The Possibility of an Opportunity
An old wooden jukebox dusts itself back in the corner. Every once in a while, somebody
comes along with his/her fifty cents to lighten up the mood with a nice 80’s track. Voices and
laughs murmur in the background while people set up their tables and chalk up their sticks. “It’s
time to play some 8-Ball!” says the man in the lumber jack outfit as he hands his friend a stick.
He saunters towards the table with a stiff confidence. As he crouches eye level with the table, he
bends his arm back ready to strike. He raids the cue ball with a force which sends it wheeling
towards the pyramid of color. A solid blue (2) falls through the pocket in an instant. One after
another, he tears every solid ball in sight…
As entertaining as 8-Ball might be, the sport is mostly only played at the local bars or in
the very few Billiards in every city’s town. The sport is often forgotten with all the other exciting
and heart-throbbing sports our society yearns for, but 8-Ball is a tricky way of chance and
possibilities. Although finding opportunity and overcoming obstacles is intended through playing
8-Ball, there are underlying messages which portray the inequality of our society.
When one watches popular sports like Football, one might see athletes jump and hurdle
over great challenges such as a lean two hundred pound man. Many other sports within out
culture require the great athletic ability of power and speed, however 8-ball requires players to
have a sense of patience. The idea of the game is for the first player to sink, either all solid or all
striped, balls followed by the game winner, “the 8-Ball.” Since the game involves no time limit,
it is not ideal for a player to sink every ball on the first couple turns (hence the importance of
patience). It is safe to say that there are players who have no trouble making every ball on the
first turn, but then again, the table doesn’t always run so smooth. In fact, there will not always be
a perfect shot considering the difficult angles, the scratches and fouls that can be made during, or
a ball that is simply trapped (by the opponent’s ball(s)). These sorts of circumstances could
indeed symbolize the many bumps and obstacles a person might face in life. There is never a
clear path. To deal with these times and situations, one must be mindful that not every turn will
come out great, but with patience, the next move has the chance to be better.
Patience gives an opportunity for players to effectively play their position. Initially,
players might think they have found the best shot to take, but somewhere else on the table, there
is a better shot for them. Given how the table is so spacious, it is easy for one to miss
opportunities. Because of this, some players might not even be able to find a shot at all and
perhaps make a bad decision (and randomly shoot the ball out of frustration). When thinking
back to the real world, people seemingly overlook the opportunities that lay right in front of them
and bad choices are made instead. In the game of 8-Ball, to prevent any regrets from happening,
players must play effectively and that is by physically moving around the table, switching angles,
and planning for the next move (if a shot is made). By effectively using position as an upper
hand as well as patience, this will allow one to see more clearly to the different possibilities
available.
It seems that through playing 8-Ball, it portrays such values like overcoming obstacles
and making possibilities happen, but there seems to be hidden messages that contain social issues
that still exist today. For instance, when starting a game of 8-Ball, fifteen colored balls are
racked up into a triangle, on one side of the table; while the cue ball, which is white, waits on the
other side of the table to “break” the colorful pyramid up. As the cue ball breaks to start the
game, all the balls that were once joined, scatter from anywhere at the end of the table, to the
middle, and to the front. If one has played 8-Ball before, one would notice that the number one
rule is for the cue ball to be used to guide other balls into the pocket (where colored balls are
supposed to be aimed into). This is a representation to how the “white man” has spread all the
cultures throughout America (the table) so that he can control parts at a time like a ruler would.
“He” also wishes to put all colored races under him (into the pocket). Interesting isn’t it?
Another thing to ponder about is how when the cue ball is “accidentally” made into a pocket, it is
automatically taken out and put back on the table. It seems as though this game portrays our
society as seeing the “white” race being superior which always is granted forgiveness for his/her
mistakes (such as accidentally falling into the pocket). While this is true for the cue ball, all other
balls remain in the pocket until the 8-Ball is made.
It is very ironic how the 8-ball is saved for last as the game winner, but is portrayed as the
“death” ball. The “death” ball got its’ name for the extreme penalty a player receives if sinking
the 8-Ball in before his/her balls are made. If made “accidentally”, like how the cue ball would, it
will not be considered a mistake and considered “okay” to just put back on the table. Rather if
one were to be in this situation, he/she would automatically lose the game with no exception. In
society, if a police officer were to see a car broken into on the side of the street, who would he
think it is? The black man that stood three feet away or the white man that stood two? Does this
say something about the social inequality that lies in our society? Furthermore into the meaning
of the 8-Ball, it is no coincidence that the 8-Ball is colored black. If the 8-Ball is kept until the
end (notice I pointed out IF), this contest would signify the fight that still exists between the
“white man” and the “black man’ as well as the overall struggle of man and our subdivided
races. Obviously there is no way to ensure the outcome of the fight since it is due simply to
possibility and the rule of the cue ball. Thus the player who guides the 8-Ball into the pocket is
declared the winner and that is that. The rules of the game as well as the rules of life seem to
imply unseen advantages and disadvantages that effect the game we each play for better or for
worse.
Though there might be hidden messages that sheds a dark light towards civilization, 8-
Ball teaches players the qualities of being patient and to be open to other options. With these
qualities, the lessons we learn in 8-Ball are not too dissimilar to those we must learn in life.
Always a constant struggle of obstacles and disadvantages that may cause us to fall into the
“pocket” of life that is never far from the table we rest on.
