It’s refreshing to know that some people won’t let something like maturity stand in the way of their competitive spirit. There are multiple sides to this story. Here’s how things looked from where I was sitting.
One of the hints for bar trivia last night was sign language. Jordan, one of my friends and regular attendees, is an interpreter. We usually have so many people we split into 2 teams. The shenanigans began when one of the more competitive girls, Sandra, on Team A announced on the MeetUp page “I would like to nominate Jordan for Team A.” A girl who is even more competitive, Clara, replied “I second this. He’s always on the other team.”
Jordan is usually on the other team because he’s friends with several Team B regulars. The reason I stated on the MeetUp page was that, “We want Jordan because we like him every week” and omitted ‘not just weeks he’s useful.’ Clara came back with “We want him every week. He just doesn’t like us : (“
When we got there Sandra and Clara started with arguments for why he should be on their side. I only joined in to point out that they have never fought for him before his skills were relevant. Clara told me I was wrong “I’m sorry you don’t pay attention to that but I try to get him to join our team every week.”
I’m going to throw in a few ‘bless her hearts’ and say this with all the affection I can muster: Shenanigans.
I’m sure she’s invited him in the past but does she fight to get him on her team every week? No. Has she ever fought to get other people from Team B in the past when they weren’t of use? Very much no.
The sign language round turned out to be the alphabet. Team A was like “We don’t need Jordan. We’re fine.” That’s fine since we weren’t 100% on the answers. That’s when Clara and Sandra decided Jordan wasn’t allowed to help the team he was on. Sandra immediately pulled Jordan aside to distract him and called in Clara to help. They were blocking him on both sides so he couldn't see to help us and announcing they were distracting him.
It was one of the most childish and petty things I’ve seen happen at trivia, possibly my adult life. This wasn’t high school behavior, it was junior high. I wasn’t particularly interested in speaking to either one of them for the rest of the night. It was alienating, inappropriate, and, as it turns out, unnecessary.
Team A was in the lead until the very last round when they fell to second place. Alienating friends and making several people uncomfortable was totally worth it then?
I’ve been on the winning team several times and would you like to know what I’ve gotten for it? Nothing. That’s right, winning doesn’t really get you anything. If it does, I’ve never seen it.
If there was money or free beer on the line, I could understand a little bit of competition. This was excessive. You know how couples who are obnoxiously adorable look like they’re trying to prove something? Kind of the same here. What’s missing in your life that this behavior is acceptable when you’re dancing toward 30? If the answer is nothing then why act like this?
This is why I’m always on Team B. I’ve seen people ignore correct answers because they didn’t want to listen, hog between round puzzle sheets, and suck the fun out of it all in the name of winning. I appreciate the spirit of competition but what is the point of winning if I hate getting there?
I’m honestly not sure I want to go back next week. If it was anybody’s first night, I wouldn’t blame them for not coming back.
Music: Choose Your Battles by Katy Perry
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