The Buzz on the "Bar Buzz"

This season the Bar Buzz (and more specifically the Golden Bar Buzz Belt awarded to the winner of this highly acclaimed and sought-after title) has gained quite the attention. In order to clarify some confusion regarding the rankings, and give you - our loyal readers - the inside scoop, we here at the GMOT thought it was time to sit down with Trici Fredrick, the writer of this witty, insightful column and see what she has to say about all that is the Bar Buzz.



So Trici, tell us how the idea for the Bar Buzz originally got started? Well, Trici I'm glad you asked that because to know the essence of the award, you have to know how it all began. One Sunday this winter following a rather demoralizing game on the field, Brent Wentworth and I were sitting around sharing a few Naty Light Pounders at Knuckleheads (which happened to be severely underpopulated by the kickball league it sponsored at the time) and we decided that the Peninsula Division needed a way to keep people engaged in our league (the best league of course) both on the field and off. We all know that kickball is SUCH a serious sport, but we wanted to give people who brought the fun to the game and the community, the recognition they deserved. And so we decided we'd rank the teams 1-15 according to their showing at the bar - based on specific (somewhat) scientific data of course - and award some sort of prize to whoever really brought it each week.

Ah that's great. You mention this "specific (somewhat) scientific data", can you tell us more about that? Each week the teams are ranked 1-5 on the following categories: Participation of the team, Mingling with other teams, Drinking, Dancing and Longevity. Participation and Mingling are weighted on larger scale (because they of course are the ones that bring our league together the most) and those points are averaged together for an overall total. Bonus points are then calculated for flip cup participation, creativity (such as Nathaniel Johnson's love letter to his Balls or Andrea Hoffman and crew's late nite antics), and after-midnight showing. This week we've decided that it's important to add another category to the average and that's for sportsmanship/responsibility. These scores are then calculated and then voila the champion is born.



You say voila, is it really THAT easy??? Oh no Trici, it's really not. All of our teams have excellent spirit and display in their own way. That's why the data is just a guide. The judges panel (oh who are we kidding, it's really just me) reserves the right to switch it up when necessary because come on, it's subjective and all in good fun.

It's definitely fun. Luckie's has really picked up this season. Let's go back a bit though, you mentioned this new category for sportmanship and responsibility? Can you tell us more about that? You got it Trici. This category was added in order to encourage teams to keep the spirit of the belt in mind. As I mentioned, we designed this ranking so that people would have fun, keep up the camaraderie and win in the bar in addition to the field. People need to be responsible though, as we here at the GMOT do not want to encourage over the top negative behavior anywhere in our league. And as always, you should have a designated driver if you're really hyped kick the party up a notch that week.

That makes perfect sense. I like where you're going with this. One more question for you before we wrap this up, what is your favorite part about the Bar Buzz? The extra beers and shots certainly don't hurt my likings of this particular position - I've never been above bribery. But in all honesty, what I enjoy the most about the Bar Buzz really is the way people are showing up to claim the champ title. I am a social person, it's why I joined kickball (never mind my AWESOME bunting, catching and fielding skills) and so to have people at the bar who want to hang out and meet other people and make this a complete and enjoyable experience for everyone really makes me happy.

I can see that and you know, that's probably my favorite part too. Well thanks for taking time out of our weekend to spend with us today. We really appreciate your insight and wish you the best of luck as the season progresses. I know this is no easy task ahead of you. Thanks Trici, it's been great talking with you as well. Keep up all the good work you're doing for the GMOT...See you at the bar!

Gossip Girl Trici Fredrick, keeping us informed!