A Game Of Pool

I watched this episode of the Twilight Zone a couple of nights ago.  I was first exposed to it a number of months back at my work (my locker is in the team center, so they usually have something playing on the TV most of the time).  I wasn't able to finish the episode at that time, but what I did see of it had me intrigued.  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the basis of the episode is simple: A man obsessed with being called the best pool player around gets his chance to play for eternal glory when the spirit of the best pool player in town comes back for one high-stakes game where victory means life and defeat means death.

The concept is simple, but the theme is universal: Sometimes being the best comes with unintended consequences.  In the case of this episode, the man does ultimately become the legend he always wanted to be, but in doing so becomes tied to the burden of being the best even in the afterlife.  

I think in any field there's a price to pay if you want to be the king of the mountain.  The man in this episode has allowed his life to be completely devoured by his obsession of being the best pool player in history.  The spirit, "Fats" Brown, tries to warn him at numerous points throughout the story that there is more to life than just the game.  He was the best not just because he put in the time, but because he also lived outside of the game too.  

I think it's easy to forget to actually live life sometimes when we're being consumed by the daily minutia of our Facebook-infused and Internet-lined lives.  That status update will always be there when you return.  Get outside and enjoy the sun.