Really Tough Ping-Pong
About a week and a half ago I had the opportunity to go to the national college table tennis championship, which was held less than two hours away at Rochester, MN. One of my Japanese friends was playing for the University of Minnesota, so we went to root for him. It was a really fun event. It makes me wonder why college basketball gets so much coverage, but something as cool as this is left with a crowd of spectators of about less than 200.
Our friend got us into the practice area for the competitors and we were able to show off our super slow-motion skills. At least that is how we felt while the players all around us were playing at full speed. We must have looked fairly pathetic.
A fun surprise was to find out that there was a team from my home country, Puerto Rico, participating. And they were actually quite good. It was great to be able to talk to some fellow Puerto Ricans and to root for them while they played.
That day after we came back, I played the most ping-pong I have ever played in my life. At least now I am confident that I can beat a total beginner. Unfortunately, it seems that just watching really good players is not enough. But it still gives me the motivation to go play and make a fool of myself.
