The Dating Game Takes to The Field

(News Today) - Looking for love in New York City can lead to nights in crowded bars and long hours spent clicking through profiles on dating websites. But for Christina Cozzi it led to team sports.

“It's a lot easier to get to know someone while wearing sweat pants and no makeup,“ says the 27-year-old, who turned to dating services while she was busy starting up her own marketing firm. “I found it so much easier to get to know guys while sharing a common love for sports, being relaxed and having fun.“

Co-ed leagues offering weekly games, plus post-game happy hours, have caught on with active New Yorkers looking for new ways to meet people. ZogSports, which organizes weekly games of football, kickball, volleyball, dodgeball and softball for young professionals, has seen membership soar in recent years. Another network, the NYC Social Sports Club, has turned away requests to partner with dating websites trying to get in on the sports action.

Ms. Cozzi, who joined a touch football league without knowing any of the rules of organized football, says her dates originating from ZogSports events have been far more successful than the chronic disappointments of Internet matchmaking. Apparently she isn't alone: Managers at ZogSports say they know of more than 40 marriages that began in their leagues.

Matt Archambault, the marketing manager for NYC Social Sports Club, which includes activities such as broomball, ultimate Frisbee and inner-tube water polo, says he knows of a handful of couples who have gotten married after meeting in one of his group's leagues. He says that just a few months ago, one of those couples had the first NYC SSC baby. (The league plans to send the infant a very tiny jersey.)

Mr. Archambault says dating sites frequently reach out to partner with the Social Sports Club, but he says he declines because such sites tend to have far more female than male members. “We don't want to scare away our guys. Socialized sport is a way to meet people without seeming like you're trying. With online dating you are definitely trying.“

The very act of playing team sports can enhance the potential for attraction, says dating coach Tracey Steinberg. “It is easy to encourage, acknowledge and support your fellow teammates, which can be attractive to others,“ she says. Ms. Steinberg also cites the “Romeo and Juliet“ mentality that can ensnare members of opposing teams.

That's what happened to Adam Wattstein. The 43-year-old says he wasn't the kind of guy who approached women in bars, but losing to Jodi Lustig's volleyball team in a playoff tournament -- followed by a few rounds of drinking games at Tracy J's Watering Hole in Gramercy -- made it easy to find his courage.

“Playing volleyball was the icebreaker, and then the fact that we all went to the bar together helped to seal the deal,“ Mr. Wattstein says. “Otherwise I wouldn't have had the nerve to talk to her for that long after the game and then ask for her number.“

And there's something to be said for meeting a potential mate when everyone looks worse for wear. “When I met Adam I was all sweaty, no makeup and I just figured, well, he's seen the worst of it,“ says 41-year-old Ms. Lustig. “It can only get better from here.“

A year after that volleyball match, the couple were engaged. They married in 2008.

Source : kompas

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