Photo source: John Loo
Have you ever heard of a sport that began as a joke? We already discussed on this website how you can put a bubble soccer table in your game room or basement. But what about bubble soccer, the game, played by actual human beings?
As in, climbing into a clear plastic bubble and running on an indoor or outdoor soccer field and bouncing around off your friends playing full contact soccer?
Bubble soccer was invented in 2011 – as a comedy bit for a tv show – by two Norwegian comedians named Johan Golden and Henrik Elvestad. They showed up at an indoor soccer field with two real teams in tow, had each player suit up with a clear plastic bubble that they wore over most of their body except for their legs and played a game of full contact soccer. Since then, bubble soccer providers and leagues have popped up around the world and it has turned into an activity done for fun, for sport and for team building among other reasons.
The Bubble Soccer Suit
The bubbles used in bubble soccer are made with Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most commonly used synthetic plastic polymers used around the world today. Stronger, more expensive bubbles are made of Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The bubble weighs between 25 lbs and 30 lbs so it is not light. It’s made with a strong material to withstand the inflation and the constant bumping against other bubbles not to mention when the person wearing it falls and hits the ground. Quality bubbles cost around $300 each so they are not cheap and of course you need at least one other person with a bubble to have fun.
Once the bubbles are properly inflated with a pump that is included with better quality bubbles, they are effectively worn like clothing. You place the bubble over your head and pull it down over you until you get to the shoulder straps to support the bubble on your body. Bubbles have a belt to secure it on your person and two straps to hold onto as you play for extra support. The bubble covers all of your body with the exception of your legs and buttocks so you are free to run without hindrance.
Bubbles can be deflated by removing the valve for easy storage and reinflation in the future.
Shark Tank Appearance
The concept of bubble soccer became more widely known in North America in November 2015, when the owner of the fledgling National Association of Bubble Soccer appeared to promote his new organization. The Association was already in business at the time and aimed to be the premier name in bubble soccer using a business model that would involve renting bubbles for private events but in the bigger picture would oversee industry standards and organize local leagues throughout the country.
In a nutshell, the organization no longer exists. While bubble soccer exists as a “sport” that people might partake in for fun, for corporate events or as a one-off rental, it’s difficult to say if it will ever catch on as a widely played sport. While it’s fun to put on a bubble and run around, it is tiring especially considering you’re wearing a relatively heavy bubble and expending a great deal of energy running and trying to remain upright.
Bubble Soccer Reality
Bubble soccer as mentioned is a tiring activity. While people have plans to don a bubble suit and play for hours, once they put the bubble on, start running around, get hit, fall down and have to get up and then repeat the process, they realize how fatigued they get.
Because bubbles are one size, the shorter you are the more difficult it can be to get up once you’ve fallen over since the only part of the bubble that doesn’t cover your body are your legs and buttocks. Since your arms are safely inside the bubble you can’t necessarily use them to pick yourself up. It isn’t impossible to get back up, it just takes energy.
And if you’re playing outside in the sun, you’re going to tire even quicker from the direct sunlight and heat from inside the bubble generated by all of your running around.
But Is It Fun?
Proponents and fans of bubble soccer agree that there is certainly a fun – and funny – aspect to bubble soccer. Watching people taking a run at someone and then bumping into that person and both people falling over is difficult not to laugh at. If you go in with both eyes open and an understanding that you’re going to get a workout, once you get comfortable and fall down and get up for the first time, you can have a great deal of fun.
It seems that people tend to look at bubble soccer less as something that they would join a league to play competitively on a regular basis and more something they would do from time to time like bowling or mini-golf. This might help to explain why the aforementioned National Association of Bubble Soccer never really got off the ground.
You also however need to concern yourself with the safety aspect of bubble soccer in several different ways.
Safety Concerns
The thought of wearing a plastic bubble and running around hitting other people as an excuse to play soccer probably sounds fun and interesting on the one hand but dangerous on the other. The bubble you wear weighs 25 lbs give or take. Add your weight to it and then imagine crashing into another human wearing a bubble while both of you are running.
A 2016 study title How safe is Bubble Soccer? referred to the most serious known injury from bubble soccer was to a 16 year old boy who suffered a cervical spine burst fracture. The report notes that while contact sports do sometimes result in traumatic neurologic injury to participants, it is rare.
Having said that, in 2019 a Georgia man was awarded $4.6 million due to a bubble soccer brain injury that he suffered as part of a high school celebration 3 years earlier when he was then 18-years old. The rental company that organized the event and provided the bubbles were accused of not properly warning him of the dangers and not adequately providing training before the event. The jury found in the favor of the injured man. While the defense countered with a $1 million offer, the man was awarded $3.6 million more in the final judgment.
Safety advocates and personal injury lawyers report that concussions as well as lower body injuries to the hips, coccyx bone and back are possible with bubble soccer.
Increase Safety
If you’re planning on taking part in bubble soccer, there are several things you can do to reduce the chance of injury.
- Use quality bubbles that are well-made and not cheaply produced. Some European-made bubbles cost upwards of $300 each to give you an idea of why a bubble you’re considering buying online might be much cheaper.
- Ensure all bubbles are property inflated and that all participants are properly strapped into the bubble.
- Only play with people you know well. That way you at least have an understanding of who you’re playing against and are with people you trust.
- Follow all recommended safety instructions and if none are provided because you’re doing it yourself privately, make sure you watch any safety videos or other information provided by the bubble manufacturer.
- Take frequent breaks especially when tired. As you tire, it becomes more difficult to stop and you are more likely to run into each other without control due to momentum.
- Don’t take running starts at your opponents and don’t allow them to do this to you.
- Don’t bounce off walls if you’re indoors as this can lead to back or other lower body injuries particularly to the buttocks which are unprotected.
The Game That Started It All
Here is the video of the soccer event that took place in Norway in 2011 that was broadcast on tv featuring two local football teams playing what would become bubble soccer. The video is in Norwegian with English subtitles.