thing is-- I wasn't the only person doing this. It was a fairly small high school, with a beautiful brand new building, and a lot of ambition. So there was a LOT going on. I mean, sure, there were cliques--- but everyone had to belong to more than one. Like, at least two-- or maybe three or more. It was simple necessity.
I loved high school. Home life, as I mentioned before, wasn't a joy during those years, so I found that joy in the delightfully over-scheduled chaos that I threw myself into with gleeful abandon. Yup.
HB
I played football in junior high and high school. I went to a small school, graduated 36 my senior year, and most of the males played one sport or another. I was about 5'11", 220 and played on the offensive line. I enjoyed playing football, but I loved basketball. As you can imagine looking at the physical characteristics above, I was not really built for basketball.....I was short, but I made up for it by being slow and not being able to jump. I loved it though and I played in intramural leagues in college, in pick-up games locally, in various church leagues until I was nearly 30 years old and suffered a knee injury. I wasn't too good at baseball.....eyesight is not the best, so I was one of those outfielders who was okay except for catching fly balls. Also lifted weights for a long time.....still do occasionally. Unfortunately, all those activities have left me a bit creaky in the back and knees, but hey, I can still get around okay.
We didn't have a lot of clubs in my schook, but I was involved in writing for the school paper. I loved to write.....still do....and our faculty was kind enough to encourage me to be creative, so I actually got to write my own column during my senior year......not that it was that good, but it inspired me to write more. I even wrote a couple of comic book stories for credit in one of my classes....a Daredevil story, a Cap & Falcon story, and a couple of Conan-style fantasy stories. I wish I knew where they were now. I'm sure they would cause me to squirm to re-read them. :) I also enjoyed drawing, though I wasn't very good. I had artists on both sides of my family, and my kids are both much more talented than I ever was.
Ah, great stuff, Graham--!
I very much concur with your last point there, with the kids rising above the parent's artistic levels, and I've always seen that as a positive thing. Planting the seed of a passion and seeing it thrive and grow past the old property-line is a parental job-well-done, I firmly believe.
HB
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