Spring Break
'If you can dodge a wrench ...'
OSU students revisit a favorite childhood game for a weekly round of stress-relieving fun
Nick Vardanega
The Daily Barometer
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On Sunday morning, Josh Curtis, a sophomore in psychology and communications, wakes up exhausted after his duties as a resident assistant kept him up until 6 in the morning. But Curtis will not be using this as a day of rest, because it's Sunday afternoon, and that means only one thing: dodgeball.
Over the summer in his home state of Hawaii, Curtis and his friends decided to revisit their youth by playing the game. When the new school year rolled around, he wanted to bring the game to OSU.
Spurred by the popularity of the recent hit film "Dodgeball," the late summer games on outdoor basketball courts attracted several students. But Curtis insists that this is much more then acting out a popular movie.
"It's beyond the movie -- this is real life," Curtis said.
After the novelty of the game wore off, Curtis was pleased to find that a large group of regulars still came to play every Sunday.
As the weather began to turn, they moved indoors, reserving the McAlexander Fieldhouse.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Curtis shakes off his fatigue, puts on his knee-high socks, gray camouflage shorts and sideways trucker hat, and heads to McAlexander.
He walks through the side door of the field house into a massive arc-shaped room reminiscent of an airplane hangar. Caged lights dangle from the steel rafters above a green carpeted floor that can only be described as a poor man's Astroturf.
A group of loyal dodge-ballers hurl rubber playground balls at each other as they channel the ghosts of their elementary schoolyards.
"This game was built for little kids -- with all these big guys out here, someone's going to get knocked out," said Matt Ballstien, a senior in business.
Students frequent McAlexander every Sunday and say it's a good way to relieve the stress of the week.
"It helps take my mind off projects that I have to do throughout the term," said Steve Lutz, a junior in mechanical engineering.
Lutz said that there was actually another series of dodgeball games last year between Callahan, Wilson and McNary residence halls. Those games were bigger, but he says the current games have a more consistent following.
"This seems to be a group of regulars; there's a lot more chatter," he said.
That chatter is mostly trash-talk between the two teams.
"Alright, we're aiming for faces!" Curtis declared at one point during the game.
"That's all right, Josh, you've got nothing to worry about," said Rory Young, a junior in computer science, displaying what the players call "constructive trash-talking."
The rules are simple: If someone is hit by a ball, he's out; if he catches the ball, the person that threw it is out. Once a player is out, he usually goes to the sidelines to yell advice to his teammates.
And the strategy of the game is even simpler.
"Throw the ball and try not to get hit," Ballstien said.
The fact that anyone can play the sport is one of the reasons Curtis thinks it's so popular.
"It's such an easy sport to play and understand," Curtis said. "And there's a lot of camaraderie; it's fostered a lot of friendships."
But the dream of dodgeball goes far beyond Sundays in Corvallis. The group has been trying to put together teams to play in tournaments in Portland and elsewhere throughout the state and has also looked into making dodgeball an OSU club sport.
The players also have their own tournament in the works, something they call the "Dodgepocalypse." It will have a $10 buy-in with all proceeds benefiting charity. A date is yet to be announced, but anyone is welcome to participate.
There are also rumors that a rival dodgeball group has sprung up a couple miles down I-5 at the University of Oregon. When presented with the idea of a possible "Dodgeball Civil War," Curtis simply said, "Bring it on!"
Curtis invites anyone interested to join in on the fun, Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. at McAlexander Fieldhouse.
Nick Vardanega, staff writer
campus@dailybarometer.com, 737-2232
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