September 18th, 2008
In September 1994, I was at home while my roommate, a first year law student, was out studying or getting drunk or whatever it is that law students do. The call was for him, a request to come out and help out at a intramural quiz bowl tournament. I explained to the person on the phone that he wasn’t in right now, but I had also played a little bit when I was in school and would be happy to come down and help. And so the journey began.
That first year, that’s all I did. Came in and read some questions at a few games, met some people, and went back into my little world. Call came again in September 1995, I said sure, had fun the last time, I’ll do it again. This time, I also stuck around for a practice. At the practice, I heard of this new thing called a trash tournament that would be happening in Nashville. For some reason, I said yes, I would be interested in going. And so the journey was now leaving the state.
I went down there, a quasi-chaperone to a bunch of undergrads and about to play in my first tournament. Since I didn’t really know anybody, I was placed on a team from Bowling Green that needed a 4th. We went 5-6, my only losing record ever. In my first game, I went 9-1 and nearly would have pulled off the upset of the century, defeating a team I eventually found out was really, really good. The tournament was horrifically disorganized, one of the drivers nearly killed us in Tennessee, but I was hooked. And so the journey became intense.
One of the other players who went down asked me to be a teammate in the next tournament, which would be in March. In the next year’s intramural tournament, I saw this wide-eyed freshman who seemed to know things he shouldn’t know. He became a teammate as well and the three of us were friends first, teammates second. We’ve all traveled many places together, saw the basements of many college campuses and met many nice people whose true friendship was only marred by geography. We won championships, we shared memories both good, bad and bittersweet. However, the bad ones were becoming more prevalent as the dynamics outside the inner circle changed and tournaments became endurance battles. So, I would say, the time has probably come. But was the journey worth it?
In 1999, I was waiting for a practice to begin and picked up a student newspaper to do a crossword puzzle. Next to the puzzle was a display ad for a new company in town looking for developers. I was dissatisfied with my current employer and was ready to move on. In 2008, I am still at that job, and although it has its ups and downs, I could be doing much worse. I would not have my house without this game. I would be wondering who is this gregarious guy my cousin is marrying rather than trying to organize his bachelor party. I have made a network of wonderful people from Boston to Seattle, all ready to help a someone in a strange town. All wonderful things that still shape me to this day. But it is time for the journey to end.
People change — they get older, their beliefs change, their needs change. I could see the exit sign a few years ago but I couldn’t get off the freeway, even though I should have, hoping the construction crew would fix the road. I continued to motor even though I was out of gas, just going through the motions, mainly going to see the people rather than play the game. I learned a lot this summer, mainly that I need new challenges, and I need a new journey.
However, I’m not closing the book, I will still keep it on the night stand and will pick it up from time to time. I still will occasionally play and help out, but it will be on my schedule and my terms, I want experiences where friendship and fun are more important than pride and ego. I also don’t want to lose any of the many friendships I’ve made over the past 14 years, since I know some of you still love the game and don’t want to see it go away. You are all a key part of my life, and it would be incomplete without all of you, and I look forward to seeing you all sooner than later. And I owe it all to one phone call that wasn’t even for me.
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