Take Dating Game To Another
Playing Field
Orlando
Sentinel; Orlando, Fla.; Aug 16, 2002; Eric Edwards, Sentinel
Columnist; (Copyright 2002)
Many people
erroneously believe that to win the heart of a women, you must
first soak it in a t least three gallons of fruity shooters, all
the time trying to convince her that you can out-Pitt Brad. And
while getting a date blind drunk is one way to help her get over
the fact hat there is nothing Pitty about you, it isn’t the only
way.
Sometimes
chasing her around and throwing a ball at her accomplish the
same thing.
When
prospective dates seem to have established a foolproof method of
not being picked up at a bar, it’s a good idea to take your game
to another playing filed.
A softball
field for instance.
Team sports
rank up there with alcohol as among the best ways to break the
ice between people who otherwise might not be able to start a
conversation but have a lot in common.
The Orlando
Sport and Social Club certainly hopes so anyway. The group,
which has successfully been combining those aphrodisiacs for the
past year, offers adults an outlet to play basketball,
volleyball, softball, flag football and soccer and has found
that organized sports don’t have to be relegated to children and
professional athletes. Which is good because children rarely
worry about dating, and professional athletes should remain
focused on another kind of scoring. It’s the rest of us who
need assistance.
While the
club is built around the concept of helping people get in shape
without realizing it, one of the big draws is that it offers
singles a chance to get to know each other in a low-pressure
environment. While this summer marks the clubs first
anniversary, it isn’t the first time the Sport and Social Club
has had a presence in Orlando. Ezra Simmons, who was a member
of the club when he moved to town two years ago, was one of many
sports enthusiasts who were disappointed when the original club
folded in January 2001. Simmons thought adult recreation was
such a good idea that he and partner Dan Kempinger contacted
Worldwide Sport and Social Clubs, which had bought the company
fro m failing dotcom StreetZebra.
“When I
first moved here, I had a temporary position and I didn’t know
anyone. Some friends invited me to lay flag football and now
most of the people I know in town I met through the club. I
even met my girlfriend here,” Simmons says.
The club’s
co-ed leagues offer as much in the way of socializing as they do
sports. In order to help players wind down after games,
sponsoring bars offer beer or Buffalo wings to participating
teams.
But the
social part of the Sport and Social Club includes events that
don’t involve cleats. Throughout the year, the group host
parties such as tonight’s Summer Chill Out from 7 to 10 p.m. at
the Church Street Chillers in downtown Orlando ($10 admission
includes three frozen beverages).
It costs
$60-$70 for an individual to sign up for a league. This appeals
to singles because it doesn’t require people to sign up as part
of a team. Those who can’t round up the requisite players can
pay their fee and be put on a team.
The playfull
nature of the games is evident when women’s voices can be heard
screaming from the dugouts or softball games that it’s almost
time fro beer and wings.
For most
guys, the combination of women, sports, beer and Buffalo wings
is synonymous with heaven. For everyone else, there is
prime-time television.
To learn
more about the Orlando Sport and Social Club, call 407-265-8280,
or go to orlandosportandsocialclub.com
