Hail Mary Fails

The roar of the crowd barely registered to the two men who batted the tennis ball back and forth across the net.  Connors and Berger had both proven themselves exceptionally skilled players, neither letting up over a series of matches lasting more than four hours.  With near superhuman reflexes, each had somehow managed to exploit every obscure rule in the book to their advantage, resulting in a three round match that had come down to one round to each man, with the match point up for grabs.  The current back-and-forth had lasted for ten minutes all on its own, never mind the half-hour of rounds where one man would pull slightly ahead, only for his opponent to score a point through some implausible move.

Now, after several long, grueling hours of competition, Connors had finally gotten the edge on Berger.  He just needed one last point in order to obtain victory.  Knowing Berger, he was highly unlikely to let the ball go out of bounds, and had a history of tricking his opponents into doing so.  With fatigue setting in, Connors was more likely ever second to screw up and hit the ball out of bounds.  That meant he needed to pull something completely unexpected on Berger in order to get two bounces inside the court.

How he was going to do that, however, remained a mystery to him.  Berger may have been a touch slow, but he always kept his eye on the ball, and somehow seemed to always know where it was going to land on his side - miraculous saves were his specialty.  Additionally, what he lacked in speed, he made up for in power; his shots either whizzed by at terrific speeds, or shot up high into the air, making it next to impossible to determine their landing points.

Connors was having to dive for nearly every shot Berger hurled at him, and was nearly knocked off his balance each time.  He had seen Berger use this strategy several times before, but never with such skill or ferocity. Everything was on the line, and even if Berger was going to conclude this move in the same way he always did, Connors wasn’t sure he could last long enough to exploit it.

Regardless, the two men kept on playing, smacking the ball as hard as they could, hoping to throw the other off.  Berger showed signs of fatigue too, but his incredible timing kept him in the game.  Connors, meanwhile, was on the brink of collapse.  This had to end, and it had to end now.

Exactly as Connors had expected, Berger suddenly changed his game plan.  Instead of sending the ball hurtling directly and Connors’ face, he smacked it with his racket and sent it flying high into the air, set to hurtle back down into the playing field, far out of Connors’ reach.

Time slowed down.  If Connors let the ball hit, it was all over.  His abilities had been pushed to their limit, and if this went on for any longer, then Berger was sure to pull ahead and win without even trying.  But he had yet to see a single man hit the ball after this move was pulled; it simply wasn’t possible to keep track of the ball like that.  It always seemed to land on the exact opposed side of the field than you expected.

It would be risky, but he had only one choice.  Breathing in deeply, Connors tossed his racket high into the air, hoping to catch the ball as it arced towards his side of the net.  The racket turned slightly in the air as it sailed upwards, and reached the peak.

Ball and racket met, and the tennis ball came crashing down on Berger’s side of the net, bouncing twice and netting Connors the point.  He caught his racket in his outstretched hand, and looked on dumbfounded that his audacious move had worked.  Jumping in the air, he began to celebrate as the crowd roared, and…

“HEY! You know the rules, Jim!  No supermoves!”

The controller fell out of Jim’s hand and clattered to the floor.  His opponent, Jay, glared at him intensely, completely appalled that someone would break such a fundamental rule at tournament level play.  The roar of the crowd was not one of celebration, but rather one of outrage.  Jim Connors had made it all the way to the final round of the Tennis Pro 6 World Championship, and blown it in one simple move.

“I’m afraid he’s right, Jim,” said the referee, stepping up in front of the screen.  ”Illegal use of a supermove!  Jim Connors has been disqualified!  The trophy, and title of Tennis Pro Champion, goes to Jay Berger!”

As the crowd cheered for their new champion, it was all Jim could do to keep his anger contained.  He had come so far and worked so hard at perfecting his play at the game, and somehow managed to screw everything up in one desperate move.  His hands balled into fists, he could barely keep tears of disappointment contained.

It just goes to show, kids: Cheating, even unintentionally, never pays off.