It started with tether ball. At least that was the first time I remember that competitive spirit. That feeling of accomplishment you get when you figure out how to beat someone in something. Tag, hide-and-seek, marco polo, lava monster. All those games involved a wide range of skills and talents. But tether ball was just about getting one good rotation, ball low on your end, high on theirs and then you pound away and around it goes. Finally that satisfying clank as the chain between rope and ball reaches the pole that lets you know you've won.
Simple games, but dynamic enough to remain entertaining. Checkers, connect four, uno and tether ball. Those games hold a special place in my memories. The board games I remember playing on rainy days in the auditorium while waiting for the bus. Tether ball, the courts to busy during recesses and lunch, were empty except for the dedicated, after school. I was an off again, on again, latch key kid so I spent plenty of time in after school programs and tether ball was our thunder dome.
By high school it was basket ball or football. But elementary school it was all about that giant cat toy. A metal pole on, in the better schools, a thick rubber mat, the feeling of the old converted volley ball as I hit it and the sound of approaching buses sneaking in after rush hour traffic. That was how the days ended in those after school programs.