"I'm not your pal, buddy!"

Last week, a few Gentlemen, a coworker, and I had the unique privilege of taking in a Maryland Terrapins basketball game. Percy had 4 tickets and a parking pass to the Maryland-FSU game so we decided to take him up on this economic free-ride opportunity. I will describe the experiences of the game later, but first, I'd like to share a social interaction I had with a fellow ticket-holder.

Our seats were in the 2nd row of upper deck corner opposite Florida State's bench, pretty good area especially for the price of Free.99. At half-time, my coworker and I began a long discussion about career-related issues that would continue well into the second half. Two gentlemen in front of us left their seats at half to enjoy the $10 nachos and Terrapin Pretzels. As our discussion progressed, I eased into my seat and put my feet up on the back of the chair directly in front of me, not realizing that 18% of my left foot was on the one guy's jacket. 10 minutes later, I was so engaged in federal software contracting talk that I assumed the fellows had left the game, not realizing how much time had actually passed since they left their seats. However, with about a minute before the start of the 2nd half, they returned. As I saw them wiggle their way down the row towards their seats, I realized that I was invading their space and promptly removed my feet from the chair. When they got closer, and before they even had a chance to say anything to me, I said "Oh I'm sorry, sir" and removed my feet. As realized the assault for which I looked guilty, he clutched his jacket, pointed out a trivial trace of dirt on his sleeve, and said "Gee, thanks pal."

"Gee, thanks pal". Did he not just walk himself into a response that bears the title of this post! At that point, I was so shocked that he even said something like this that I had no response other than a pathetic "what?" to which he did not answer. As the men took their seats and watched the Terps beat up on the Seminoles in the second half, I slouched in embarrassment - not because of what I DID, but what I DID'NT say. Larry David is not just funny to me, he is someone I aspire to become. Why could I not come up with a better response when this guy called me  "pal"?! I thought to myself that I am never going to get another chance to so easily respond to someone with something like, "I'm not your pal, buddy!" and that greatly depressed me. As we drove home that night, I gathered the broken pieces of my emotion and tried to think optimistically about my future of socially awkward moments. One word will summarize that moment and haunt me for the rest of time... regret.



As for the game - The Terps won 78-62 on the heels of some great shooting and better defense in the second half. They currently sit at 18-11 (7-7 ACC) which will give them #7 seed in the ACC tournament. They will likely need to run the table in Georgia Dome to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The highlight of halftime, other than the jacket incident, was the Maryland B-Terps. We couldn't tell from our seats if the kids were white or asian, but thankfully we were able to confirm our guesses. College Park was a neat little town but I wouldn't even send my worst enemies for a walk on the outskirts of campus at 3AM.

Overall the game was a blast. But, regret is something that few people should ever feel. If it happens to you, move on. Look to the future and recognize the opportunities when you might have the chance to socially p'wn someone. If not, you will be a fool like me.

~Geno.