Molly Sullivan

It's not everyday at a bar that you find people ranging from age 5 to 65, but, at Beat Kitchen, all ages enjoy a Connect Four tournament in celebration of RWIM's (Run With It Management) four years of promoting local musicians. The Saps, I Need Sleep, Herc and The Morons will perform, but not until after the black and red checkers tumble to their destiny as winners or losers.

The tournament contestants are a mix of children celebrating a birthday party, band members killing time before their show and some possible Connect Four ringers. The intensity is high from the start. "Wanna watch who I'm fighting next?" an ambitious child asks his fans.

The first couple of rounds eliminate those who entered just for kicks and children who aren't sure how to play. A man nursing a PBR inquires about his next opponent from the previous competitor, a 13-year-old boy. "He psyches you out. You've gotta psych him out first," the teenager wisely advises. In between sips, the man takes this advice to heart and plans his new and improved strategy. Unfortunately, something goes slightly wrong with the plan and the "psych-out" opponent wins another round.

The final round brings together two men who have the calm appearance of legends in the game. After an intense ten minutes (making it the longest game thus far), The "psych-out" king takes hold of his final challenger and comes out the victor.

When presented with his first-place trophy, he smiles modestly and barely holds his prize up in the air for the crowd to admire, not giving them the showboating they've been waiting for. The newest champion doesn't believe that Connect Four is about a big production or a certain strategy. "It's just about getting four in a row; why complicate it?"

(2006-09-19)

Also by Molly Sullivan

Macy Day
An underwhelming applause makes its way halfway down the street as the doors to the controversially renamed Macy's on State Street open to a crowd that stretches around the block
(2006-09-12)

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