The Old Ba' Game

Every year I get Glenn Stout’s The Best American Sports Writing. One of its pieces, Eli Saslow’s article on the old ba’ game in Kirkwall, Scotland (originally published in the Washington Post), is a must read. It reminded me of 3 of my favorite activities.

One, Hall Ball. Like ba’, my brother and I each tried to get the ball to respective ends of the playing field (the central hallway of our house). Also like ba’, there were no rules and tremendous amounts of pain. Had we known about Kirkwall’s tradition, we could have answered our Mother’s repeated inquiries of “why on earth do you do this?” by claiming to honor our Scottish heritage. We played because we could.

Two, Killer. Four players in my college dorm (Williams E) each claimed a doorway in a 6’x6’ entry. The goal was to defend your doorway and get a soccer ball in any of the other 3 doorways (mostly by kicking, though bodies and body parts, otherwise, could be used in any way). Alliances were more slippery in Killer than in politics.

Three, the Legislature. Like ba’, groups push on each other to reach a goal, playing hard, but, for the most part, obeying basic rules of civility. When played well, winners and losers celebrate the opportunity to participate more than the specific outcome – realizing that the outcome is temporary and that the important thing is that the game be honored and that it be played again.