Is footbag on the rise?

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 08 Nov 2010 05:41

I'm curious, being as I'm not too involved with what's going on these days, how is footbag? Well? Not so well? I know Nucleus are doing crazy things and are promoting the sport to the right people, Honza has been visible, but there's no official bid for Worlds 2011 yet so it seems like it's balancing out, promo up jams down?

Are we going up or down? Where's current the trend taking our sport?

EDIT: Montreal scene is dead, period. I think only Mathieu GM trains seriously these days.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 08 Nov 2010 07:20

I can only speak for my area, and my perspective.. Near Philly, we're significantly down from where we were in the 2000 - 2005 time frame in terms of players, events, and promotion. And that's despite very heavy promotion and event schedule in the previous 5 year timeframe - in other words, I would say that promoting and holding lots of events and having tons of players playing in visible locations from 2000-2005 has not had a positive impact on the 2005-2010 period of time. Which leads me to believe that the way that players become interested in the sport is same as it's always been. Just my opinion, not looking to argue with anyone.

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » 08 Nov 2010 08:16

down & circling the drain in nashville. so bad in fact that we're presently undergoing a takraw conversion.

Cod · Post by **Cod** » 08 Nov 2010 08:55

Just visit the following website to see how bad it is...

http://www.google.com/trends?q=footbag

Alex Dworetzky · Post by **Alex Dworetzky** » 08 Nov 2010 10:15

thats a really cool program. too bad footbag isnt doing so well

Frank_Sinatra · Post by **Frank_Sinatra** » 08 Nov 2010 11:37

I don't think its conclusive of anything other than fewer people using Google to look for information about footbag. For instance, youtube wasn't created until 2005, perhaps people are searching youtube instead. Just a theory.

mr.alex · Post by **mr.alex** » 08 Nov 2010 11:40

I just came across this yesterday, but it's not really exact since lithuania is on top rank of countries

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=footbag&cmpt=q

maybe everybody knows already what footbag is and doesn't have to google it anymore

this year we somehow got more players again here in Vienna, but in general I think it's going down. the enthusiasm from 2002-2006 is kind of gone I think.

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 08 Nov 2010 14:06

In my opinion, footbag isn't really a sport of consistency. People start playing solid then take breaks from time to time because of injuries, frustration or boredom/lack of others to play with. It's almost cliche for a player go underground for an extended period of time. Laroche being a perfect example of this.

Personally after playing footbag for at least 3 years, I could give a shit less about recruiting players or impressing people in hopes that they join the ranks and spread the word. I think I've grown out of the "have to tell everyone about footbag and get them all to play" cult-ish mentality that a lot of players have about footbag. It's possible that other experienced players feel the same and have stopped actively promoting as they did previously which could contribute to lower numbers.

Also, I think that footbag tournaments and the traveling to crash on someone's couch or floor and the general ideas of footbag traveling are better suited for kids and young adults. It's fun as hell but I think it grows old after some years. Maybe others don't feel it necessary to be an active part of the footbag scene anymore and numbers seem down. If there are more older players, this reasoning could possibly contribute to lower turnouts and numbers.

And finally, there are probably many players who still play but just plain don't tell anyone or talk about it very much. As in, non-nerdy adults?

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 08 Nov 2010 15:48

In Australia, I think some places are keeping steady, there are a couple of places are in a bit of decline. Overall though, we have had a couple of years of good national championships, with similar numbers. Next year will be interesting to see. As with next year's worlds, there's not a lot of enthusiasm behind it.

The original post mentioned that Honza has been really visible, I think that's very true, he's doing a lot for the sport at the moment, and getting to do plenty of cool stuff around that.

I think in the last few years freestyle football has really developed in its popularity, and many more people are getting into that.

I think Footbag will always be quite a small niche of the world, but there are still plenty of competitions happening all over the world, so there are definitely people involved still.

I guess places like Poland, which weren't that well known for Footbag, maybe 5-10 years ago, are really taking off. I guess with Facebook etc, communication on the forums is at a much lower level, as a lot of people will just talk to each other through social networks.

david · Post by **david** » 08 Nov 2010 21:54

Great post and great responses so far.

I grew up in footbag during the time frame that Bob spoke about, the glory days of East Coast shred with New Jersey and Philly going off. The monthly session in NJ had about 15 people each month, with a pretty good level.

The google.com trending data is really scary. I ask Goldberg about this sometimes and he has an interesting view, but I feel like I would mess it up if I summarized here. Perhaps I can get him to post his thoughts on here.

Right now in California (edit: Stanford club area) we have about 5 people who really play, and its a great group, however, I think they have had one new player start in the past year and more have stopped or slowed down. Maybe 3 or 4 in the city, some down south?

So now that we know footbag is on the downward spiral, how do we bring it back? I know that I personally am doing nothing for the sport, the closest thing was the Tony Hawk event with Honza and Evan, but the results of that may not be seen for a few more months.

Should we all go out and play in skateparks? Should we shoot in HD with cool clothes on and post it on YouTube?

-David

atze · Post by **atze** » 09 Nov 2010 03:25

nice tool!

run a comparison:

footbag vs. hacky sack to see which countries have managed to establish the proper name of the sport

footbag vs. hacky sack vs. skateboarding to see how far we are from being a trend sport

footbag vs. hacky sack vs. porn to see how far we are from being really, really interesting;)

atze · Post by **atze** » 09 Nov 2010 03:26

at least were doing better than myachi and speed stacking (barely)

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 09 Nov 2010 05:46

Frankly it seems like the people have spoken: Footbag isn't cool. If it was, more people would play. There's no denying that we look like dancing leprechauns when we kick, no matter how we view and interpret our various dance moves. Maybe we really do need to break out of our hardcore purist mentality and do more tricks like Kljopa's Tail. Unusual doesn't necessarily mean dorky.... there MUST be some more unique, cool things that are possible!

EDIT: After thinking about the above paragraph I'm not sure I even stand behind what I just said; I just don't like most variants, and I think what makes them stand out is there rarity. I want hardcore shred.

On a side note I actually gotta hand it to the freestyle soccer players, there's been some really sick footage that's surfaced recently... I'm sure it's always been popular but it feels like it's on the rise. Youtube has treated them well.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 09 Nov 2010 06:21

david wrote:Should we shoot in HD with cool clothes on and post it on YouTube?

In my experience, I find that...oh wait, you said "cool clothes." Damn, so close...

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 09 Nov 2010 07:04

I guess my point is that even with 5 years of consistent promotion and dedication, the following 5 years declined. As if those efforts actually had no impact at all. At this stage, I take opportunities when they arise but spend very little energy trying to make those opportunities happen. (then again, i did build a shred barn so we'd have a place to kick)

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 09 Nov 2010 07:21

Footbag is so niche and small, that if you aren't making new friends with the people that show interest, you won't get new players.

Just having a session and going your separate ways will not bring new people into the sport.

Try hanging out with the new people, make some friends.

No matter how many people see you play in public, if they don't know people that play, they are very unlikely to start playing all on their own.

Same thing with public contests. Lots of people see the sport, but how many people are really going to go out and learn on their own.

not directed at bob.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 09 Nov 2010 07:28

Not sure if you're directing the comment to me, or the general group here. But to explain what we did for 5 years in a row because I think it will help some players understand what "promoting the game" really means... we played in very public spots on a consisten basis, handed out business cards, had a footbag sign, held multiple tournaments, got newspaper and television coverage, played at the x-games, fostered new players, did demo performances for kids and teen's groups etc etc etc. And that resulted in declining interest in the subsequent 5 years.

Now, I will say, that most of that effort all was done completely by about 3 people.. had the other 20 that benefited from the efforts contributed as well, it could be a different story. But, most players just want to have fun (and that's where I am at this point.. I've paid my dues many times over)

james · Post by **james** » 09 Nov 2010 08:06

I will always play footbag

And it seems to me that it takes a certain type of person to do the time and get to a guiltless (for example) level. What type that is I have no idea. I don't think promotion of the sport has really had much of an influence (which I find strange), it's more like that special type of person finding it on their own somehow...
And all of these talent shows are belittling non mainstream activities. No one is going to pick up footbag after watching a professional do it, it's too daunting. Or in their minds they consider it another useless talent that a handlful of people have wasted their time doing.
Fact is, you really have to be passionate about it. Not everyone that sees an awesome skate video is going to go out, buy a board and jump into it.
In any case in terms of players the sport can't get smaller, so be content that you have found such an unique and incredible activity and look forward to seeing where it goes.

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » 09 Nov 2010 08:09

i feel like i'm in the same boat as bob. you spend 5+ years organizing weekly sesions & tournaments, and in the end wind up with less people than when you started. it's just disheartening when you put so much time, energy into something & the results (more people) don't show.

friendship is certainly the key for the growth of footbag. our remaining 4 in nashville could quit footbag & start playing teatherball & have a great time. unfortunately, there's not a teatherball league here, so takraw it is. on a side note, i heard that the 4-5 freestylers in knoxville all quit footbag & took up unicycling!

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 09 Nov 2010 09:09

Elliot, are you Elli Piltz?

--
I sometimes wonder if the "wow, they're awesome, I could never be that good" aspect is the problem. And how do you overcome it? Do we all commit to including a quick blurb in our videos about how we all started in hack circles with toe stalls and jesters... or what? how to remove that perceived barrier to entry is probably more important than getting people to look in the first place.