Midsummer night the perfect setting for raucous midseason party

Just as ripe strawberries announce the arrival of summer and sweet, juicy nectarines let us know we're in the thick of the season, I like to imagine that Shakespeare had his own cyclical rhythm. Winter spawned dark dramas like "Hamlet" and "Othello," while the fresh optimism of spring inspired the lighter touch of "Much Ado About Nothing." The sultry days of summer with their soft heat and magical possibilities were the perfect backdrop for - of course - "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

On a recent July evening, the World Adult Kickball Association hosted a midseason party that echoed Shakespeare's famous summer comedy. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," impish Puck weaves a trail of mischief as he doses out droughts of fairy love potion. At the midseason fête, puckish bartenders dispensed modern love concoctions from an open bar, and it made for a very dreamy night.

After a month and a half of weekly matches and post-game mingling, kickball sits squarely at the top of my datingfriendly list. The sport is soft enough that even sub-par athletes can score runs and rarely requires enough running (read: sweating) to smudge my mascara. Thanks to the game, I've scored a handful of summer romances. I like to think it's because kickball provides a laidback environment where we can socialize without the pressure of blind dates or the expectation overload of Internet dating. But, really, it's because I wear short shorts and knee socks. And we drink a lot after the games.

True to form, the midseason party was rife with alcohol consumption. The league packed RJ Gator's in Gulf Coast Town Center with our trademark beer-guzzling, cup-flipping good cheer. As the night wore on, the crowd grew progressively louder, rearranging the patio area for drinking games and expanding into the booths and stools that lined the bar inside.

For once, 'ballers had a chance to assemble outside the confines of our team T-shirts and gym shorts, and most of the players at the party took advantage of the wider options. Ladies wore summer dresses and short skirts, high heels and hoop earrings. All the cleavage that had been concealed during the previous six weeks was suddenly on display. Guys in

starched button-downs and stylish dark jeans shot peeks at the newly bared bosoms, while ladies swirled around the closely shaven, nattily dressed gentlemen.

Outside, the ground steamed from a late-evening shower and the air carried a warm, sensual weight. As we neared the end of our bar tab, couples paired off across the patio.

A Shakespearean midsummer night would not be complete without an element of drama, and here, too, the midseason party did not disappoint. Caught in a toilet-stall tryst (even Shakespeare would have raised his eyebrows on that one), a player roared out of the men's bathroom, girlfriend in tow. He squared his shoulders and clenched his fists, eyeing the offending kickballer. Heated words flew and the crowd gathered 'round. At the last moment, team members stepped in, pulling back balled fists.

The crowd dispersed, and bartenders announced last call. Players found their designated drivers. In the parking lot, a full moon shone down as revelers disappeared into the gossamer night.

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