For those who don’t frequent The Strip on Friday nights, you may not have heard about the foosball tournament at The Public House Bar.
The Deets
Rider Sandals, the #1 sandal brand in Brazil, sponsored this event in an attempt to broaden their consumer base. The Company has come to the U.S and is “tearing it up” with young culture. In effort to really draw in the college demographic Rider Sandals headed to the sunshine state and collegiate party capitol, Florida. The tour hit all the major costal areas (and Gainesville for reasons unknown to me). Not that Tallahassee is exactly a tropical paradise, but it is definitely not at a loss for eager students who like to pretend it is.
Getting to the Tournament
When I first arrived at the crowded bar I was taken aback by the size of the crowd at only 10:30 pm – especially given that the characteristically-bipolar weather of Tallahassee decided to drop the temperature 15 degrees and coat us with rain. The foosball tournament itself was surprisingly organized considering the task of rallying drunk people to do anything is like trying to herd cats. The tournament officially started at 11:15 pm, but the tables were open for warm ups and casual play until then. There was a sign-up sheet on the table full of Rider Sandal’s promotional merchandise, a very good advertising tactic if I do say so myself.
The Competition
There were twelve teams at six tables (2 people per team per table). Near the stage where an easy-on-the-eyes country boy was doing a rendition of Luke Bryans “Drunk On You.” Anyway, before I spend too much time picturing either him or Luke Bryan, let’s get back to the tournament. The majority of participants didn’t appear to have extensive experience with playing competitive foosball – not that many people can say they do – but a few looked like they really knew what they were doing. I spoke with two guys who were both very fascinated by my notebook. They were nervous about going up against people who knew what they were doing, then they proceeded to linger near me for about ten minutes arguing about drink prices and showing me card tricks.
*Little tip, ladies* If you ever want to be hit on mercilessly by the barely literate, bring a notebook to a bar.
After surveying a few people about how they heard about the event, the general consensus was that a friend told them about it or that they just knew the strip was the place to be on Friday night. Even though the events press hadn’t been very big, the place was packed and everyone looked like they were having a great time. The participants in the tournament varied in every way possible, it happened to be Sigma Chi’s Dads’ weekend so there were a lot of old-dog types holding their own, and drinking their sons under the table. When approached by one of these dads about why I was taking notes, I explained about Her Campus and asked him how he heard about the event, the response I got went something like “What event? I just know that this is Tallahassee on a Friday night and I’m out to get drunk and raise hell.”
I also had the pleasure of chatting with some tournament participants that were a bit more advanced in years who were taking it much more seriously than the two guys I spoke with or the Sigma Chi dad.
In the End
The team to take home the $200 prize was a set of roommates named Kevin and Colin, two FSU students who went to the tournament on a whim, not expecting to walk away with an $200. Rider Sandals definitely made a great impression on Tallahassee. I had the immense pleasure of speaking with their Marketing Consultant J. R Dubler, who said “We tailor our events to the demographic we are marketing to, we know when we come to college towns we’ll be in bars and doing something like a foosball tournament, but when we market to families we go to the beach sponsoring a volley ball game.” This company knows how to put its name out there in a way that appeals to everyone and lets people have a great time in the process.