Backgammon - It Was All About Sex Appeal

It was beginning of my sophomore year at the University of Texas and I was walking into the Student Union after classes to meet a few friends for our weekly hearts game. I had been addicted to hearts since I was a little kids watching my parents, older brothers, aunts and uncles screaming and yelling and gambling on hearts every since I could remember.

I really looked forward to these games, not only because I loved the game, but the other guys I played with were no match for my skills, and I could usually expect to walk away with enough money to pay some bills.

On this particularly day, we had a problem. The people at the next table were playing some silly game with dice, and they were yelling and screaming and arguing so loud I could hardly think. I had seen backgammon before, but I wasn't about to waste my time on a silly game of luck.

Two or three times we asked them to quiet down, and we were met by glares. After the third time they became very noisy, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I walked over the to table and explained to them, very nicely, that we were engaged in a game of skill that requires thinking and strategy, and if they wanted to continue playing their silly little game of luck, they should either do so quietly or go play in the day care center where silly games are supposed to be played.

I was, of course, greeted by dead silence and disbelief until finally, a young lady stood up from the game and said some things to the affect that if I knew anything at all about backgammon, I would know what an amazing game of skill and strategy it really was. The reason I wasn't quite sure about exactly what she said was that I was completely and utterly distracted by the fact that she was the most beautiful girl I have ever talked to in my life up to that very young point in my life!

I stammered and stuttered and made some noises that I hope sounded like an apology, and she laughed and went back to her game.

That night, I went to three bookstores before I could find a book on backgammon, and I stayed up all night reading and studying the game. I also went out and bought a cheap checker set because it had backgammon on the back.

The rest is history. By the following week I was playing backgammon and I was hooked. That was in 1966, and I've been playing almost constantly ever since'50 years.

Are you wondering about the beautiful girl? It would be a great story if I told you that she is my wife to this day, but that's not the case. It would be a pretty good story if I told you that we fell in love and had a great, passionate romance. Sorry, didn't happen.

Here's what did happen: she was a horrible loser, and the better I got and the more I won the angrier she got. When I realized this about her, I decided that if I would throw some games maybe she would like me, but I just couldn't get myself to do that. I trounced her consistently, and she hated me with a passion. What a waste of a beautiful woman! But I sure enjoyed beating her!