Football Counter-Programming 2023: Week 5

I sometimes have draft ideas for Football Counter-Programming that I collect over the days. And I throw a few notes together and save the draft and then wait. And then when I sit down to write the words that are sure to draw you away from Saturday sportsball, I maybe just get inspired in a different direction. And I go with it and let the idea flow. And I'll see that draft idea and think that I'll come back to it on another Saturday when you need to be persuaded.

This week? Well, I didn't have a pre-existing idea. And when I fired up the laptop just now to start firing off the mind bombs against the Saturday hegemony, I saw these words floating in the draft space:

Queen's Gambit board game?

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/346101/queens-gambit-board-game

h/t to Tracy Altman

So, first things first.

I should tip the hat to Tracy--a college friend of mine who never fails to have interesting things to say on Facebook. He was the first to bring up this oddity. Because, really, what even is a board game that is based on the Netflix series Queen's Gambit--a show that is famously about . . . chess.

Isn't chess already a board game?

Am I missing the point?

The website link that I drafted in my notes above don't help me a lot either. It seems that the game "Queen's Gambit" is focused on strategy and outthinking your opponent. And . . . yeah . . . isn't that the point of almost all board games? The mechanics and the description make it sound more than that, sure. I am oversimplifying.

But even so. A bit odd.

But it got me thinking in a different way.

And isn't that the whole point of Football Counter-Programming? To make you see your Saturday differently? To look beyond the ordinary and find that special time that isn't about what everyone else is doing and watching and cheering?

So, thank you German (?) boardgame company for seeing a better-late-than-never marketing opportunity and jumping on it. I look forward to pairing a future game night with Squid Game: The Game very soon. (DON'T TELL ME if that already exists!)

And remember, your alma mater's offensive coordinator's latest kooky scheme isn't going to help it beat Rival State any more than this game is going to make you find a deep-seated love of chess.

So, find something else to do today. At least until I come back at you next week. (Maybe . . . next Saturday is a VERY busy, long marching band day for me. But more on that later . . . probably.)