Thursday, March 02, 2006

Pop culture leaves mark on dodgeball tourney

Looks like the movie 'Dodgeball' has left it's mark on pop culture. Here's an excerpt from an article talking about a dodgeball tourney that seems to have been inspired by the 'Dodgeball' movie.
It looks like Halloween.

On the courts are two men in karate uniforms. A team called the Marksmen sports shirts with various makes of firearms subbing for names on the backs of their jerseys. Another squad robed in royal blue tees features less-threatening pseudonyms such as K-Bizzle and Raw Dawg, while wearing knee-high socks with painted-on stirrups. Outside the entrance to last weekend’s dodgeball madhouse, also known as Skyline Sport and Health, a foursome in face paint toke away on cigarettes. And you thought Steve the Pirate, Patches O’Hoolihan and the rest of the “Dodgeball” gang were odd.

A pile of prize money did bring about calculated strategies and some feats of high athleticism on the tennis-courts-turned-battlefields for Skyline’s $11,000 Dodgeball Weekend. However, just as significant as the tournament was the pop culture extravaganza on display all weekend long.

Team names from among the 66 entrants reference “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “The Karate Kid,” “Wedding Crashers” and of course the mother movie “Dodgeball.” One of the face painter’s designs mimics that of WWF legend The Ultimate Warrior. Another contestant wears the red karate uniform characteristic of Street Fighter II’s Ken. Whenever he hurls a ball, onlookers supply a chorus of “Hadouken!!!” sound effects. When a team calling themselves the Cobra Kai takes the court, calls of “Put him in a body bag, Johnny!” are only seconds behind them.

But as with most things in life, ostentatious displays often exist in order to mask inadequacy, and this tournament proves no different. Team Nasty (the face painters) lose after a play-in game. A team named Camp Counselors plays the part of Daniel LaRusso against the Cobra Kai, eliminating them in the first round and proving that their wannabe kung fu is weak. Ever-so fittingly, a team named Fat Kids with Glasses is also sent home early. They probably lost their lunch money too. Good thing the event is catered.

Some more experienced teams have developed strategies for this tournament. One blonde, floppy-haired member of The Wildcats spends the duration of a match on his knees near the back line of the floor. The plan is effective against his opponents’ throws, but it leaves him vulnerable to predictable emasculating jabs from the peanut gallery. Even when he catches a ball, he’s rewarded with a barb: “Nice catch, Hanson.”

Pink-clad Bring the Pain, champs of the last Skyline tournament in August, have a less complex strategy.

“We just got a bunch of random guys together and throw the ball real hard,” Pain member Stephen Cook says. It’s zen-like in its simplicity, but its practicality proves lacking when they’re ousted in the Round of 16 by the Wicked, Wicked Monkeys.

A few humorous vignettes, mostly incited by team nicknames, help to keep the day light as the $10,000 battle heats up.