Hey everyone this is the first of 7(!) consecutive blogs that I plan to post this week! Last weekend, I had an opportunity to attend a YuGiOh card tournament, held in a random card store on the corner of University and King Street. You see, one of my brother's friends is a hardcore Yu Gi Oh card player, and he invited Robin (my brother) to watch him "duel it out". Robin and I had no idea what was in store for us, but we knew enough about card tournaments to understand what was at stake. Apparently, the tournament we were invited to watch was a huge championship tournament in which the only players allowed to enter were those who had won a tournament in the past rolling year's time. The winner of such a prestigious tournament was awarded a box of unopened cards, their pick of 2 rare metallic cards, and a $100 gift certificate to the store. Entry fees weren't too high--about $15 per player, but the tournament was single-elimination, which meant you'd be going home if you lost your first match.
We met my brother's friend outside the store at 9 AM. He--lets call him Alvin--told us that we would have to watch from a distance because the players didn't like it when bystanders got in their line of focus. After his words of advice, we stepped into the store. The scene that befell me was bizarre and scary. There was a wide range of participants--from young kids to middle aged men. Some were dressed in costumes, others looked homeless, and the majority of the people wore glasses. "Nerds!" I thought to myself when I saw the damage. Rows of tables were set up across the length of the room, seated around them were the very people I never thought I'd hang out with. To interrupt this post, here is some background information. I'm not a very tolerant person when it comes to obsessive video gaming, intense anime card playing, or costume wearing. I find myself cringing when I pass students at school who are locked in heated computer game battles or GameBoy DS Lite multiplayer orgies. Being contained in the small space of the card collectors store with two dozen people who I vowed never to interact with was traumatizing! When I entered, they had looked at me with suspicion and I suppose I gave them the same glare back, but when the tournament official stood on a chair and announced the rules of the game, all eyes fell on him, diverted from awkward 'ole me. After explaining the rules of the games, there was thunderous applause and the matches began.
I'm an athlete so I was disappointed that the card game involved a lot of thinking and motionlessness. The battle I kept my eye on was between a teenager around my age (18) and a guy who looked like he was about 30. It may seem like I'm exaggerating this story for entertainment purposes but I'm not--the older guy literally had a unibrow! As I sized him up, I noticed that he was wearing faded blue jeans that were two inches too high above his ankle. His tshirt was a faded black color with some kind of creature on it. At one point, he was stuck in indecision for five straight minutes. He rocked back and forth in his chair, his eyes were locked on the cards, and every so often he would indicate at the cards with his fingers, muttering to himself under his breath. It was unbelievable to watch these people play Yu Gi Oh--they were so fierce, yet so "zen"! Ten minutes later, he was victorious and, as the two compeditors shook hands, the watching crowd clapped their hands. I wondered to myself, "Why is it that we judge these people for what they enjoy doing?" I didn't address the answer until I had left the store.
On the way home, I pondered the question and finally came up with an answer. Most of us are too lazy to try and discover for ourselves what these people are like. Although most of them are people you might be able to pick out of a crowd and label as "nerds", I was surprised that a good number of people looked perfectly "normal". In fact, I felt that the people in the store were a lot less judgemental than the people I hang out with on a daily basis. They applauded each other after victories and patted each other on the back when they lost, which is totally unlike most "manly" sports like football and wrestling. Even tennis is guilty of errupting i the occasional on-court skirmish. Each and every match went about with the most dignity I have ever seen. Although the competition was fierce and some battles were furious, they never forgot that it was "just a game" at the end of the day. I don't remember who won the tournament, and it isn't really important but, what I will remember is the gamesmanship that the players showed. My initial looks of disgust turned to looks of understanding by the time I left--I was captured by the good feelings being exchanged. Its strange how we don't want to take the time to connect with these kinds of people. Although some of them may look suicidal, and most can intimidate with their extensive knowledge of PSPs, they are still people in the end, and its not our place to judge their preferences for clothing, leisurely activities, or outward appearance. What I felt at the end of my pondering was a neat new feeling that, no matter what you look like, in compeditive situations, the best player wins and stigmatizing won't get you an advantage! Competition makes humans out of all of us.
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