Pook's Place

School Days, Duel Days
By Pook

            9.15.04  Hey all.  Sorry this article is sort of late, but I have been trying to find out some of the key information regarding this article for some time now. 

            Well, it’s September, and that means a few things – Fall is right around the corner, jackets make their annual comeback, and millions of students return to school.  As many of you know, I graduated college back in May, so this is the first time since 1985 I haven’t had to start another school year.  Weird feeling, believe me.  But what would one of my articles be without that bit of sparkling insight that you’ve all come to know and love?  For us duelists, this time of year means something else – tournament season. 

            It’s been 2 months since the World Championships in Anaheim, but now, after a small summer hiatus, the official tournament season is ready to return (sorry, but I don’t know the exact date the season kicks off, that’s what I’ve been trying to find out for 2 weeks now!).  But looking at the situation, I’ve noticed some very interesting similarities to the start of the new tournament season and the new year of school.  Stay with me on this one. 

            For both school and dueling, there has been a nice little summer vacation.  Perhaps you haven’t seen some of your friends all summer because you or they went away to sleep away camp, or were forced to spend 6 grueling weeks visiting Auntie Bertha and her horrible breath.  Either way, it is always nice to get reacquainted with your friends, and show them up on things that have happened during the summer.  For school, you could brag about how Auntie Bertha ended up giving you a $100 savings bond, just for the heck of it; for dueling, bragging about how your new deck, filled with cards you bent-over-backwards to try and find, will finally help crown you store champion.  Same situation. 

            At the start of each school year, there are usually some big ground rules laid out for you.  No running the halls, no chewing gum, etc.  This year, dueling has decided to do the same thing.  Their rules, too, can seem quite unfair at times, but believe me, they are for your own good – no Raigeki, no Harpie’s, no CED, etc.  And don’t think of duel judges as teachers or principals, they are usually your peers.  Think of them more as hall monitors.  They are just like you, but their job is to keep the laws in check. 

            Now, I would say that the biggest difference between school and dueling is that with dueling, there is no homework, but technically, that isn’t true.  If you are reading this, you are obviously visiting Pojo, which means that you probably keep up to date on new cards, new sets, new rules, etc., so that your are completely prepared for your duels.  Congratulations, you just did dueling homework.  Yeah, dueling homework is infinitely more fun that school homework, but studying does pay off. 

            So you work and you work and you work some more all year, giving your all, getting good grades and winning duels, and then before you know it, it’s the end of the year.  But, the end of the year doesn’t just fizzle out, it goes out with a bang.  For school, you get all of the pomp and circumstance of graduation, a big event where those who have completed a level of education are honored.  And we all know what big event comes at the end of the dueling year, the World Championships.  Sure, there isn’t enough time to honor every duelist who played during the year, but it is still an honor to go, just to be with your fellow duelists to celebrate the past season.  All in all, very similar. 

            So that’s what I’m thinking.  Now, if only there were some way to incorporate the two settings into one, like in a Dueling Academy.  Yeah, I can see it now, the Pook School of Dueling.  I could be headmaster, and it’d be the most respectable academy in the world!  Well, after Hogwarts, anyway.  Happy dueling!