Love of The Game

A reporter recently asked me two questions that I had surprisingly never thought about.

1) Why did you choose to be a bridge professional?
2) Why is your goal to become the best player in the world?

Answering question #1 was easier. The main reason is simple; I love bridge. I truly think it is the greatest game in the world. No matter how long you play it never becomes boring and you never master it. Every hand and auction has a certain beauty about it. The game challenges me, stimulates me, and affects my thinking in other areas of life. I find myself completely infatuated with the game and its intricacies.

I also love to compete. Those who know me know that my main goal in pretty much everything is to win. It doesn't matter if you are my best friend or a family member, when I sit down against you I am hoping to kill you. I expect the same from others. There is something about competing that just gets my juices going and makes me feel alive.

Working a 9-5 job, I just feel like I'm going through the motions. It felt the same way in school, completely monotonous. That is not a good feeling and not the way I want to spend my life. A 9-5 job is just not for me. Sure, I could probably make much more money being a lawyer or programmer, but what good is it if I feel bored and unhappy? Money to me is just a means to live, as long as I can make enough to live playing bridge the rest is extraneous.

Some people have speculated that after playing pro for many years I will become bored or that I will look back on my life and feel like it was empty. This may be true, but this is also true of almost every profession. It's impossible to tell the future, but I do think it is unlikely that this will happen.

Question #2 was a little bit tougher to answer, but I think it is closely related to my answer in question #1. I am very competitive, and if I am going to dedicate my time and life to something I want to be the best. Not one of the best, but the best. I'm sure many lawyers want to be at the top of their field, and professional athletes want to achieve greatness. There is just some internal drive in me to reach the top. Will I feel like I have failed if I become the great player but not the best in the world? It's hard to say, but I think if I try my hardest and know that I did and someone happens to be better I will feel successful. The real failure would not be trying my hardest and having my game stagnate.

I think about, write about, talk about, read about, and play bridge every day. I try to do so with an open mind, willing to learn to things and discover that I have been wrong about certain things. I think if I keep this attitude I will be able to achieve my goal. Natural talent is necessary, but I think (hope?) that I have it. I do realize that other people probably have the same goal as me, and we can not all be the best.

I also realize that it's hard or impossible to determine who the best really is. Many would claim Jeff Meckstroth is, very reasonably so, even though circumstances have not permitted him to hold the number one ranking in the world. It is hard to measure, and I will never really know so perhaps being "one of the best" is a more measurable thing to attain.

I think this is a good question for everyone to think about. To make it more applicable to most people I would ask what are your goals in bridge and why? Are you doing everything you can to achieve them?