Axe throwing and heckling goes together like beer and olives (inasmuch that you don't think the two really need to go together, but have you had a beertini? delicious). But like all good things, there is a limit where fun happy times turns into not fun happy times.
So how can a leaguer know when the heckle is going too far? Where's that line between a fun jape and a hurtful shout? Well, call me Ms. Frizzle, because we're gonna explore the topic like it's the inside of some dude's kidney.
FIRST OFF, SOMETIMES HECKLING IS JUST THE WRONG MOVE.
There are plenty of reasons not to blurt out whatever trash nonsense you're thinking in your head. If brevity is the soul of wit, constraint is the heart of the heckle. I grew up with the guideline that you should always punch up (that is to say: don't make fun of anyone who you're "better" than at a particular thing. Making fun of a league champion for a dropped axe might be cool, but making fun of a new thrower is kinda a jerk move), but you've also gotta know when the timing is wrong. If a fellow thrower is having a very off night or is really not enjoying themselves, coming after them with your nonsense jabber isn't going to be a pressure relief. It's gonna be a pressure cooker, babeeeey!
HECKLING FOR ACTIONS: GOOD. HECKLING FOR BEING: BAD.
We all do dumb stuff. For one thing, we all decided that we'd spend hundreds of dollars to do something we could easily do with a stump in the back yard. And that dumbness is, I think, fine to make fun of during a tourney or league. But boy howdy, if your heckling is focused on just who a person is, friend-o, that's not heckling. That's just being a jerk.
TIMING. IT'S ALL ABOUT TIMING
I throw a lot of garbage during league (no, I don't mean my horrible axe throwing -- I mean from my mouth. Mouth garbage), and oftentimes I make people who are throwing laugh, too. Now, that's all well and good, and releases those sweet goodfeels into my brain. But every so often I have a quick-witted comment that makes a thrower laugh whilst they are in the middle of a throw, and that leads to a not-optimal score.
First, mea culpa.
Second: if you aren't trying to be a complete banana peel, try to time your witty banter so you're not actually messing up someone else's efforts. Granted, people generally have enough focus to tune out nonsense happening around them in axe throwing, but even so; show a little bit of respect for the person who's throwing, even if you have an absolute zinger.
So wait until both axes are thrown, or until a round is over, to demonstrate your unflappable wit.
READ THE GOTTDAMN ROOM
I am all jokes and blurtsies during league nights. Even during tourney-time. But as the matches become more important (like, podium time), I keep my big dumb mouth shut. Reason being: pressure is already high enough, and you can't really know what the other person is feeling/thinking. It can take very little to get under someone else's skin in the wrong way. So even if you're popping off pure gold in the peanut gallery, maybe take stock of the tone of the room: are people (including the throwers) just having fun, or are they focused?
This can make a big difference between people enjoying your goofs or finding you to be a reeeeaaaaaaaaaal jackass.
All of this is predicated on you giving a damn about not being a jerk, of course. So if you don't care one way or the other, then feel free to ignore all of this post. But if you wanna show that you're respectful, even when you're completely burying a fellow thrower in japes, well, I guess this is for you.
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