The Sublime Competition

We found our competitiveness in bars, arcades, and game rooms. Games that transcend into sport. But what is competition? What actually is sport?

We noticed early that our eye-hand coordination helps us succeed. In darts: we have been able to toss the tiny spear into cork with accuracy, on a pool (bumper pool, billiards, snooker) table we are able to find the perfect angle to send one object into another with accuracy. It's the same on a shuffleboard table: using our talent to calculate the angle and force onto the primary object for score or to frustrate our opponent by leaving that object in position to obfuscate their path to victory.

Foosball, our beloved obsession, is different. Foosers have an intelligent, sentient, crafty opponent literally standing in our way. We are challenging one another head to head, face to face. An Opponent that is determined to block our attempts and respond without prejudice in real time, right away. Immediately. Instantly. Surprisingly.

Yes, we do calculate force and angle to perfection but we must also deal with strategies that include our opponents skills, strengths, weaknesses. We must consider our opponents adjustments to our efforts. Even though our adrenaline is overpowering us we must instantly consider what adjustments they can implement against our attempts so we can foment mistakes and take advantage of their miscalculations. Sublime.

Foosball: the sport. My sport.