2nd floor common room, evening

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

It's probably an act of desperation that Cameron is sitting in the common watching the Super Bowl. It is kinda nice with the surround system, but it's still football which really doesn't compare to basketball. Still, he's got popcorn and chips and he's feeling kinda fuzzy.

Comments

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders eyes the TV screen for a few minutes. "Vaguely. Way bigger field, lots more padding, lots more players, one goal for each team instead of just one for everybody, and okay, the ball's a funny shape. But as far as the passing and tackling goes, that's sorta the same."

[can_be_more]

"I didn't know that. Maybe I would have paid more attention," she shrugs. Because she still doesn't get the game.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's not really the same type of tackling, and with the different amount of players and the field size, plus the fact that I guess you can't actually rebound the ball off of anything in this game, obviously the strategy is going to be way different . . ." Aeryn is going to be really, really sorry she got him onto this tangent, because he may not ever shut up now.

[can_be_more]

Except maybe not. "What kind of strategy?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders could seriously go at this all night. OMGdirty. "Your options for who to pass to. How you position your players and what their roles are on the field. How to exploit the weaknesses in the other team's defense. Stuff like that. I mean, for this game, you've got way more options. Which makes things easier in some ways, and a lot more complicated in others."

[can_be_more]

Aeryn nods. "I can see that. How many people on a pyramid team as opposed this?" she asks, already working out strategic positioning on the field.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"One, three, or six, depending," says Anders, with visions of playbook diagrams dancing in his head. "It gets crazy with twelve people on the court, though. 'cause I'm not kidding about it being way smaller than a football field. If you've seen the tape lines in the gym? That's regulation size."

[can_be_more]

"So it's the difference between a Special Ops team and a full-on assault."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders blinks. It takes him a second to process this, but yeah, that makes sense.

"Yeah, pretty much. Only in Pyramid the tackling is rougher, 'cause we wear less padding and don't play on grass. Which I guess sort of fits with that metaphor."

[can_be_more]

"It does," she says, and is actually paying more attention to the television now. "They don't play for long enough at a time to accomplish much, though."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm not really sure how this whole back and forth thing works," he admits. "I guess the whole point is that you have to try and get a certain amount of distance? You should see how easy it is to run out of bounds on a Pyramid court, though, so you get some pretty short plays too, especially if it's one-on-one."

[can_be_more]

"There's no momentum here, though. They throw the ball, someone gets it, they run whichever way they're supposed to run and then fall down. It's like a really long, drawn out battle campaign."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

For some reason, little green plastic soldier figures have now appeared on the playbook diagrams in Anders's head. "Yeah. That makes sense too, I guess."

[can_be_more]

"Really, if someone falls down, someone else should just be able to grab the ball and keep going," Aeryn says. "You might actually accomplish something that way. None of this time out dren. That's why this game goes on forever. It's like beurocracy tying down what you can and can't do when you actually have a clear objective."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"We do that in Pyramid," he says, gesturing at the screen with a piece of popcorn. "You get tackled, you have to pass the ball, but no stopping play. And dude, that end zone? That is way too big."

[can_be_more]

"Exactly. It isn't as if it's difficult. They don't even have enough time to get tired. I've never been in a fight this easy," she says.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"And I think I'd be bored playing on a field that big," Anders agrees.

[can_be_more]

"See, I like the size of the field, just not the methods of play."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"And I'm sorta the other way around. What does that mean? I'd be better in Special Ops?"

[can_be_more]

"Possibly. Or that you might like it better. Smaller team, more intense fighting.."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Huh." He tilts his head up and squints at the ceiling.

". . . nah. Couldn't see myself in the military. How the frak could a Pyramid player ever end up having to do Special Ops anyway?"

[can_be_more]

Aeryn shrugs one shoulder. "You'd be surprised. I'm sure some of the people involved in what happened Friday never expected to end up there. Give someone a reason to act and they will."