History
The origins of beer kickball have been debated. Some say it started in the year 2000, some say in was first played by the GT rugby players in the late 90s, some even make the claim that it was invented by the legendary DZ way back when (who, it should be added, also invented Yatch Party, Polar Beach, and the internet, to name a few). There is one thing we can be sure of... it has caught on like a fire storm. Beer Kickball is now making it's way onto the map as a legitimate sport, much like snowboarding did in the 80s.
The summer of 2001 at Georgia Tech was probably the pinnacle of play. Every Thursday evening, a group of us walked down to the Burger Bowl fields, toting our rolling coolers behind us, looking forward to another game of trash talking, drinking, and relieving ourselves in the woods. For those of you who don't know, Burger Bowl is directly across from the campus police station. These were different times back then, of course. We were never questioned about our excessive drinking by the police. In fact we were usually greeted with smiles.
Y Mura and DMX served as team captains for the games that summer, and in turn became bitter rivals. The memories from that summer are hazy, but there is the one vivid recollection of DMX getting made fun of by Mura for his first 2 picks in the very first draft - Big Bill and Clan. This would turn out to haunt him. Not normally known for their athleticism, both picks turned out to be tremendous all-around players and earned MVP honors on numerous occasions. Mura would go on to lose his first 3 games before finally getting the sweet taste of a "W".
Every week we played, and every week the crowd grew. By the end of the summer we usually could count on a huge group of people from all around campus to show up and play.
So recently, we had the idea that with a little bit of organization and scheduling, we could get groups together again to play the sport we all know and love. It also helped that 8 of us who used to play the game now live together in the same apartment complex, which coincidentally happens to be in walking distance of a playing field.
We know that in addition to being a good excuse to drink and have fun, the games are also a good meeting place to see people you know, as well as meet some new faces.
© 2006 Beerkickball.com