My Foosball kick
So, amidst the stay in place I started looking back at things I wanted to do (or purchase) that would bring joy to my life...and a foosball table was pretty close to the top of my list. Having fond memories of my brothers skillfully scoring goal after goal in my primary school days. Yes, I don’t recall ever winning a game.
A few “must-have” criteria for my foosball fantasy was 1) single-man goalie (none of this three-person stuff...I mean, seriously?) 2) not bulky/too heavy (but also sturdy) so I can move it around on my own if needed 3) under $150
Believe it or not, I found exactly what I was looking for back in November 2016 at an online store called KICK Foosball. The model was a 48” called “Elite”. I had contacted the owner back then and they didn’t have them in stock. This went on for about a year of checking on and off for inventory and I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
Fast forward stay-in-place 2020 sitting at home catching up on every hobby I never had time to do, I saw my “little list of items that would be nice to have when friends come over”.
Believe or not, they actually now had the exact table on Amazon! But I bought it from the Kick foosball website. After all these years..at last! After chatting I’ve email with Alex (the owner), the purchase was made and I just had to wait for the shipment.
One of my besties, Joe, came over to help with the unboxing and translating the terrible instructions that came with it. To be fair, I did the translating which is probably why I took so long. I swear I can put IKEA furniture together easily but this thing was a fiend. Fortunately, we had beer to help us along so the process was fairly funny.
After a couple of hours (yes, I don’t want to hear about it) and one faulty rod, it was complete. Some important things to note should you try this yourself is 1) make sure the men and the grips/handles are facing the correct way for each row. Set it up beside the table so you can see it before you put it together. 2) Those triangular plastic corners are absolutely necessary so the ball doesn’t get stuck on the corners. 3) a few of the the holes on the rods are not drilled very well so some will require brute force but make sure you don’t ruin the threads on the screws (and if it really doesn’t work, KICK foosball offered great customer service). 4) have a couple of beers next to you. 5) Buy tournament balls (if you use them, you have to remove the plastic rings in the center of the panel so they fit through because the balls that come with the table are smaller).
Side Note: Tournament balls are different because they have a “grip” to them which make the game more strategic by being able to pass the ball from one rod player to another.
After 3.5 years of waiting... this beauty was ready to go!! And, boy, it was definitely worth the wait! The table was playable, sturdy enough and I would say the quality was up to par. I’m personally super thrilled with it. If you’d like to check it the table (and other models), visit