And then there’s Wii Golf. Tolkin’s proud of his skills, a combination of “natural ability,” “having a knack for video games” and “I mean, I play a lot.” The Wii Golf battles go long into the evening, those neighborhood kids now young men, games of World Cup traded for a video game released when they were in pre-kindergarten.
“Wii Golf is one of the things we love,” Tolkin said. “It’s a huge thing for us. We can all hang out, six, seven, eight of us playing all night.”
He admits to being only second best in the group behind his friend who usually hosts the gatherings. (“He’s got more practice.”) But they play teams, and Tolkin and the host are an unbreakable duo, dominating the pixelated space. “We’ll never never switch. It’s funny,” he offers up in a way that’s charming enough to think it might be fun to get waxed in Wii Golf.
But this comfortable existence is coming to an end. The world is starting to pay attention. The International Centre for Sports Studies’ Football Observatory recently named Tolkin the most promising under-21 defensive left-back in the world, which is quite an honor (and quite a mouthful). Asked if he’s likely to move on from NYRB, he demurred in a way that made it seem probable in the near future.
“Yeah, hopefully,” he said. “Hopefully soon. That’s what I want to do.”
No worries, though. You can play Wii Golf in Europe.
