The long lost art of psychological warfare has been resurrected at the famed Southside Pitch.
Like demons unleashed from the fires of hell are the manyverbal taunts tossed to and fro by the combatants
that congregate regularly at Southside.
It is these same taunts that either directly or indirectly lead tougliness.
Even those punch-ups that had the appearance of spontaneity (e.g., the
early season thrashing of Ivan Sfencter at the merciless hands of a crazedJames
Blood; or the more recent cold-cocking of David Mogen, who absorbed
thefull force of a Sfencter right hook intended for Buck Mandingo) has
their roots in the subtle comments that often follow a point won or lost.
Not all who have appeared at Southside; the Upper Mountain Bocce Grounds areequally adept at
either giving or receiving the scornful sarcasm that hasclaimed many minds.
Even third-rate bocce publications (that shall remainnameless) often refer
to mind games as scumming, failing to recognize the premeditated
madness that has been applied with surgical skill.
Is it wrong to exploit an opponents weakness when he has not the savvy nor theshrewdness to conceal
it? The opinions vary among bocce professionals, but there is an unmistakable
correlation between those who condemn this practiceand those who are most
susceptible to it. To have an adversary uninvitedly swaggering through one's
mind is undoubtably an unpleasant an frustratingexperience. Because test match bocce requires not
only skill but concentration and composure, and also because most, but not all, of the participants
are equally matched, some have sought to aquire an edge, the purpose of
which is to temporarily distract their opponents from the business at hand: victory.
Why it is that some have difficulty understanding the fine points of successful head games is anyone's
guess. There are even those incapable of recognizing when such tactics are being employed, even
when it is their ownmind that has been infiltrated. This, in essence, is the perfect form of
psychological warfare: violating and penetrating your opponents mind unbeknownst to him.
Those who are most adept at this practice have laid wasteto their foes,
leaving them bewildered and vanquished. It is this writers opinion that this strategy,
whether employed tastfully or not, only serves toraise the great game of
bocce to a level that most other athletic endeavors have yet to attain. And as those most
vulnerable to its effects can well attest, it is not for the faint of heart.