Monopoly

I make up for my near-complete lack of athletic skill with my aggressive dominance at Monopoly. On Sunday I played two friends, Ahmed and John, who were going bankrupt as I was buying hotels on the Baltic-Mediterranean block (the Ciudad Neza of Mexico City, one of the big slums) and the Pacific-Pennsylvania block (the ritzy, snooty, pretentious Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City).

I’ve been a Monopoly dork since I was young. Despite my strongly liberal leanings, I’m not afraid to show my capitalist side. I’m also good at Scrabble. They should make those two games into sports. Watching TV last night, John asked, “Since when did people playing poker on become a sport? Why would you watch that?” I wouldn’t. But I would watch people gobble properties up and baffle other players with words they’ve never heard of.