I played tennis yesterday against a guy that I’d peg at 60 years old. He beat me, which has come to feel quite normal, although this time I pushed him to three sets and kept it close throughout. Still, it’s a little embarrassing to know that you’re not better at such an athletic sport than a man more than twice your age, which is why I’m sharing this factoid on a public blog.
I actually came to play this guy because we met up for a match as part of our doubles league. It was rainy that day, but the forecast was ok for the block of time in which we had scheduled our match. It’s a significant commute for me, but I took the risk and showed up anyway after talking to one of my opponents, the guy who’s served as the unofficial organizer. I get there a little early and it’s raining lightly, but within ten minutes the rain slacks up and I and the other guy go out and hit around for a little. When time gets to our original starting point, we decide the other two aren’t showing up and we start playing singles, which gets us back to the first paragraph.
What pisses me off is that all of the other guys didn’t bother to let us know that they weren't going to show. This seems to be all too common. People seem to flake frequently without any warning. It just doesn’t make sense to me. If you say you’re going to do something either do it, or let the other people know that you’re not going to be there early enough for them to not have to decide how long to wait before bailing on your selfish ass. I can understand not wanting to play tennis because of bad weather, although the courts dried in 30 minutes of the rain stopping and the rest of the evening was beautiful weather.
I just can’t imagine doing this to people. I don’t care that I spent about two hours in a car for something that didn’t happen. I didn’t have anything else to do, and I got in some good practice the week before my next tournament. It’s just that if I had decided the weather didn’t make the trip worth it, I would have called, e-mailed, something to let the other guys know.
7 comments:
It really frustrates me when people say they will do something and then fail to follow through. I don't like disappointment. I'm glad it worked out well for you though - getting to play singles instead of doubles. At least your time wasn't wasted.
That sucks. At least the old dude was there for you to play with.
My whole people are good idea is just falling apart. People do have a tendency to suck, don't they. Upside, you got beat by a senior citizen...
You really do need rose-colored glasses if a tale about two guys who didn't call to let us know they were canceling ruins your generally positive outlook on humanity.
I agree, some people suck.
Don't feel bad about losing to a 60 year old. My brother was playing racquetball against a guy about two decades older. They stopped for a few minutes for the guy (Jim) to get over a "cramp". Then Jim finished beating my brother.
A few hours later my brother found out that Jim was in the hospital because the "cramp" was actually a heart attack.
So my brother was beaten by a guy having a heart attack. Gotta love that...
Theresa B, thanks for that. I can say that my guy seemed perfectly healthy. He didn't mention being treated for a heart attack in the e-mails since.
My brother reminded me that he and Jim played another tournament where they lost in a doubles match with a 13 year old and his mother.
You'd never know he was a decent player from listening to his stories...
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