Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Kickball Epilogue
[Read Part I and Part II first.]
From: B.A. Miale <bambuttons@******.***>
To: rowan@media.mit.edu
Date: May 9, 2005 3:08 PM
Subject: kickball rivalries
----
... are stupid.
Hi!
I came across your blog while googling Brooklyn
Kickball. I should tell you I am one of the directors
of the yellow league, but don't judge me on that.
I actually played with big blue a few times in 2003.
The thing that turned me off was the devastating gym
class last-picked thing, which i experienced. For me
the vibe wasn't totally welcoming, and I'm sure that
would have changed if I persisted and got to know
people, but didn't.
At the same time, my friends (soon to be fellow BKKB
directors) were playing over in the far away land of
red hook. So come 2004, when my friends told me they
got a permit for Sunday night at McCarren, and they
were striving for an all inclusive league with none of
the last-picked drama, I was all over it.
Anyway, what I'm writing to talk about is the gross
prejudging and flat-out misjudging of people. The
animosity towards each other is getting out of control
and I'm well aware you guys aren't the only ones to
blame. WELL AWARE.
I'm just the kind of person who avoids unneccesary
conflict and drama, just because it makes me a happier
person. I do not like having enemies, especially when
it's because of absolutly nothing I've done-- rather
someone I'm associated with.
I find myself CONSTANTLY doing damage control in our
league when someone is talking trash about someone
else, and my most frequent comment is, "No, you should
get to know them, they're actually really cool." And
we had some beautiful moments last year when former
extreme rivals within the league, were going to bat
for each other against the cops during the rnc
protests.
I thought some of you guys were really cool, like Dan
from parts and labor, (They played at a rooftop films
with a band I was doing video art for.)
Anyway, my point is we're all kindred spirits when it
comes to kickball. So what's up with the bad vibes?
(I'm totally not accusing you of being the source, I'm
just saying in general)
We have different ways of playing, and I know some of
the yellow ballers might come off as assholes, but if
you get to know them, they're actually pretty cool.
Fell free to forward this to the rest of your crew.
Once again, my intention is just to spread the good
vibes.
Thanks for reading,
B.A
B.A. Miale
Video Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur, DJ
Professional Mascot and then some.
From: Matt Norwood <rowan@media.mit.edu>
To: B.A. Miale <bambuttons@******.***>
Date: May 9, 2005 4:15 PM
Subject: Re: kickball rivalries
----
> Hey, B.A. Thanks for the note. Always gratifying to
> know someone's
> reading my drivel, if only by accident.
>
> I hear you 100 percent about the stupidity of
> kickball rivalries, but I
> also think that stupidity is a big part of the
> appeal of playing drunken
> kickball. It's been kind of a funny dynamic with the
> two games going on
> Sunday nights -- I was talking about it at last
> night's game with one of
> my friends and founding BBKBers, BJ Warshaw (the
> other part of Parts &
> Labor). Our interactions with Brooklyn Kickballers
> had been pretty
> positive, and we had each made a few friends in your
> league. But there
> was still this lingering, automatic defensiveness --
> it's hard for me to
> tell how much of it is a performance, and how much
> of it comes from
> actually feeling threatened, or excluded, or
> irritated by the other
> league. Someone noted last night that BBKB is first
> and foremost about
> talking shit, with drinking, meeting people, and
> athletic competition
> trailing far behind in importance. So I think that
> this culture of
> constant, gratuitous criticism probably generates
> most of the expressed
> hostility toward the other league. I also think it
> turns some newcomers
> off -- it sounds like your first contact with BBKB
> made you feel
> excluded and belittled, which sucks, because the
> people who make up the
> core of BBKB really are all about embracing anyone
> who drops by, but
> they're so committed to their shit-talking pose that
> they end up
> alienating people sometimes. I think there's
> probably a
> passive-aggressive element to some of this, and I
> could probably get
> into what's really going on and how it ties into the
> self-hating
> hipster/nerd phenomenon generally, but I'll try to
> sum up my take on the
> BBKB club by saying that they're amazingly nice, but
> their
> self-deprecating attitude sometimes comes off as its
> opposite.
>
> Shit, this is getting really wordy. I should have a
> point. Uh... I guess
> I'm trying to say that the BBKB kids don't really
> dislike the Brooklyn
> Kickballers, even though we talk smack about them
> sometimes. We actually
> have a lot of respect for the way you guys have
> built up such a
> following and for the fact that people seem to have
> so much fun at your
> games. At the same time, there's maybe a little
> undercurrent of genuine
> concern that you're going to somehow take away from
> us this thing that
> we love so much: either by siphoning off our
> players, or attracting too
> much attention from the cops/parks
> commission/press/whomever.
>
> I'm also the kind of person who tries to avoid
> unnecessary conflict,
> which makes me a little unusual in the BBKB gang. If
> you had written
> your email to one of the other guys, you might have
> gotten a more
> sarcastic (and funnier) response, but I can always
> be counted on for my
> painfully earnest, literal-minded take on things. I
> apologize if my
> essay came off as overly critical of you guys -- I
> wrote it right at the
> beginning of last year's season, before any of us
> had had a chance to
> meet any of you, and it probably reflects our
> initial apprehension,
> which has since faded. I also thought the essay --
> even the end part,
> which talks about Brooklyn Kickball -- was really
> more about us, our
> attitudes, our anxieties about gentrification and
> irony and "coolness"
> and community, than it was about you guys as an
> actual group of people.
> And it ends on a hopeful note, right? Optimism about
> making friends with
> the Brooklyn Kickballers? But again, I apologize if
> it reads as overly
> critical or prejudicial. I tried to make it honest
> about what I was
> feeling at the time.
>
> At any rate, best of luck with the league, and maybe
> I'll run into you
> next week. We had a great game last night -- you
> should stop by after
> your game next time and give us another chance.
> We're really not
> assholes. I promise.
>
> Matt
From: B.A. Miale <bambuttons@******.***>
To: Matt Norwood <rowan@media.mit.edu>
Date: May 9, 2005 5:25 PM
Subject: Re: kickball rivalries
----
Woopsie... your email bounced back, so I sent the
email to bigbluekickball@yahoo.com... we'll see if i
get crucified.
Thanks for your kind email. I was feeling a bit
sensitive today and dwelling on the fact people may
have animosity towards me, but now I feel better.
Anyway, It's amazing how much our leagues are on the
same exact page, but lack of communication combined
with uber-drama queens (and i guess booze) make for
bad vibes.
I totally hear you about gentrification. This is
coming from someone who was simultaneously kicked out
of her havemeyer st apt and s4th st studio to make way
for luxury condos.
And I understand your fears with all the attention
we're drawing to ourselves... but we have gotten
permits and are cool with the cops. We just like to
make it more of a party.
I don't think you guys are assholes. I learned a long
time ago not to judge people unless they gave me
personally a reason to.
So yeah, let's totally have a drink on sunday, if not
on the field then at the nest. I'm the one with the
metallic blue biker jacket (although hopefully I won't
need to wear it next week)shooting my mouth off.
speaking of the nest, feel free to indulge in our $1
kickballer rheingold special there...
(I wrote a better, smarter sounding, longer email but
accidentally lost the page when someone im'd me a
link. I think i made all my points)
Rock 'n Roll,
B.A
