A Humbling Tournament

How I learned that I am the U’s worst bags player

By Max Pritchard

When I signed up for the University of Minnesota Student Unions & Activities bags tournament, I was quietly confident of my abilities. While I would never claim to be an expert in bags, I was quite certain I could hold my own.

It turns out I could not. 

My friend and I checked in at the Field House and then got half an hour to warm up—which I really appreciated. Following that, the opening round of games was announced. Teams were paired against each other and instructed to play best out of three games.

As is the nature of bags, each team member was separated to opposite boards. This was quite nice, as it gave us a chance to talk to our friendly opponents and meet some people we wouldn’t have without this event. As for the actual competition…

We lost 21-7 in the first game, then 21-3 in the next. 

Most other teams were still playing their first game, and we were already out. The tournament was single-elimination, and we were the first pair to depart. We can quite confidently claim to have been the worst team there, only barely breaking double digits for our overall points tally (to which I contributed a measly three points). 

All I can really do now is try again next year, which I fully intend to do. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and it was a fun way to spend a snowy Saturday afternoon. It was nice to go to an event where winning didn’t feel like the utmost priority, where there was a nice blend between laid back and competitive, and where it was possible to have fun while being undisputedly the worst player there. The whole experience was very enjoyable and definitely left me looking forward to future Student Unions & Activities events.