Father Time will find you, even in video games

By RANDY CAPPS

Everyone of a certain age deals with the effects of aging. I often wander into the kitchen for one thing and leave with something entirely different — only then to return for the original item.

This phenomenon is pretty common, but in what really shouldn’t be a surprise to regular readers of this column, I have a more unique issue. I’ve been playing video games since the 7-year-old version of me was blasting aliens in Space Invaders on the Atari 2600. I’m not sure what this says about my social skills as a young person, but

I’ve always been very good at playing games. I was the neighborhood champion of Tecmo Bowl and Street Fighter, I held my own in the dorm room battles in Super Mario Kart and I’ve had many European lads cuss me up and down in games of FIFA (soccer).

But, as I crept into middle age this year, I’ve noticed something. I’m not the video game man I used to be.

I saw it in this year’s FIFA game. I was a touch slower than I used to be, and as a result, little kids from Denmark kicked my butt.

It was so jarring that I’ve stopped playing it for a while, opting instead for more slower-paced games. But I’ve decided that I’m not going to give up.

I’m going to play better, change my strategies and find a way to keep up with people 30 years younger than me.

That is, of course, unless I forget where I put the game...