Why Not

試みる (kokoromiru) - To try or attempt

Last night, my dad took me to a Michigan basketball game. Michigan's basketball team has been pretty terrible for a long time and I can't remember the last time I watched them live, but they're doing really well this year so I thought I'd check it out. They were playing Eastern Michigan so it was pretty much guaranteed to be a blowout, but I thought it might be interesting all the same.

The tickets originally belonged to one of my dad's good friends, who had season tickets but couldn't make it to this particular game. They were for ok seats, nothing up in the nosebleed section, but not great.

Knowing that this wouldn't be a popular game, he figured there would be lots of empty seats closer to the action and decided we should try to snag some. I was a little reluctant to go sit in someone else's seat but agreed to take the chance, so we just walked in and sat down in a couple random seats in the 6th or 7th row. Anytime someone showed up with tickets for the spots we were in, we would just shift a couple seats down. This happened a couple of times, but we ultimately ended up around row 10, rather than row 33 which our tickets were for.

My dad has always had a very strong "why not?" approach to life - if it seems like a decent idea or doesn't have a significant downside, why not at least give it a try? Sure it was a bit of a hassle and a little uncomfortable at times, but we ended up with way better seats, seats which would have sat empty anyway. It was a great reminder that there are often benefits out there that can be yours if you're just willing to take them. Many of us, myself included, can be too timid and feel a little awkward or embarrassed stepping beyond the clear cut rules, but there is lots to be gained by trying. Value gets left on the table unclaimed all the time, simply because no one is willing to reach out and grab it. Nobody is going to just give it to you but all you have to do is ask, so why not?

As expected, Michigan dominated the game. But, even though it wasn't much of a contest, there was still some great action, much of which happened at our end of the court. It probably still would have been a good time back in our original seats, but it was definitely a better experience closer up. I'm glad my dad convinced me to give it a shot.