Kids' Game Makes Adult Comeback

Kickball League Sues Competitor

(CBS)  It seems we never get tired of reliving our youth. The "Atari" game system came back this year, as did "Strawberry Shortcake." The "Rock-Paper-Scissors" championship was held in Las Vegas this spring.

And a kid's game reclaimed by adults has matured so much it's even gotten into grown-up sized trouble. Correspondent Joie Chen got a "kick" out of the whole thing.

What would help you feel like a kid again? Maybe all it would take is a green field, a little running around and a big, red rubber ball. Welcome back to your childhood and one of the hottest recreational games among adults today: kickball.

The game is just like you remember it: two teams and four bases. It's like softball, only without the bats. The rules haven't changed much but in adult kickball you must be 21 years or older and have current health insurance.

And players bring their more "adult side" onto the field.

"When you're playing kickball, you're realizing that we're all as silly and insignificant as fifth graders," says author Christopher Noxon, who has written a new book titled "Rejuvenile."

"I think part of the appeal of these childlike activities it makes us feel safe, it makes us feel playful," Noxon adds.

Most players are over 25, nearly half are women and a few admit they're trying to recapture their youth.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life. I love kickball!" says kickball player Liz Godesky.

The big league of kickball is WAKA: the World Adult Kickball Association. WAKA claims 50,000 players on teams in 22 states. This year the national organization will take in $3 million in membership dues.

But with a grown up league come grown up problems. Nasty rivalries. Questions about money. And now, a lawsuit. Earlier this year, WAKA filed a half-million dollar lawsuit against the start-up DC Kickball league, claiming "copyright infringement."

"Everything we do is to protect the WAKA experience that is unique to our players and provide people with the most exceptional kickball," says WAKA spokeswoman Tiffany Ficklin. "We just want to play kickball."

It may seem a little silly, but the defendant, former WAKA player Carter Rabasa, isn't surprised at all. "No, because it is a business, you know? The sport being silly doesn't obscure the amount of money that is involved," he says.

It's so much money, that Rabasa gave up his six-figure salary as an IT consultant to run his little league full time.

But for the players kickball just isn't about the money: the games are as much about party as they are about play. Which is why so many kids-at-heart are getting out there and playing, like grown ups.