People usually perform this game in their younger teenage years, where they are just starting to come to terms with their sexuality. I think Tom’s right, but this game also represents a form of homophobia that exists with many young males throughout the country. Plus, its an entertaining game that people could perform with their friends at school. Sometimes people might unintentionally zone and appear to be looking at another persons crotch area, and this is a way of calling that action out. Tom said that he thinks the game is a funny way to bring attention to the fact that someone is staring at your crotch. People got bored with the game quickly, according to Tom, but it always managed to come back at some point until he graduated from high school. Some weeks people would play this game every day, and others nobody would play. People would do it randomly, and the popularity of the game would fade in and out as time went on. He had no idea where his friend learned the game, but it most other people at his school knew about the game, too.

Tom said that he learned this from his friend one day at school. If your friend looked at your hand and managed to put their finger through the hole formed by your finger and thumb before you said “Ball Gazer,” they would have the authority to punch you instead. If your friend glanced at your hand, you would have to say ∻all Gazer. After that, you had the authority to punch them as hard as you wanted. Then, you would put your hand below your waist. In order to perform the game, you would touch your index and thumb fingertips together to form a circle, with the other three fingers pointing up, much like the okay sign in modern American popular culture. It was an ongoing game, and anyone could do it to anyone else at any time. Tom told me that ∻all Gazer was a game he played with his friends in high school.

Ball gazer game