My thoughts soon became filled with all things foos. For those uninitiated, foosball which is also known as table soccer is a sport with a rich history around the world. There is some debate on its origin Frenchman Lucien Rosengart, an engineer from Citroen credited with inventing both the seat belt and front wheel drive, is said to have created the game as a way to keep his grandchildren entertained during the winter months. Also claiming to invent the game was Alexandre de Fiesterra who said he got the idea for the game while rehabilitating from injuries sustained during the Spanish Civil War. The first patent issued for the game which is popular world wide now was submitted by Harold Searles Thornton in 1923. The game was brought to America by Lawrence Patterson who was stationed in Germany during the 1960's. He is said to have fallen in love with the game and imported coin-operated machines and ran the first tournaments in the late 60's.
The table I first fell in love with was named Tournament Soccer and was manufactured by a Montana bar owner by the name of Lee Peppard who also launched high stakes tournaments across the country which propelled the sport into widespread popularity with large payouts and coverage on both television and magazines. Peppard was derailed by both his penchant for gambling on his tournaments with big dollars in prizes to be covered by sales of tables as a result of these tournaments. The advent of video games and some questionable tactics by gaming companies helped to reduce the amount of tables sold from 1500 per month to 150 within months and foosball faded into obscurity and off the radar of the American youth.
From green tops, to blue tops, to brown topped tables with bigger handles I was smitten with a desire to improve and compete. For me it didn't matter what table I played on, only that i played every chance I had. Memories of playing on tables with names like Hurricane, Dynamo, Bonzini, Garlando, Roberto Sport, and Tornado bring joy to me despite suffering more defeats than victories through the years. You see the thing about foosball is it is a very humbling endeavor. While gaining skills and strategies may help you beat upon your buddies and family, bringing those talents to a bigger stage can be filled with disappointment.
Foosball is the great equalizer where brute strength alone won't bring you much success. It is hard to find another sport where a 13 year old girl weighing in at 86 pounds can bring heartache and pain to a 250 pound adult man bringing him seemingly to his knees with her ability to block him, score on him and embarrass him in front of a crowd of people. Or to have a wheel chair bound person stand toe to toe with a gym rat and soundly conquer him with ease. It is almost like watching chess and boxing mixed together the pain and struggle to adjust and win is addicting for sure. I have to admit I am completely hooked.
I have traveled the country playing in tournaments for many years now and have found an extended family of people I sincerely respect and love. We come together with our own money in the shadows of obscurity, from kids to senior citizens, battling into the wee hours of the night for the love of our sport. Unlike the heyday of the 70's where there were people who could earn a living playing foos, nowadays breaking even at an event is a good goal and for many it is how they choose to spend their vacation time and days off from work. After all a bad day of foosball is better than a good day at work .
In 2002 the International Table Soccer Federation was formed in France with the goal of propelling the sport into the Olympics. While this seems to be a long shot ( The 1991 movie Longshot featuring Lief Garrett was about foosball ) their have been great strides along this path. For the past 7 years in Nantes France countries from around the globe come together to represent their countries in the World Cup Championships. Attended by thousands with television coverage on both Eurosport and ESPN3 the excitement and interest continues to grow. This year brought 23 nations together to compete in both team events as well as Mens, Womens, Juniors, Seniors, and Disabled. The United States was a dominant force this year with Gold Medals in the team event as well as Mens Doubles, Senior Doubles and Senior Singles. The US also scored Silver in Mens Singles and Senior Singles.
2014 promises to bring more excitement to our sport. Oscar winning director Juan Jose Campanella released his 3D animated film Metegol in Argentina and broke box office records. While distribution rights in America have yet to be announced the success it has had worldwide seems to make it inevitable. There is also some noise of bigger tournaments and sponsorship money being pumped into the sport this year but time alone will tell. For me I will continue to hone my skills and compete every chance I get and dream of the opportunity to represent my country in the next World Cup. I have also decided to dedicate my time to promoting and popularizing my sport on a regular basis via this blog and welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Nelson Mandela has been quoted to say " There is no passion in playing small, in living a life that is less than the one you are capable of living " while I never met him I am almost certain he wasn't talking about the size of the ball being played with.
