The Game Changer

There is something to be said for being able to play “The Game”. Of course there are no defined rules, it’s like prison rules. Anything goes. But when did romance become a sport, a game of people’s feelings? Excuse my naivety but shouldn’t it be, that if you like a girl (or boy) you say something, or do something to make sure she knows it, isn’t this what Shakespeare taught us, what Hollywood shows us and what most love Ballads proclaim? I’ve clearly missed the memo.

I can’t be the only one on the playing field who feels like the smallest player on a rugby team. I’m sure there are other “players” out there hoping someone will call the ref for a time out. If we’re all running around hoping to “win”, then surely by way of playing the game, someone is going to lose? No body likes to lose, so you kit up and face the opponent.

I’ll be honest; I’m no good at this game. I can’t ignore someone if I like them, pretend not to be interested in their interests, flirt with their friends to make them jealous. These Jedi mind tricks are just too much for me, making me look like Bambi on ice. And what’s worse than being useless at the game? Playing against a pro; someone who is fearless when it comes to ignoring you, pretending not to be interested, flirting with your friends, and then roundhouse kicking the logic out of you and treating you like gold, or an ice-cold beer. These are the players you have to watch out for. Their crafty tactics (like “the back handed compliment”) makes them impossible to predict and more importantly, impossible to escape from.

So here is my question; how do you survive on a playing field filled with seasoned professionals and serial gamers. Do you toughen up, get into training and join them? Do you pull an “Underdog” move and come back and conquer everyone? Is that the only way? Or do you sit on the sidelines and watch the game unfold in front of your eyes, knowing that it’s easy to shout advice from the sidelines, but also knowing you’d bomb out in the first minute on the field.

I think it comes down to this: if you’re an expert at the game, if you can read people’s emotions, play like no one can get to you, steam roll the opposition, get people to bend to your will; are you really the winner at the end of the day? When you become so good at the game that eventually you forget the reasons you started playing in the first place, are you really the champion? I’ve had a lot of time and experience to judge my position on this team. Gingerly stepping out onto the playing field,  I’m going to watch out for the serial gamers, make my way to the goal posts and just hang around and wait for The Game Changer, because chances are, he’s out there failing just as dismally as I am.