Geez, That Sounds Almost As Interesting As Watching People Play Poker

Encouraged by America’s apparent willingness to watch people play cards on television, ESPN is now betting that viewers will tune in to watch old guys drink beer and play dominoes:

To the occasional domino player, it is a stretch to even call this quiet game of straight-faced strategy a sport. But anyone who has spent time in a Latino neighborhood in New York City could testify that dominoes played there — with the slammed-down tiles, the verbal sparring, the bragging and bluffing — is no parlor game.

From the opening bid, a simple sidewalk match will quickly escalate into a raucous, freewheeling spectacle: a mini-fiesta where salsa and cigars, Bacardi and brown-bagged beers have as much a role as the little colored tiles with dots.

The games almost always draw spectators, so perhaps it is no surprise that the ESPN sports network has declared dominoes the next big spectator sport and is promoting it as both a colorful cultural touchstone and a highly competitive game, complete with rankings, formal tournaments, celebrity events and sponsors.

But don’t take their word for it — ask Luis Guzman:

[T]he well-known Puerto Rican actor, said in an interview that the domino table was an arena where the very dramas of life play out: love, hatred, revenge. Tempers can flare and lifelong relationships can begin and end around a domino game.

Mr. Guzman recalled that when he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, it seemed that every male Latino played dominoes.

“My pops would play for hours on end; all the men did,” he said. “I know best friends who stopped talking to each other for years because of one game. After 10 years, one would still be saying, ‘Man, why’d he play that one when he knew the other guy was holding the 6-3?’ I know a guy who jumped out a second-story window and broke both legs after losing a domino game.'”