I got excited when I saw the notice in the newspaper recently. The library had planned a Guitar Hero tournament.

I could see it now. I finally would get my due as a Guitar Hero champion. The entire town would bow down before my might.

Then I really read the story. The competition was only for teenagers. I felt incredibly let down. My dream would have to wait for another day.

In reality, I would have no business taking part in the competition. I had a chance to play the game down the beach this summer and did not put together a memorable performance.

I’m pretty sure I managed to make it through without getting booed off the stage. I consider that a major accomplishment, but I don’t think that would win me many prizes if I snuck my way into the library battle.

I know why old people like me don’t get a chance to take part in these kinds of events. The library provides a really good opportunity for youngsters to get together and socialize while playing the popular game.

That doesn’t mean I have to like it. After all, most of the songs those kids will play came from my teenage years or even earlier. They owe us for this game.

I read a story recently about how the phenomenon has affected bands. Now you can buy whole albums for the game so new bands get exposure as older bands continue to expose their hits to a new generation of consumers.

While we played at the beach, I tried in vain to take advantage of some of my younger nieces and nephews by convincing them that the chorus to one of hiss’s hit songs was “I want to rock and roll all night and part of every day.”

I might have been able to pull it off if they hadn’t already played (and watched) the game so much that they knew the words to the song.

It’s that voyeuristic quality of the game which actually impresses me the most. Because everyone can get into the music whether they are playing or not, it’s easy to sit around, enjoy the tunes and marvel at the ability – or inability – of the player.

During my junior year of college, a friend got one of the early Nintendo systems for Christmas. He played the original Mario brothers game over and over again.

For some reason, a bunch of us would sit around and watch him play for long stretches. We wanted to find what game secrets he had found and argue over whether he could reach the next level.

After a while, we realized how sad we were sitting there watching someone play a video game. The game really offered nothing for the spectator.

Thank goodness games like Guitar Hero have changed that. Whether you are up there playing “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” or laughing at the person struggling to do so, everyone can have a good time playing the game.

Except me at the library. That’s OK. I didn’t want to embarrass anyone. Especially myself.