Muffled click-clacking and shouts of victory echo down the mirrored Events Center hallway. Middle-aged middle-Americans sporting backward baseball caps and varying styles of facial hair lap the 2007 Hall of Fame Classic tournament perimeter in tight groups of three and four. There’s little signage to speak of; just a lone television relaying a tight shot of colorful spinning figures and a ricocheting ball.
But through the conference-room doors, it’s like a tiny barroom corner has expanded to take over not just the bar, but an entire city block. Snack, sponsor and trophy tables line the walls and TV cameras cover all the action: several game-table battlegrounds tiled across one half of the room, and separate main tables situated below tiered spectator seats across the other.
This is no place for attempts at foosball humor (“I think foosball is a combination of soccer and shish kabobs ... Foosball f--ked up my perception of soccer. I though you had to kick the ball and then spin ’round and round. I can’t do a back flip, much less several simultaneously with two other guys.” –Mitch Hedberg).
The men and women, old and young, representing two dozen divisions, steadfastly maintain their fixed, intense expressions this fifth and final day of play. Serious business.
Perhaps the 2007 World Air Hockey Championships in the smaller room with fewer TV cameras across the hall aren’t as tough a crowd.