“Win or Lose , do it fairly” — Knute Rockne — American Football Legend
“It is two all” said Ronit. The final showdown was delayed by a bit due to drinks break ordered by Karan’s Mother. Ronit and Karan had been at each other for the past 3 hours immersed in grueling FIFA battles on the PlayStation at Karan’s home. Ronit an ardent gooner while Karan a devout galactico made it intense. Both the players resembled sportsman spirit as they shook hands once before the final game of the day. The winner is needed to buy the other one a large cheese loaded Magnafito pizza at their favourite pizza outlet — Pinopis.
It began. Karan’s mother was a spectator along with their creased sofas and out of place chairs in the living room. The boys had torn newspapers, thrown away the remote, left empty wrappers of chocolates. The three hours leading to the finale had made the living room, a living hell. Karan’s mother forgot about her entire day’s fatigue as she entered the home to find the boys thirsty and hungry, even worse that they didn’t take a single sip of the fruit juice in the refrigerator.
“Its Casemiro from the left, to Kroos, Modric, to Ronaldo with a lovely ball, slick 1–2 with Benzema & Ronaldo SCORES” the voice of the pre-recorded commentator from the TV made the first half dominance and number of shots on target a mere statistic as Real Madrid take the lead at the end of the first half. Ronit rejoices with his goal in sight for the evening.
It came down to a goal apiece at the end of the two halves, both the players agreeing to extra time play. “David Ospina’s long ball, Iwobi makes a good header to keep it alive, to Xhaka, Lacazette, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Iwobi, Ramsey, shot taken by Iwobi, hits the top bar, goes out to Mkhitaryan who gets a delightful cross to Lacazette, punched by Navas, straight to Aubameyang, lovely tackle, takes out Varane, through Ramos & it’s a GOAL by Aubameyang. One of the finest we have ever seen in extra time” the commentator’s words echoed the dis-belief of Karan. He was beaten twice in a row by Ronit, deserving but unnerving. Nobody wishes to lose.
Karan is a believer of ability and hard work, he believes in the power of concentration and constant effort, it took him 2 years to master FIFA at the world class mode which apparently Ronit had mastered in 6 months now. Ronit who is a state-level footballer himself didn’t believe in the world of competitive gaming on a PlayStation. Here he was defeating his friend-for-life at his own game.
Greetings exchanged by the boys as Mom’s instructions were obeyed of a cleanup before they headed out for supper. The loss is yet to sink in. For Ronit it is just another game, Karan wasn’t a sportsman in the real world, a gamer for the ages who had been defeated by the rookie. His heart took a pounding today specially for a 16-year-old.
Will the dinner be the pacifier for Karan?
Why is Karan distraught after a petty video game loss?
Find out here : Part 2
