Yo VIP, Let's Kick It.

So this DC blogger RCR goes off on a rant about adult kickball, at the end of his post entitled “I Don't Wish I Was A Baller.” Although I didnt agree with much of it, it was pretty good rant, and it even ends up being quoted in the DC Express. Next thing you know his blog is inundated with kickball defenders, and a battle erupts in the comments. Im usually down with the hipster blogs, but RCR makes some pretty asinine points in defending his position.

Living my whole life in the adult kickball capital of the world, DC, I have always had similar feelings about kickball players – shouldn’t these people make a choice: play a real sport or just go drinking, but why mix the two with this kids game. Turns I was WRONG, and I actually have to side with the kickballers over the too-cool-for-school hipster bloggers. I played kickball last season for the first time ever, and that shit was pretty damn fun. I play in enough serious or semi-serious sports leagues to appreciate a game where you can drink during the action, and chill oustide with friends on a nice night.

Now our WAKA leagues may not contain some of the “hippest Washingtonians,” but if you start a team with a bunch of your own peeps, who gives a fuck who else is in the league, or whether they rock sweat pants from eigth grade. Once you get a bunch of people who like to hang out together anyway, this “sport” gives everyone an opportunity to drink outside, in public, on the mall, and not have to worry about the man bringing us down.

I’m usually down with hipster blogs, but when RCR complains about people joining a kickball league just to “hook up” “get drunk on weeknights” and play stupid “drinking games” I don’t get it. Last time I checked those are all valid reasons to participate in any activity. It’s not like we are hanging in McFaddens on Friday night with 500 of our closest friends trying to scream over the new Xtina Aguilera joint, or we are buying $15 mixed drinks at Modern. Another baseless criticism lobbed by RCR is that kickball players are just “buying freinds.” Ok, this is where I really draw the line, I refuse to listen to any former UVA frat boy trying to lecture me about buying friends. If you go to a big state school like MD, UVA, JMU, WVU, with tons of options, and you still decide to join a frat - that is your decision, but don’t even think of trying to criticize others for trying to buy friends. That is just about as redonkulously stupid as Bernard Goldberg writing a book about bias. Next thing you know he will criticize all those stupid bloggers for expressing their opinions on the internets.

The rest of the kickball haterz comments are also puzzling to me. I thought hipsters were supposed to ENJOY going to bars in stinky t-shirts and drinking on random weeknights. In his criticism of kickballers, RCR sounds like one of those clowns who would rather put on $300 black pants and a fuckin striped shirt and wait in line at 1223 for $12 dollar vodka and red bull. I typically like the music and entertainment that RCR and his hipster blog-friends link to on their blogs, but I just cant figure out all the kickball hate. Look I hate 99.5-pop music, stupid ass comic book movies, and McFaddens as much as the next guy, but since when did being a hipster elitist fuck mean that I’m supposed to also hate drinking cheap pitchers of beer on Tuesday and wearing t-shirts. Im confused. Who said you cant listen to Wilco or Bloc Party and still enjoy kickball? Why are they mutually exclusive? Im not too cool to go to the Exchange on a Tuesday with my buddies and drink pitchers of cold Miller Lite. Kickball is fun, drinking is fun, wearing dirty t-shirts instead of fuckin striped shirts all the time is fun, and playin flip cup is sometimes fun. Sorry, I must break ranks with the hipster blogs on these points. Word.

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Turning to the unquestionably "real" sport of futbol (unquestioned except by those jim-rome-quoting, america-fuck-yeah-singing, blue-collar-commedy-tour-loving, french-hating, soccer-bashers), I went to the DC United game last week and had a blast. Derek set up an amazing tailgate, despite failing to install these goal urinals on the back of his car as requested

We were promised a brazillian barbeque, and although I saw no actual Brazillians, the Donkies did not dissapoint. I learned that my Bolivian friends are better chefs than the Brazillians anyway. Marco’s Corona-infused steak should be a tailgate staple for years to come. After the BBQ, the parking-lot soccer match was also a hit. Desptie Brett and Otto’s best efforts and stellar play, Juan had the play of the game when he was decked to the pavement but managed not to spill one drop of his beer. In the actual professional game, United struck first on a sweet header off a corner kick, and we erupted into song with La Barra Brava. It turned out, however, to be a glimmer of false hope as the top squad from the English Premeier League restored order to the universe and took the lead in the second half. In the end it didn’t matter because United fought hard, almost emerged victorious against a strong international squad, and a good time was had by all the Donkies. Maybe it is no fluke that USA has risen to #6 in the latest FIFA rankings, above France, England, and Spain.

US #6
1) Brazil
2) Argentina
3) Netherlands
4) Czech Republic
5) Mexico
6) USA
7) France
8) England
9) Spain
10) Portugal

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How great is TIVO/DVR. I just looked at the season recordings set on my box (no homo) and it turns out that I have almost 20 current shows set to record wither weekly or daily, including: The Daily Show, Family Guy, 30 Days, Entourage, The Al Franken Show, American Dad, Big Brother, Countdown with Keith Olberman, Real World, Best Week Ever, BBQ with Bobby Flay, Meet the Press, The Soup, MLS Wrap, Kill Reality, The Office (BBC America).

Is there anyone else in the world with an odder mix of reality shows and political talk shows? I doubt it.

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Final serious news. The Bush administration tried to shift attention from the Rove scandal by accelerating their decision to pick a supreme court justice. They actually picked a guy a few weeks earlier than they wanted, just to deflect attention. Didn't work. Rove Rove Rove, see my attention hasnt shifted yet.

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Listening to while writing this post: My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves; Wicker Park Soundtrack; M. Ward - Transistor Radio