Playing Foosball With Momo

TigerBlog has a Foosball strategy: Always keep your left hand on the back line.

Use your right hand for the other three lines. Just keep your left hand on your goalie. That way, no matter what happens you're always ready for wherever the ball comes from as you defend your net. 

It had been a very, very long time since TB had actually had to use that strategy. He can't remember the last time he played the game — until yesterday, that is.

He found himself in Yeh College for the first time, the guest of Momo Wolapaye, the Director of Student Life for Whitman College. Momo had invited TB to join him for lunch one day, and "one day" became yesterday.

There aren't many bigger Princeton sports fans than Momo Wolapaye. He's a Princeton Athletic Fellow for the football and men's basketball teams, and he's probably at some point seen every team play. 

TB and Momo ate in the Yeh cafeteria. TB has always loved eating in dining halls, where 1) there is a huge selection, 2) you can eat as much as you like, 3) you don't have to make it and 4) you don't have to clean it up. 

As TB sat there, it dawned on him that, while he has lived his entire life in a 50 mile or so radius of the Princeton campus, it was a much different road for Momo. How many Princeton sports fans grew up in Liberia, left the country and was a refugee around Africa during the Liberian civil war, went to college in Iowa, went to grad school in Ohio and worked at Dartmouth before he came to Princeton?

This week is, of course, final exam week at Princeton. The cafeteria was filled with students who were studying, eating, preparing. 

TigerBlog saw a lot of familiar faces. There were two groups of men's lacrosse players. There were athletes from many other teams, identifiable by their shirts, coats or backpacks. It's always good to see them on the "student" side of "student-athlete," since it reinforces that Princeton Athletics is first and foremost and educational venture.

He also saw Keyan Vojdani, a freshman who covered field hockey for the Daily Princetonian and is now covering men's hockey. This was one of those situations where it takes a second to realize who that person is because you're seeing that person completely out of any context you've ever had. 

TB wished Keyan luck on his finals. When you first go through it, as he is as a freshman, it can be a bit overwhleming, though he seemed fine. In fact, he seemed fine even though he said he had one in three hours. 

TB also saw Claire Pinciaro, Assistant Dean of Student Life at Yeh. Claire was also a second-team All-Ivy League goalkeeper for Princeton in 2012, when she helped the women's soccer team to the Ivy title and an NCAA tournament win.

Mostly, though, he spoke with Momo, someone he's seen at countless games but never really had a chance to really get to know. TB can tell you that Momo is exactly the kind of person you want in his role. He's someone who is definitely committed to the student experience and to doing whatever he can to make that experience the best it can be. 

Momo gave TB a tour of the new buildings, since it was TB's first time inside them. When they finished eating, TB asked if he had to get back to work immediately, and TB then asked him if he wanted to play Foosball, after they had walked past the table on their way towards the cafeteria. 

And so, for the first time in who knows how long, TB has his left hand on the goalie and moved his right hand to the other three positions. The game was played to three, and, well, TB won 3-0. 

In the interest of full disclosure, all three of his goals were just luck. 

Anyway, this wasn't about winning or losing. This was about spending an hour or so with one of the brightest stars on the Princeton campus (Momo, not TB). 

Princeton is a very big place. There are a lot of different departments and offices and silos. The chance to reach out and connect outside of your building and your silo should always be taken advantage of if possible. 

TB enjoyed his lunch yesterday, and for more reasons than he didn't have to make it or clean it up. When he left, he thanked his host, wished him a happy holiday season — and told him that they should have lunch again. 

He'll make sure he follows up on that.