I think I have tennis elbow. My right arm is sore and achy and it when fully extended. It's embarrassing, considering I don't play tennis - at least not the kind the kind that requires an actual court and racquet. You know you are out of shape when you hurt yourself playing a video game.
I spent the weekend playing video tennis, among other games, on the Nintendo Wii. It's a pretty amazing gaming system. It consists of a console and wireless controllers that are sort of like pointing devices, and can translate the motion of your hand into movement on the game. For instance you swing the controller like you would an actual racquet, baseball bat or ping-pong paddle, and your character on the game responds in like fashion. The controller is so sensitive that when I let go of the button too soon on my bowling backswing, the ball flew behind me like it would in real life. The little Wii characters watching the game from the snack bar even pointed and laughed at me!
There are dozens of different games you can get for this machine, including sports, action, fantasy and kids games. You can fish or hunt ducks or wildlife, courtesy of games like Cabela's Big Game Hunter. We competed in about twenty different Olympic Events, including archery and skeet shooting. My favorite is though cow racing - a game where you race cows over a course, jumping hurdles and running into scarecrows for extra points. I think I just like it because it's one of the few games I can win. I pretty much got thumped in everything else.
The Wii has been in the news a lot lately. For one, they are hard to find. They are so popular, stores can't keep them in stock. But the consoles are also crossing generational boundaries. Video games are generally thought of as something for the younger audience. But Wiis have become popular among the elderly, including at senior centers and nursing homes. Most of the games are pretty simple to play and get you up and get you moving in some fashion. I found news articles about senior citizen center Wii bowling, golfing and fishing tournaments.
Finally, a video game that isn't completely sedentary. I have to admit, I was a little winded after boxing. In fact, a study by the Mayo Clinic released this year showed that playing physical games was beneficial in fighting obesity, at least in children. I also read testimonials from Wii owners who had lost between five and thirty pounds just from playing their Wii. Its being touted by some parents as the a way to get kids active and exercising.
As I made the long trip home from my weekend of fun and frivolity, I contemplated the many wonders, and shortcomings of the Wii. The technology is pretty cool, and it was a heck of a lot of fun. But as amazing as it is, and even if it can give you tennis elbow, it's certainly no substitute for real activity. No video game is.
It's scary to me to think that there is a generation out there who will only experience the great outdoors, including hunting and fishing, through a television screen and a gaming console.
Never mind the fact that ethics, sportsmanship and conservation play no real role in these virtual adventures. No matter how sensitive the controller, no matter how realistic the graphics, no matter how exciting the action, in no way can a game compare to the real experience.
Technology can never truly replicate the sound of bull elk bugling across the canyon or turkeys gobbling just yards away from your hiding place. A controller will never feel better in your hand than a well-loved rifle stock. You can't smell the sage or taste fresh pan-fried brookie through a television.
The experiences of getting outdoors and hunting, fishing, hiking, boating, camping or otherwise exploring the countryside are ones a lot of us take for granted. But the percentage of the population that actively hunt or fish grows smaller and smaller each year. That's a concern for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, not only because license dollars represent the bulk of our operating budget, but also because healthy fish and wildlife populations depend on an active public. Hunters and anglers are the driving force behind fish and wildlife management, habitat protection and resource conservation. But as modern society is becoming more urbanized, we become more disconnected from our outdoor heritage and consequently, our stewardship ethic.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has identified hunter and angler recruitment as one our top outreach priorities in the coming years. True, the Game and Fish needs the financial base of hunters and anglers. But we also need active and vocal sportsmen and women who care about wildlife to speak up in the political arena as well. Wildlife needs a strong constituent base, and it starts with hunters and anglers. I suspect the challenges we've seen on a landscape level will pale in comparison to what the next generation will face. Are we doing our part to make sure there is a next generation of hunters and anglers?
As the miles ticked by and my muscles twitched as I held the car steady on the nasty roads, I decided I needed to put down the controller and put on my hiking boots. The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer. Soon the skies will be clear and the fish will be biting. I need to get off the couch and go see these beautiful spots in the Bighorns I've been hearing about for the last six months. I need to quit bemoaning my holiday weight gain and focus on gaining muscle and endurance for the fall hunting season. My arms should ache from casting practice, not a goofy video game. I needed to feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair and the burn in my lungs from a challenging hike.
Better yet, I need to practice what I preach and get the next generation off the couch and in the wild. I vowed to take my nieces and nephews fishing this summer, a promise I made but didn't follow through on last July. Heck, maybe I'd even go for Coolest Aunt on the Planet and take them camping overnight while I was at it. Just me, a campfire, some marshmallows and eight kids between the ages of six and fifteen in the open country.
On second thought, just fishing is probably fine. The kids probably won't return from a trip to Pole Mountain ready to chuck their Gameboys for a fishing pole, but at least they'll have the chance to decide for themselves which is cooler - putting a worm on a hook, catching a fish and physically holding it in their hands or watching some animated character do it on a TV screen. The next generation will never know how great the great outdoors can be unless we give them the chance to experience it firsthand.
So spring has sprung and summer is right around the corner. It's time to turn off the Wiis and tune into the great landscape and outdoor opportunities around us. Just let me whoop this boy at one more cow race.
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