It is a desire to be the best at everything, or just anything. To be better then someone else is and always has been a human emotion since the beginning of time, whether it was a caveman as a better hunter than his fellow tribe member or kings using their armies to defeat other kings and conquer all. Human beings have been fighting to be the best forever and will continue to do so until the end of days.
“A Game of Pool” is a great example of this, just on a much smaller, but personal scale. Written by George Clayton Johnson in his fourth contribution to The Twilight Zone with Buzz Kulik in the director’s chair for the sixth time. “A Game of Pool” originally aired on October 13, 1961, during the third season and was the 70th overall episode up this point. Starring Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters, which was a rare occurrence for the latter to perform a serious, dramatic role, as Mr. Winters was a very famous comedian in his day.
Opening Narration: “Jesse Cardiff, pool shark, the best on Randolph Street, who will soon learn that trying to be the best at anything carries its own special risks. In or out of the Twilight Zone.”
It is the after-hours at Lister’s Pool Room in Chicago, and once again pool shark Jesse Cardiff is alone, polishing his game. He bitterly muses that he would be the best of all time if the late James Howard “Fats” Brown was still not so fondly remembered and is still considered the best. Feeling overshadowed, Jesse would give anything to play one game against Fats to have a shot at beating the best, this prompted Fats to rise up from the afterlife through a pool table, answering Jesse’s challenge. Jesse is shocked to see Fats, as he has been dead for 15 years, but Fats has returned from the dead to accept Jesse’s challenge and offers him a bet. If Jesse wins, he will be acknowledged as the greatest pool player, if he loses though, he will forfeit his life.
Jesse eagerly accepts the bet, and the two begin to play. Throughout the game, Fats laments that Jesse has done nothing with his life but play pool. Though Fats is considered the best ever, he lived a full life in addition to the game. Jesse ignores this, convinced he is just trying to distract him during play so that he will lose. Towards the end of the game, with one ball left on the table, both men needing to sink to win, Fats misses an easy shot, setting Jesse up for the win. Fats warns Jesse that he may get more than he bargained for if he wins the game, but Jesse does not care to listen and sinks the easy 8-ball to win the game. He revels in his victory, now secured as the greatest of all time. Fats thanks Jesse for beating him, leading Jesse to angrily call him a sore loser. While he is ranting at Fats, the now-former champion disappears.
Sometime later, long after his own death, Jesse is summoned from the afterlife, just as Fats was before him, to travel to a pool hall in Sandusky, Ohio, to play against a challenger. Known even in death as the greatest pool player ever, he must spend eternity defending his title against an endless series of opponents, unable to stop until someone beats him and relieves him of his title. Meanwhile, Fats has gone fishing, relieved of his obligation as the greatest of all time.
Closing Narration: “Mr. Jesse Cardiff, who became a legend by beating one, but who has found out after his funeral that being the best of anything carries with it a special obligation to keep on proving it. Mr. Fats Brown, on the other hand, having relinquished the champion’s mantle, has gone fishing. These are the ground rules in the Twilight Zone.”
Much like Muhammad Ali is considered the greatest boxer of all time, during his life and in death, Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players to ever live or even Abraham Lincoln is widely considered the greatest United States President to ever served, long after their deaths whenever someone great comes along in their respected fields, they are compared to who came before them. Though it should be considered an honor to be compared to someone that has come before you, it is still insulting to that person to not be called the best. It should be a motivational factor that drives you to be better, but it can also drive you crazy to not be revered in a way that they wish to be.
Though most great people can be humble and honored to be compared to great people that came before them, most of us are not that way. Most people cannot handle to be compared to someone else, I know I personally cannot be humble and take the criticism for not being the best at something. It personally drives me mad, but ultimately I can generally except that. Most are not as lucky.
