Today I took part in my first ever pool tournament and there were a lot of things I learned from the experience. You see…..I don’t want to sound all egotistical, but, I am a pretty damn good pool player and well….I ended up loosing my first round match to this guy who I’d say, is a descent pool player himself (not in the same league as me of course!!) the best part about the whole thing was that I actually lost on a technical detail which temporarily evaded my thinking and I ended up loosing a best of 3 game – 2 to nothing!. For all you pool freaks out there, I had finished sinking all my balls and I went on to pot the black ball without calling which pocket I was actually netting it in!......just in case you’re wondering……yes, that was the pocket I intended to put it in, but I forgot to tell my opponent which pocket I was putting it in!. I know…..it seems like a stupid freakin rule, but then, life can be hard on you at times!. Anywayz getting back to my story, at first, I felt quite disappointed because I had the game in my hands but let it slip away, but later on I thought “Ok, I lost, what’s the big deal” I might as well support my friends and girl friend too who was taking part in the tournament as well. Turned out she did a lot better than me and went on to beat this professional snooker player too! I was very happy for her, but the crucial game was in the semi final where my good friend had advanced and was facing a chance of earning himself 5 grand if he got to the final. His opponent was another guy who was a regular player in the pool parlor where we used to go and play and at first, my friend was doing quite well and looked well on track to win the game, but then I found out that the opponent he was playing with was a boy of the age of 18 who was having a serious heart problem and had a lot of breathing difficulties as well. Suddenly something inside of me ticked……I observed the guy playing and he was actually so tensed up that he could hardly breath!, but he kept playing and tried his level best to win……and win he did!, in 3 games he came up on the winning side with 2 out of 3 games!. All our friends who were cheering for my friend were quite disappointed after the result but for some reason or the other, I actually felt good that my friend lost! I kept watching the guy who beat my friend play and he had determination written all over his face, it was as if he was pushing his body to the extreme just so that he could bring a smile to all his friend’s faces after winning. After the game finished, I went over to him and congratulated him on his win, and he gave one of the most honest humane smiles I’ve seen in my life, and it opened up a part of me I’d never known existed. You see……I’m actually a very hard fighter when it comes to these kind of sports activities and I hate to be on the loosing side and I have the tendency to always view my opponent as the enemy!.....and that I should destroy him at all costs!, but then, for that fleeting second or two when I shook his hand and saw his joy and happiness, it made me really think a lot about how I view a game from now on. Now please don’t get mistaken that by saying this I’m getting all softy, I’m a fighter, and in a game, I always play to win…..but does it really matter who’s the winner and looser…..I say……NO!. For just like me, there are others who are also trying to win, and most of them who took part in this tournament were people who were from poor families and this was an opportunity for them to make their friends and families proud by winning some money!, so what even if I lost!, it’s not like it’s the end of the world!.....I still know I’m an awesome player (here we go again!....hehehe) but I just didn’t have the luck to win this time round!. Anywayz, to finish things off, today was a day I learned to be a true Sportman…..and you can only become one when you come to realize that you’re actually just playing a game, and the person who is able to always keep that in mind and not let his ego get the better of him is the person who has gained the most in the end!. Take care fellow bloggers!. Gnight!.