In my family there has always bee a black sheep, my uncle David. For some reason he’s never been around and any talk of him is met with knowing head nods and funny faces. I don’t really even know him, and I haven’t made much of a effort to try and get to know him. But what’s interesting is that this trend of ‘black sheep’ has continued on to my generation.
My brother has exiled himself from our family. He doesn’t talk to anyone and when I found him on reddit, I was met with a fury of f-bombs for contacting him. Interesting. But there’s more.
I also am a bit of a black sheep, but like maybe dark grey? I still talk to most of my family, but I have gone no contact with my mother. That happened about four years ago. And while that story s for another time, I think that a common element runs through all three of these decisions made by separate people in the family.
I wonder if we all hate societal expectations. And as far as innovation is concerned, I think there is a dislike for societal expectation that can lead to innovation. Like in a upsetting the status quo can lead to new things that society has never expected. And this is so important for accessibility, because everyone deserves to live a healthy and happy life. And something I’ve been thinking about is how snobby people with already established access can be.
Something I’ve been wanting to get back into is tennis, but ever since covid access to the courts has seemed much more difficult. Then I noticed that pickleball has exploded, like completely taken off. And I didn’t know what pickleball was, until I saw it in action. And I love it.
There’s waaaay more accessibility. You can make faster initial progress, there’s less technical complexity and more forgiving equipment. You don’t have to be sucked into a blackhole of information and money like in tennis. And in addition to a lower barrier to entry, there’s less of an effect on your body with pickleball. The joint impact is smaller, there’s reduced running on the smaller court, and you don’t have to slug it out from the baseline. Meaning people who want to get stronger can still feel like they’re having a good time. I love everything about it.
Additionally, unike tennis you can still have fun even if you’re playing with a more experienced player. The technical nature of tennis really requires decades of experience (decades which I have!!!) in order to be really good. And also, it’s totally snobbier. Even in high school the USTA ratings were present, and I remember being talked down to by a guy about maybe only being a 3.5 player. Bitch, STFU. That doesn’t happen in pickleball.
And access to the courts is much easier. Most courts use pickleball booking software, so you don’t even have to be courtside to schedule. I’m loving this new sport AND more importantly I’m loving upsetting social norms. I love the fact that just because I want to play a game, that walking onto the tennis court with my pickleball gear upsets the NIMBY’s in their white outfits and brown noses.
So suck it up society and get out of the way. We’re here to stay and we’re going to have a good time too!
