I hate that song. When people bring it up I change the subject.

The next time someone mentions the song, start singing it loudly and off-key while gyrating suggestively and maintaining steady eye contact. That's the best method I've found for ensuring it never gets mentioned again.

So far, I get asked how one buys pinball machines or where does one keep it. "The song" nor movie have never come up. . . yet.

When mentioning the hobby I have been asked numerous times if I'm the "Pinball Wizard?" It's a bit predictable and mildly annoying. At the same time I understand people are just looking for common ground to carry on a conversation. It's the first thing most non-pinball people are going to think of.

Same as AlexF mentioned above.

The most common thing I get would be in the first interaction, about halfway through they’ll say “so I bet you’re a real... WIZARD at pinball?”
Which they earnestly think is incredibly clever and original. It gives me the same feeling as people at the market who repeat the annoying cliché, “it didn’t scan so I guess it’s free! HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK” those people need to STFU.

I’m more sympathetic towards the “you’re a wizard” comment because, these people think that pinball must have stop being made on 1965.
They see a Lethal Weapon or a Sopranos and ask “how did they make this machine in the 70s? Pinball is really old!”

They’re ignorant and clueless, I can’t hold it against them or be mad. Much like the children I had to guide as a TA, they need to be educated. They show at least some attempt at relating a personal experience which is a strong component of meaningful conversation. Since they are willing, I usually give them a basic crash course while trying to avoid overwhelming them.

A good example is “that song is actually partially responsible for modern pinball’s “final Boss Mode” being called the “Wizard Mode” most machines built in the 90s onwards feature a “Wizard Mode” and so on and so forth. This opens the door while allowing the person to ask more questions and indicate how interested they are in actually learning about pinball.

Occasionally there’s a look of “concern” in their eyes as they didn’t realize this conversation would get so complex, and they’re worried about go full pinhead/nerd on them.

And of course, the song refers to a 'Table'.

Quote: "Even on my favorite table He can beat my best"

Which is highly offensive to people who understand pinball MACHINES.

(Link to Lyrics)

https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+pinball+wizard&rlz=1C1EJFA_enUS778US778&oq=lyrics+pinball+wizard&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i67i650j0i22i30l6j0i22i30i625.5215j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

The phrasing I usually get is "Are you a pinball wizard?"

I will furrow my brow and reply, "a what, now?"

"You know, like the song?"

"What song?"

"Pinball Wizard?"

And I feign ignorance with a head shake and shoulder shrug, like I never heard of such a thing.

It's what they deserve for making such a lame, obvious reference.

THE most amazing musical artist I ever witnessed live.

If only pinball had a song as good as Pac-man Fever, those lucky video game fans got it all.

I generally hear the same questions over and over.

Are you a pinball wizard ? Have you been to the pinball hall of fame ? These games cost hundreds or lots of thousands. Etc. Etc.

I try to get a feel for the person. Are they trying to learn ? just making a comment ? Or committed to being ignorant.

Than I try to answer accordingly.

LTG : )

I often get, "isn't it against the law to own one of those. "
I guess I am a felon then.

I’ve had the pinball Wizard comment a couple times. I say that the preferred term is pinhead. To which the person is usually not impressed. Also most everyone asks what the pins cost. I have stopped giving direct answer due to the immediate loss of respect for me as a sane person I see in their eyes when I tell them.

Pinball Wizard is a fantastic song. I'll probably never get sick of it. Loved that song and album long before I was super into pinball.

Doesn't mean it's not eye-rolling when idiots think "Wow this guy has probably never heard someone refer to Pinball Wizard when someone finds out they are into pinball! I'm gonna blow his mind by mentioning it!" and then put their plan into action.

What are you gonna do. Pretty low on the things that annoy me about the hobby.

When asked if I'm a wizard I reply merely an apprentice...Want to play dollar games?
Al

When The Who finally stops touring, will it cause the pinball bubble to burst. Discuss...

No, it will just cause prices to rise more, because Who fans will need to get their pinball wizarding experience elsewhere.

outside of actual wizard modes in actual pinball machines I'm at the point now where I can't stand anything wizard related to pinball. The song was a fine song but now I hate it and I hope I never hear it again. Everyone thinks they're so clever mentioning pinball wizards. I hate it. I want to throw myself through a window every time.

I think its mostly this with me, a lot of people I know just don't know " what to say" or how to react I'm guessing when coming over to my house and see the games. And that's the easiest and first thing that comes to most peoples minds I suppose.

Yeah, wizard comments don't bother me. Every hobby has that one joke that everyone makes when they find out you're into it, not realizing that they're treading well beaten ground. This is pinball's.

The cost of machines, on the other hand, I still don't know a graceful way to respond to, especially family. On one hand, it's like I know a bunch of people will drop this amount of money on a trip to Walt Disney World for their family, a ski vacation or something like that without thinking twice, but mention the cost of a pinball machine, and their minds are blown. If people are kinda beating around the bush with the question, I'll try to get them off of it, but if someone straight up asks, I don't like just refusing to answer. That, in my experience, gets people assuming I spend way more than I do.

The best answer I got is "Yeah, it costs around $5k. It's a lot, but we're really into it and play it a lot and they have historically held their value pretty well and (fingers crossed) will continue to do so. If we want a refresh with a new machine we can sell this one and use that money, or just trade, pretty easily, so it's not like we need to spend that money every time we get tired of it."

Most people seem to get that a lot more than a straight "It costs $6,000," which always gets a "Wait, are you serious?!" This cuts to the chase before they can get worked up.

Most people who ask me how much the machines cost are "collectors" of something (cars, boats, small engines, tools, whatever) that cost more than my pins did. In the case of one nosy bro-in-law, "less than your boat" worked well.

I also remember Do the Donkey Kong but it was never played as much as PAC Man Fever

Michael Hedges is one of my all time favorite guitarists. I own and celebrate his entire catalog of albums and also have many bootleg recordings. So sad that he was killed at such a young age. We saw him about 7 or 8 times over the years. Each show was amazing. I think we only saw him play Pinball Wizard once.