What’s more fun than Wordle? Pickleball!

By: Andrea Stark

The women of PEP Pickleball have given Wordle a shot, and we are convinced that pickleball reigns supreme.  Here are three reasons you think you like Wordle, but why Pickleball is actually better!

A January New York Times article reports “there is this new thing online that is just fun.”  Ok, so I get it, in a world full of complications, decision fatigue, and stress a little escape can be nothing more than a guilty pleasure.  Sure, that’s true.  Right!?  Or is it…  Who hasn’t pulled out their phone for a quick game but accidentally emerged an hour later foggy, and full of crumbs, wondering how you just watched so many TikToks?  Or worse, maybe you got sucked into a work email, a downer news story, or another stressor cleverly hiding in your iPhone.  This quick break didn’t exactly go as planned.

What if you took a real break?  What if you put your phone down for a hot second, and hit the pickleball court?  After a quick match with your favorite doubles partner or a pick-up game with a new friend at open play you feel different.  Dare I say, refreshed?  Now you can get back to kicking butt at whatever it was you needed a break from in the first place.

Let’s be honest, have you ever really looked at somebody’s Wordle and thought, “Wow, it sure has been nice connecting with my friend!”  Me neither.  Instead of bonding, your brain is probably drawing a comparison.  Maybe thinking about how much better you are at this game or wondering why so and so humble brags all their lucky guesses. Feeling friendly and connected yet?

What if you connected with a pal on the pickleball court instead?  What’s that? You started to feel some competitive juices flowing when you hit a nice shot?  You noticed and admired how much your friend has improved?  You scored some tips about how she gets the spin on her serve to be so fierce?  Oh, it sounds like you had a fun time making some real connections!

Early this year, somewhere between sending the kids back to school and finally taking down the Christmas tree you took a break and noticed these strange little colored boxes popping up on your social feed.  At first you scrolled by, but then you wondered if you were missing out on something cool.  You went from oblivious to addicted faster than you can say Ted Lasso.

Isn’t it funny how you can go from not knowing something existed to wondering how you could live without it?  I guess Pickleball has that in common with Wordle.  From the goofy name to the instant fun factor, Pickleball is charming its way into our hearts in a big way.  Instead of breaking out into a social media induced FOMO panic attack, consider this your open invitation to join the fun with PEP.  Treat yourself to a new paddle, learn the basics, walk the talk, and let’s get to it!  This could be the beginning of something great, and if you still play wordle – we won’t judge!