I went to school with the number one melee player in my state. I played him a ton over the years and never beat him once. The skill disparity between “serious tournament competitor” and “best in the neighborhood” is boggling.
This is the sobering reality for many a hometown hero of physical sports too. Being the best in your city, 1 in a million even, puts you in tight competition in college sports and then worse as a pro.
My kid could beat everyone at smash bros in high school. My friend’s kid was number two in the state. My kid couldn’t touch him.
My friend’s kid could not touch the number one kid in the state and that kid wasn’t good enough to go pro.
I went to school with the number one melee player in my state. I played him a ton over the years and never beat him once. The skill disparity between “serious tournament competitor” and “best in the neighborhood” is boggling.
This is the sobering reality for many a hometown hero of physical sports too. Being the best in your city, 1 in a million even, puts you in tight competition in college sports and then worse as a pro.