I used to play Foosball almost daily for a few months back in middle school, but haven’t really touched it since then.  Who knew I would have a reprise of this unusual sport while in Paris?

First Foosball game of the tournament

Apparently there is an EAMA tradition that has been going on for about ten years where people form teams and gather at an “establishment” to play a bracketed tournament of Foosball.  The tournament begins with a qualifying round where pretty much everyone qualifies.  This round is basically to figure out how much people actually suck so that in the tournament they can pair people up against teams that will be an equal match.  I formed a team with a composer named Lee Flatt, a 6’9″ composer from Tennessee, who named our team the Bent-Overs because when you’re over 6 feet tall and you’re hunched over a 5 foot Foosball table for more than a game, your back gets really sore.  We went to the initial establishment for the qualifying rounds having not touched a Foosball table to entire time we’ve been in Paris.  Our first opponent was a team comprised of composers Nick Landrum and Dillon Henry.  Needless to say, this was our only game, but I must state that it was a pretty even match, as we only lost by one point!

The next day after the reading session where the beginning of my third string quartet was read, Professor Lane Harder announced our standings in the tournament to be held that evening.  Lee and I were placed at 10 out of 16, miraculously, and our opponent would be…  Nick and Dillon…  again!  That evening, I headed over to the other “establishment” where the tournament was being housed.  Getting there, however, could easily be added to the list of stories I seem to be gathering about the Paris Metro, as we decided to follow another composer named Alex Weiser, who was the only one that had written down the directions to this place we needed to get to.  We hopped on the train and started following his instructions to a T, despite going against the signs that were posted all over the place…  We successfully got lost, and were eventually pointed in the correct direction by other composers that we had randomly run into in our meandering.  Apparently, the very first direction that Alex had written down was the complete opposite of what it should have been…  but we did find the place, and the tournament hadn’t even started!

Shortly after my arrival, I was told my game would start in about 2 minutes, and was asked where my partner was.  Lee hadn’t been around when Professor Harder posted the results of the qualifying round, and I was informed by one of his friends that he wasn’t coming.  This was almost a tragedy, except there was another composer there by the name of Nina Young whom just came along for the ride, but was willing to play.  With this teammate switch, Nina and I oddly made quick work of Nick and Dillon, despite them kicking our butts the night before.  We were in the second round!  Woo!  Our next opponent was Prof. Harder and Haralabos Stafylakis, whom Nina informed me was the only team ever to beat Dr. Lasser and Dr. Boyle’s Foosball team in the history of the tournament.  Haralabos (Harry for short) was probably the most impressive, as he could send the ball down the table with the slightest movement.  I blame his Canadian super powers…  but they wiped the floor with us.  We only scored one point, and then we were done.  Now that I was done with the tournament, I decided to indulge with a beverage that was served at this establishment.

Dr. Lasser and Dr. Boyle before the championship game

The final round for the tournament ended up being Lasser and Boyle versus Harder and Stafylakis, as it had been two years prior.  Throughout the game, despite both teams being quite engaged, they kept saying things like, “that was a rather pleasant shot,” and “good play.”  The game progressed to a 7 to 7 tie, where upon both teams congratulated each other on a good game thus far.  It then moved to 9 to 9.  Same thing, but now we were down to the last point.  Who would take home the trophy?  Would Lasser and Boyle reclaim their title?  Or would Harder and Stafylakis overthrow the kings yet again?  The ball was dropped, and before it even hit the table, Harder flicked his middle man, hitting the ball up and over all of Lasser’s defensive men, including the goalie.  The ball plopped into the goal, and the entire table stood silent.  Lasser looked up, and said, “was that really it?”  Everyone started applauding, accompanied by comments like, “there could not have been a better ending to that.”  Lasser even said that he felt his reputation was untainted because that move was completely unblockable.  It truly was the perfect ending to an epic tournament.

Lane and Harry after the Championship game