Don't Let The Losers Win

Here’s what the problem is: we let a lot of loud losers dictate the terms of what we can enjoy and how.

You see this often with certain entertainment products. A group of fans will devote themselves to a given film franchise or television series with such intense zealotry that they’ll edge out all the reasonable people. Or, they won’t edge them out; they’ll drown them out. They won’t just say: “this is something I like.” They won’t even just say: “This is something that’s good.” They’ll say: “This is it, friends. The pinnacle. There has never been anything as awe-inspiring as this, and anyone who disagrees is at once both a dog-minded simpleton and a pretentious snob participating in intellectual gatekeeping.”

The same thing has happened with pickleball. There are people who take it seriously. Like, way too seriously.

Which is especially funny when you consider the sport. It’s called “pickleball,” for starters, but this is not the end of the silliness. Equally ridiculous terms dot the rulebook. Dinks, “the kitchen,” you name it. Beyond that, there’s the fact that it’s often played on the modified court of an inarguably more strenuous sport (tennis) and the average player age at any given pickleball meetup is something like 72.

Despite all this, some people still manage to build an entire (and entirely unironic) personality around the fact that they play pickleball. Which can be a real turn-off to the pickleball-curious among us.

But here’s the thing: we don’t have to let the assholes ruin everything.

We can like Iron Man because it’s a simple popcorn blockbuster. And we can enjoy Rick & Morty for the jokes. And we can watch Stranger Things because it reminds us of classic 80s movies while being a passable way to spend an hour each evening. (Although, it would be nice if someone actually kept each episode to an hour. Seriously, Duffer Brothers, it’s called editing. Look into it!)

Likewise, we can enjoy pickleball for no other reason than that it’s a fun way to get outside and move for people of varying athletic abilities.

Still, you will need a paddle. Like this one.

So buy it!