Xbox and foosball
On a cold winter night, like the one last night, I am a veritable couch potato. My idea of fun is being curled up in front of our gas fireplace, part dozing, part reading (so as not to become a complete vegetable) and part watching TV which the husband is glued to. No one dare force me to make any effort more than that. So when I was dragged by a friend to his fancy apartment complex with bowling alleys and foosball I was not thrilled. The evening started with
us "golfing" and "skiing" with help from his xbox ( a first for me). Not known for my coordination, I was not a happy camper, but perked up when I actually beat the guys! Then it was downstairs to play foosball. "Come on" i grumbled, "this looks like a toy game that no one over 12 should be allowed to play". Soon we were a bunch of mostly thirty plus somethings ( we had some young folks join us) going at it like we were in the world cup. The playing "field"
is a small square table with 8 levers on it; the players, plastic toy men, are attached to these levers. There two teams are colour coded with blue and red players. Each team member grabs 2 levers with both hands, one playing offense and the other defense. The object is to block your opponent or score into the goal post. What makes it tricky is the limited scope for movement- just the flick of the wrist to block or hit -, coordination between both hands, all the while keeping both eyes on the ball. It became addictive, what with me trying to intellectualize and perfect my technique even as I got more and more competitive. I noticed in retrospect that it was in those moments when i forgot to think that i did the best and had the most fun! I broke out into a sweat, my cheeks flushed from the heat of the exertion and learnt all about being a member of a team, even as I brought out the child in me. Who would have thought foosball could teach me life lessons!
