There are some business names that scream, "Try Me"! Like "G-spot Thrift Store",…read more
"Bite Mi," "Mooseknuckle", or...NAKID Social Sports. Anyone who patronizes those businesses is bound to be the kind of person who doesn't take themselves or life too seriously. So, one star for the concept and creation of Austin's Chapter of NAKID and one star to the fun ppl I met during the 8 weekly showdowns of ball-kicking during the actual game and ass-kicking during the subsequent flip-cup games.
The withheld stars speak to the management of the league, to the abundance of fluff in advertising, and lack of information given to players.
The owner/mgr actually lives in DC and apparently that chapter does well--proof that actually being available during the games is a real bonus. Instead, he flies down for the first game to welcome everyone, for all of 15 minutes, and for the closing ceremonies of awarding the trophy. In between, he is not attentive during registration nor during the season. For example, Tshirt sizes requested were totally ignored...we got way too many smalls and not nearly enough medium and larges as ordered. We showed up for the first game, and I--a newbie--was dubbed Captain. NO rules, nada. Quickly downloaded the iphone ap. Presto, ready to go. There are other instances, but the most irritating was when he emailed to survey which of two given dates we wanted the playoffs. After the votes were in and the date set, he emailed to tell us that the date was being moved to a date (that didn't work for almost my entire team!) not before mentioned bc some players wanted to attend the UT football game. I'm an Orangeblood, but really....? As it turned out, many of us weren't able to attend the playoffs. Considering that many of the players were non-paying (solicited by NAKID friends so they'd have enough players to form a league), this was a rip-off.
The fluff pertains to the amt of free alcohol that turned out to be quite limited. IF you are the reffing team that week, your team gets a $20 tab at Gibsons--not enough for one drink per player if all your players showed up. Our first trip into Gibson's found them surprised at our arrival. Apparently, there was no prior arrangement made and NAKID was assuming that last season's deals were still applicable. We ended up standing around until someone figured out what that arrangement was. by the way, Gibson's was fantastic about all this! The "partying" they advertised amounted to a bus trip for a winery tour, which looked fun for the 8 or so ppl who went. Too bad we weren't told about its impending possibility until too late. INcidentally, all 8 were from one team whose lead player picks up and brings the equipment to the games (an assistant? don't know, was never told--she is super nice though).
As for information dissemination, they wanted us to sign up on meetup website, which I did. As a result, I got emails as well as meetup messages, almost none of which were redundant and yet neither one had full details. There was no go-to place for information. For ex, one week we showed up for the game to find no one there except for a few players from some other team (not our scheduled opponents). Apparently the games were moved to another field not in sight of where we were scheduled to play. A stroke of luck --contacting the roommate of one of the players in the know--got us to the correct fields and by the time games started, it was already becoming dark--not good for catching flying balls. IN kickball at least.
I am glad to have experienced Gibson's (free, fun Bingo on Thurs nights), Luke's Inside Out (great food trailer), and Flip Cup (my college drinking game--quarters--is outdated).
In sum, this league is not "a skid-mark on the underpants of society" (movie, Dodgeball), but I think I'd rather spend my time at Mooseknuckle, in my newly acquired hot pants from G-spot, playing Flip Cup and following it with nibbles at Bite Mi.
