Ever see The Color of Money?  Ever see Dodgeball?  Did you ever want to see the two of them rolled into one?  I didn't either, but I saw it twice last week.  On consecutive nights, I went first to the Ping Pong hall, and second to the Badminton gym.  The former in a basement below a bridal shop, and the latter behind a toilet and sink making factory (no joke).  Both resembled the pool halls from The Color of Money---seedy, smoky, filled with men drinking and hustling.  Buckets were suspended from the ceiling to catch leaks, lights would flicker and there were holes in the floor which proved perilous for both sports.

There were clearly sharks in the water at both establishments and the Meiguo (falsely assumed to be wealthy) appeared to be an easy mark.  No, I did not lose my shirt, my car or my first born.  Once they realized I was really not a sleeper but rather only slightly better than a child, they set their sights on each other, to my delight.  I could sit down, drink my Tsing Tao beer and watch the action as it unfolded.  The strange part was that the hustlers were not at all subtle, hoping to catch an over-confident opponent, they more closely resembled the cast from Globo-gym.  They would challenge whomever by standing on the sidelines calling for the next game.  There was machismo grandstanding, fist pumps, self-congratularory shouting, and best of all, performance gear.  There were knee pads, head bands, wrist guards, shirts with team names (for those wearing shirts), and I think I saw some HGH, next to the beer, I just assumed it was the performance enhancing drugs section of the concession stand.  The better you played, the more noise you made.

Not sure how much money, possessions, spouses or children were won or lost but the action was hot and heavy.  I must go back.