so...

[samhampton]

i must make a clarification about my feelings about being in the top of the bottom division in albany. my lack of enthusiasm has less to do with ratings and more to do with the kind of game i like to play -- anyone who knows how much time i spent getting my ass kicked by considerably better players can understand that i would rather lose a

Comments

[vavaverity]

my lack of enthusiasm has less to do with ratings and more to do with the kind of game i like to play

This is EXACTLY the position I am in, and the ONLY reason I am trying to bump up to 1200 this weekend.

It has absolutely ZERO to do with the rating itself.

[samhampton]

...and this is one of the many reasons i adore you :)

[hector31]

as an aside, i have been on the losing end of the games i have enjoyed playing the most. i think this says a lot...or at least hope it does.

Certainly a good attitude to have. I wish everyone felt this way. A great game is a great game, regardless of who wins.

I recall a few years ago playing this explosive game where both my opponent and I were over 400 with a decent chunk of tiles left. It was possible that we'd both get over 500 before the game ended and the board had some beautiful plays on it. I normally try to play as silently, unobtrusively as possible, but nonetheless I inanely mumbled "this has been an incredible game" to her late in the contest. She replied, "We'll see," the upshot being that if she didn't win, she didn't think it was all that special a game.

I didn't say anything then, but I remember telling my peeps later, "I never want to be like that." It's not all about me, me, me winning, my great plays, me, me, me. There's so much more to it.

[samhampton]

i never want to be like that, either. the few people who actually read my ramblings have full permission to slap me around should i ever cross that line.

the pre-muffler huffing speach

[satireblank]

Another good entry to help convince myself I like playing as top seed! :)

Re: the pre-muffler huffing speach

[samhampton]

you'll have fun, i'm sure of it :)

[ericaareicceria]

you sure do have your head on straight. that's a great sentiment and fully appreciated by someone at the bottom. i've been studying and i jumped nearly 50 points to 752 this weekend despite a pretty horrible showing in philly the day after north salem (though, cross-tables has my rating wrong. i sent them an email, will the fix it?), so i feel like slowly but surely my studying might be paying off. even in philly during a terrible day, i played what was probably my most enjoyable game of tournament scrabble to date and still lost. but i felt really great after the game because i played a great a game against someone who was enjoying herself as well. that's the key...joy is contagious and makes all the other stuff we can't control (seeds, payouts, ratings curves, bad draws, and the whole messy thing) a bit more bearable. enough so that we keep signing up no matter what we say in the heat of the moment on our blogs! i hope we have a matchup in albany!