7th Annual Madison Tecmo Tournament Recaps

[Knobbe]

All,

In the single elimination tournament the scores and the matchups are not recorded.

While it's still in your mind, detail all the games you played or watched and I'll see if I can get that into the TecmoMadison.com site so that people can see what's up

I'll write up my game with Bob W and Toolie when I have a bit more time tonight

Please list

Your first name/last initial

Games in order of played

Score

Recap

[bgboud2]

Brent B

First game: Tarvaris/Chargers vs. Me/Raiders

Tarvaris won toss and selected the matchup. I took Raiders and won 21-14. He played well and had a goal line stand and a later drive Bo fumbled. Game was tied in 4th until I busted runs with Bo to get winning TD.

Second game: Mort/Steelers vs. Me/Bucs

Mort won toss and selected the matchup.

You know the rest.

[bob sacamano]

My recap is going to be just a bit longer than BG's here... and btw, how did I not meet you there BG?? I knew you were a part of the tourney, but didn’t know it was you playing Mort until later on! Haha. You couldn't have missed me, I was the one with the O'Dell tee-shirt on. hmm oh well ...

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 4:00 am EST

The excitement and anticipation of the upcoming tournament is too much for me to handle. I keep going over strategy and matchups in my head. I can’t sleep. I finally catch a couple of winks of sleep just before 5:00. The alarm goes off at 6:50. 2 hours of sleep. Never felt better. Tecmo VII is upon us.

I brew some coffee, and jump in the shower. Post shower now, I decide to turn on the tv and enjoy a cup of coffee before I head out. To my dismay, I learn Metro Detroit received an ice storm, and salt trucks weren’t going to be out on the road for hours. The overwhelming excitement subsides momentarily, as I decide to postpone my trip for about 90 minutes. The roads were very bad near my home, but as I continue to get further west, the roads are totally dry, and the sun is shining.

1:30 pm EST – I arrive in Chicago, to meet up with fellow tournament competitor Kyle Floetl (Flo). Temp is in the 50s, and the sun is shining brightly. This is going to be a great weekend!

Flo calls me as I am in the middle of downtown on I-94, as I’m moving reasonably smooth, in minimal traffic (in Chicago terms). He lets me know he is still working on the tournament t-shirts at his print shop, and is running late. No biggie.

As I approach Flo’s home in the NW suburbs, the temp is getting colder and colder, the sun is gone, and the rain begins to fall, harder and harder. I pull up, and decide to catch some rest as I await Flo’s arrival. An hour later, I’m still resting in my car. His neighbor is more than likely growing concerned why a strange man, has been parked in front of her house now, with the engine running, for over an hour. The woman and her young daughter pull away from their home, as they pass me heading down the street at about 2 miles an hour, with frequent application of the breaks. Flo arrives moments later. He runs in the house to grab some things, and I come in to take a leak. As we load up his truck, guess who pulls up? A police officer. Apparently, the concerned neighbor had called in regarding her concern, and I simply explained to the officer that I was awaiting my friend Kyle from across the street. He bought it. And we are on our way.

We stop to get gas, and as we are pulling out onto the road, his truck stalls. We push it back into the parking lot of the gas station, and thinking that perhaps we’ve flooded the engine, decide to grab a quick bite before giving it a try again. My turkey chili was pretty good, as Flo’s Chicago Dogs look terrific as well. Break time over, and time to give it one last try. Still doesn’t start. So we have to walk a mile back to his place, in the pouring rain to grab my vehicle. AAA lets us know, that Kyle would have to be present when they arrive to tow the truck back to his place, and who knows how long that could possibly take. We decide to leave the truck at the gas station parking lot, because after all, Tecmo is in the air.

We finally arrive in Madison, over 3 hours later than I hoped, at about 8:45 pm CST. But we are here nonetheless, in the land of Tecmo – 13 hours after my voyage began. A few hours of booze infused Tecmo, (poorly played Tecmo from myself might I add) and I’m out like a light by about 2:00am.

SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 7:45 am CST

My alarm goes off, as I must ensure I’m awake and ready for my 9:30am check-in time, and morning group play session. Flo catches a few more Z’s as he plays in the afternoon. Lucky bastard.

GROUP PLAY

Andy Early, Green Bay, Wisconsin - I win the coin toss, and select the matchup: WAS/RAMS. Andy selects Rams, as I get the Skins. Rypien plays like ass, as he can’t hit open receivers all game, and I am forced to kick more than a couple FGs in this one. Andy’s ability to out ‘juice’ me (and who can’t), kept the chains moving, but his redzone offense left much to be desired. In addition to the 3 FGs, I add on a safety, and a TD in the contest, and Mayhew leads me and the Skins to an 18-0 victory.

Luke Gregory, Cedar Falls, Iowa – I win the toss again, and select MIN/DET. Luke takes my hometown Lions. I can tell by Luke’s previous game, in his fortunate win over Chase M. that he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his pass game. With the great Joey Browner, I’m confident he’ll be able to single handedly shut down the pass game, while I continue picking Barry rushes. It proved to be true in a 28-17 victory.

Chase Manz, Greendale, Wisconsin – I win the toss, yet again, to my dismay – and select HOU/SF. Under the Madison tournament rules, a team that lines up 3+ WRs, can run rush plays in any of those slots. A rule that increases the value of teams such as HOU, WAS, ATL. To me, under that set of rules, Houston is right up there to the par of the Niners, if not better. This is a huge game for Chase, as he is 1-1, after getting no breaks against Luke G, and needs a win to get in the field of 64 (single elim). I’m 2-0, and can really use a good win, because despite a potential 3-0 record, point differential decides seeding. Chase takes SF, as I get the Oilers. I am able to get out to an early 14-0 lead. Chase however is able to get a score with about 1:00 to play, and a poor play call by me approaching midfield with clock ticking away, doesn’t allow me to get OB with enough time to boot a FG. Chase gets ball to open half, and punches it in, 14-14. We then trade quick scores, and I get ball with about 2:20 to play. Moon hits Givins on the top sideline for a first down to the SF35, and coughs it up. SF takes over, and it’s not looking good. Montana drops back, and tries to hit Rice in the back of the endzone, but Bubba McDowell steps up HUGE for the INT, to keep the game tied. My last second heave attempt fails and it is OT. I win toss. Moon to Duncan on the first play of OT, as I take it, 27-21, in an overtime thriller, and I still have not lost a group play game, in the 3 tournaments I’ve been a part of (9-0, Madison VI, VII, and Chicago).

SINGLE ELIMINATION

ROUND 1 (64)

4 regions, 9 groups per region, top 2 from each group advance (18), with 2 play-in games per region, to cut us down to 64.

3-0 with a point differential of just 49 lands me a 4 seed within my region. Having won all 3 of my coin tosses, I didn’t have the advantage of my opponent handing me a lopsided matchup to exploit, so I felt I wasn’t able to benefit as much as some others. However, I was fortunate enough to land #13 seed, Luke G, who I handled well in group play, and was obviously already accustomed to his style of play – something many others in the 144 player field couldn’t say for their Round 1 opponent.

Luke Gregory, Cedar Falls, Iowa – I win toss for fourth straight time, and go with a PHX/PIT matchup. Lonnie is all over the place, as the PHX defense dominates, allowing just 40 total yds, while Brister throws 4 picks, as my Cards roll, 42-0.

ROUND 2 (32)

Lucas Streiber, Kiel, Wisconsin – I finally do not win a coin toss, and get to take advantage of a poor matchup choice of my opponent, in my eyes, BUF/CHI. I gladly take Buffalo, while Lucas gets Chicago. Lucas made the fatal error of placing two offset I run plays in his book, against LB4 Bennett, while not having a single pass play of the same formation. Bennett doesn’t get bounced on any of the 20 or so times he decided to stick with one of the two plays, and Neal lost a couple fumbles in doing so, while getting abused by the Bills D, 38-0.

ROUND 3 (16)

Josh H., Madison, Wisconsin – Having played both of the brothers, who host this great annual event the night previous, and getting beaten up pretty badly – I came to the realization, that if there is one brother that I can beat, it is Josh, considering he and I are much closer in ‘juicing’ abilities, compared to Chet and I. So I have that as my saving grace. Josh wins toss, and selects a NYJ/PIT matchup. As I look onward to Mort and BGboud’s epic battle they have going on a short distance away, I’m given a little time to think about my selection. After a few seconds to debate, I decide to go with the Jets. Going into this one, it is clear that Josh and I are going to have to put up with a nearby heckler, by the name of Rob. Obviously quite intoxicated, as it is getting late into the afternoon, he is constantly in both of our faces. We both do our best to block out the distraction, and I think we both handled it really well. On to the game: I open the game with a TD. Despite calling a few of Josh’s plays, his escapability is just amazing in the pocket with Strom (a theme I’ve noticed over the past 18 hours, among both brothers). Josh took quite a few sacks in this one, and one particularly really cost him, as Strom coughs it up, and a Jets DL takes it in for a score to go up 14 early. Josh really hangs in tough though, and cuts the lead to 7 with a score, mid 3rd. After a frustrating first half for the former champ, and a punishing scoring drive, Josh, rips off his Tecmo VII Hoss Whisperer tee, and what is underneath … but a Jeff Hostetler #15, Giants jersey. The now head-banded, Hoss wearing, Josh plays some real solid D, and forces me into a 4th and 3, from inside my own 40, with about 3:20 to play. Having control most of this game, and refusing to give it up, I knew I could ill-afford a punt, then long drive by Josh, for a score, leaving me with no time, as I took no time in calling a play. Pass 2, where it seems as if Josh calls run, and I’ve got my TE and RB2 open. Josh decides to play up, and O’Brien, without the angle, hits Hector in stride for the score, 21-7, 2:40 to play, as I exhale a sigh of relief. You can never count out Son of Beach, though as Strom finds TE E.Green for the looong JJ, as crowd goes apeshit, as they know the former champ isn’t dead quite just yet. Josh with the onsides, and I recover taking up as much time as I can. We are just above :25 to play, just enough time for a punt to run out the clock, and that’s it. The early fumble proved to be the difference, as Josh drops a tough one in the sweet 16, 21-14. Defenses dominated, as teams combined for 21 total rushing yards, and just 4 first downs in the contest.

ROUND 4 (

James “Air” Bontempo, aka jimmyb, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Two old online foes, who feature very similar, ‘boring attacks’ square off in this one. Both Jimmy and I like to dink and dunk, mixing in many 4 yd QB runs, so I wanted to try and get him a 6ms QB. I select a WAS/PHX matchup. As I predicted, jimmy goes with the Skins, while I get one of my favorite teams to play with the Cardinals. As Jimmy is putting his plays in, I have realized that I’ve forgotten that he can run a WR out of the RB2 slot. Shit. I still am confident though, that I can play my game, while forcing him out of his, and move on to the Final Four. I am really mixing it up, keeping jimmy off balance, and am in control most of the game, but just can’t seem to put my foot on his throat, as I clung to a 7 pt lead throughout, missing plenty of opportunities offensively. Jimmy ties it up, with just over 3:30 to play, 14-14. Not ideal, but I like it. I elect to eat some clock, and run my two motion run plays, and take advantage of the Skins inability to stop them w/a LB. Johnny Johnson busts one, into the Skins redzone. I’ve got D.Green and myself isolated on the top sideline, as I take a look up at the game clock. :46 to play. I’ve been getting out of bounds all day long with my ball carriers, only coughing it up once. Well in any Tecmo kickers range, and a ‘good’ Rosenbach, so as long as I can hold onto the ball, we are just :46 seconds away from the Final Four. But rather than get OB on this huge JJ run, I decide to go against the grain, and I stay in bounds to either eat clock, or take it in for the score after I win the grapple. Well jimmy wins the grapple, and JJ coughs it up. I’m obviously quite upset, I’ve been dealt with such a devastating blow. But, I take a deep breath, and am able to keep my composure, having faith I will get another shot at redemption, as the karma will be on my side. I was right, as jimmy’s last second JJ attempts fall incomplete, and Cards win the toss going into OT. Jimmy calls both of my plays, and I’m now faced with a 3rd and 19 from my own 20 yardline. I know its likely jimmy is calling pass, and I don’t like my chances with such quick corners in this situation, so I call my run 4 motion run. JJ is able to stretch the chains, and has enough for the first down – but for the 2nd straight carry, fumbles again. After a few plays jimmy is inside my own 2 yardline, and boots the gamewinner, 17-14. On one hand, I’m real upset about the way I lost, but real proud about the way I played on the day, going 6-1 (after having a difficult night, the night prior).

Congratulations to Jimmyb on winning it all. He played absolutely perfect in each the Final Four game against former champ, Sobhi, and then the Title game against defending champ, Mort. Also a big congrats to Seth, a virtual unknown prior to the tournament, on his run to the Final Four! Lastly, I wouldn’t be posting this lengthy blather without being blessed with the Holzy bros. for putting this thing together each and every year, along with the help of Jon Bailey, Tony Orenga, and Matt Knobbe. We wouldn’t be here without any one of you, and I truly appreciate everything that you do for us all and the Madison Tournament. It just gets better, and better every year! Can’t wait until next year guys, thanks again!

Eric O’Dell

[bob sacamano]

Oh here are a couple of shitty pics from my phone ...

[holzy11]

Nice write up by O'Dell. Thank you for the compliments. A few other observations:

(1) Congratulations to Jimmy B. Absolutely masterful play-calling in the Final 4, as I mentioned on the broadcast. Jimmy B is also a terrific guy, as anyone who knows him can so attest;

(2) Impressive performance from Sobhi (aka "Best in World"). After not playing for nearly 18 months, he still managed to make the Final 4 with comebacks in both the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. I'm sure his game isn't as sharp as he'd like it to be, but a nice tournament nonetheless;

(3) James Thomas (aka "skunkerofbestinworld" thanks to his Tecmo II performance) eliminated me in the Sweet 16. Our first game (me Pit, him SD) was accidentally reset early in the 2nd quarter with me leading 3-0. The second game started with him accidentally kicking an onside and recovering. It didn't get any better when Pit dropped a wide open 4th down pass just minutes later. I think he beat me by 4 or so, but he was really in control for most of the game. James and I play frequently (he's a console player in Madison) and he beats me about 40% of the time, so it wasn't surprising to see him advance. I expected him to beat Mort, but the Tecmo gods had other plans (see below);

(4) Mort has another impressive performance. I'll comment only on his Elite 8 game versus James because the Final 4 games are available for review. It was Phi v. Det. In the early 4th quarter, the game is tied and Mort elects to go for it on 4th and 4 from his own 30 yard line (approximate). On pass 2 R&S, Mort CC's to James Wilder (25 receptions) against either a man-controlled Eric Allen or Jerome Brown (not sure which). Stunning! Mort then drives down and scores to take a 7 point lead. James comes back and scores to tie it with 30 seconds left. James kicks and Mort has time enough for one bomb. James blitzes and Mort completes a long JJ to Mel Gray, who then runs into the endzone long after time has expired. Extremely tough beat for James and the entire Madison crew, all of which were pulling for him (we like Mort too, but James is a local buddy of ours). Gotta tip your hat to Mort though. One way or another, he seems to pull off the close games.

(5) Not sure I can completely agree with Bgboud's assessment that Regulator is the absolute best tapper. For some time, we have known that Flo and I are extremly close on tapping. On Friday night, however, my roommate Adam easily outjuiced me after I had just beaten Flo (Flo and I seem to go back and forth based on controller, but I still think he is a bit faster than me). So, I'm not willing to concede "juice" supremacy to Regulator just yet. I'll have to ask Adam to see if he can beat the "16." It's too bad we didn't think to have the two of them square off in a "juicing" battle at the tournament. Those are always fun. Adam's "juice" is inconsistent though, so my guess is Regulator is the fastest. Anyone accusing him of turboing is ignorant. Just another reason why in-person attendance at these tournaments is awesome.

[bgboud2]

(5) Not sure I can completely agree with Bgboud's assessment that Regulator is the absolute best tapper. For some time, we have known that Flo and I are extremly close on tapping. On Friday night, however, my roommate Adam easily outjuiced me after I had just beaten Flo (Flo and I seem to go back and forth based on controller, but I still think he is a bit faster than me). So, I'm not willing to concede "juice" supremacy to Regulator just yet. I'll have to ask Adam to see if he can beat the "16." It's too bad we didn't think to have the two of them square off in a "juicing" battle at the tournament. Those are always fun. Adam's "juice" is inconsistent though, so my guess is Regulator is the fastest. Anyone accusing him of turboing is ignorant. Just another reason why in-person attendance at these tournaments is awesome.

How have you done against soby? He said he was max effort on the 13 a couple of years ago.

[Dotdon]

With anticipation, I sign in and get my draw: Adam G (Garbage), CoD (Dan D), and a guy who ends up being an alternate, Adam D.

Group PlaY;

First game, I (Tony J "Dotdon") play Adam G. He wins the toss and calls Cowboys/Skins. A questionable matchup, but I gather he must be strong with the Cowboys. I obviously take the Skins. Game is close throughout, with Garbage outjuicing me (he's extremely fast on the A), and getting a JJ from Novacek from about 80 yds out to take a 10-7 lead on my skins. However, with 4 min. left the wheels fall off. I user pick him with D. Green and tie it w/ a FG. Then, with about 1 min left, Mayhew picks another Aikman pass off, and I use a couple running plays to ice it with a 50 yarder with :03 left. I win 13-10. I think Garbage and CoD were stunned.

Second game: vs. CoD. I win toss and call Rams/Broncos. he takes Rams, and Kevin Greene and company are no match for BHumphs and Elway's sweet feet and rocket arm. I win 31-7.

Final game: Adam D wins toss and picks SF/NYG. I of course take SF, and Lott and Waymer dominate the field to the tune of 28-3.

At this point, I'm feeling good winning the group at 3-0, having a 50+ pt. differential, I'm hoping to get a top 3 seed. However, when brackets come out, I'm shocked...I'm the 5! Not only that, my first round matchup is a rematch with Adam G. Its gonna take a great game to beat him...I have to eliminate tap battles and grind away on D.

Single Elim TourneyI win the toss, and pick SD/Den. He picks SD. We go back and forth all game long. 4th quarter comes and I'm up 7, 21-14. However, Garbage puts together a great drive and ties it and we go to OT. In OT, Garbage hits B, and causes me to question that move. However, after a few minutes, I proceed with the game. First play, Garbage overthrows Quinn Early and Atwater makes a diving pick. From there its all BHumphs, 27-21 I win.

Second Round, I play Kyle M. He picks Saints/Packers. I take the Saints, and spend the first 6:01 putting together an epic TD drive. Kyle literally takes the rest of the first half and passes on the FG inside the 10 to try to tie things up. He fails, and we go to the third quarter. Kyle is driving about midfield when Haddix (who fumbled 3x) coughs it up, and a beast-mode Pat Swilling picks it up, popcorning everyone on the field and not allowing Haddix to catch him en route to a 14-0 lead. Kyle then takes the kickoff back for a great drive and its 14-7. By this time, we are in the fourth quarter and I have had the ball 1 time on offense!!! Kyle and I exchange punts, and finally he coughs the ball up again late, and I am able to run out the clock and win, 14-7.

Sweet 16: I'm playing BestinWorld. I know I'm up against it. I call the matchup, Skins/Broncos, and he says these are his 2 favorite teams. Great. He picks Skins. He takes opening kickoff, and marches down for 7. Then he gets a jumping INT w/Green my 2nd offensive play. Not looking good. however, the Tecmo Gods say not so fast, and he drops a wide open 4th down pass in FG range. I convert to a FG, and get the ball back and drive inside the 10 w/:03 in first half. Since I get the ball, I go for the TD and don't get it. 7-3 at the half. I take the opening kick and get a TD, 10-7. Ensuing drive, Sanders coughs it up and Broncos recover and punch it in. After 3 quarters, I'm so close I can taste it 17-7. However, the first play of the next drive, Sobyi hooks up with Sanders on a 80 yd JJ TD pass and suddenly its 17-14. Then I go 3 and out. (looking back, I should go for it here). I punt, and BIW takes the last 3:30 and punches it in w/20 seconds left. He picks my last JJ pass, and I lose 21-17.

I ended the day 5-1, met some great people, and had a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped organize, and hopefully I'll get a couple of friends to join me next year.

[holzy11]

How have you done against soby? He said he was max effort on the 13 a couple of years ago.

When Sobhi and I played in Minneapolis a few months ago, I won all the grapples in our first game, but he did win a few in our second game. He was rusty though, so I'm not sure how it'd play out if he was back in the swing of things. Either way, it's very close. I beat the 13 every time when the tap tester was posted a few years ago. Didn't know there were now additional levels. I'll try them tonight and let you know.

In case it wasn't clear, I don't think i'm the best juicer. My roommate Adam is better than me, and I believe Flo is as well. If Regulator is beating 16, i'm sure he's better than me too, but I guess we'll find out for sure tonight.

[sonofpatbeach]

Don't really think a separate thread was required for the recap, as I and others have been making updates in the main tournament thread. But anyway, here is what I typed up in the other thread:

_________

Thanks to all that came and enjoyed Tecmo VII yesterday. Hopefully some folks were following the updates on Twitter. Here's the quick and dirty recap:

Champ: Jimmy B

Runner-up: Mort

Third Place: Sobhi ("BIW")

Fourth Place: Seth B (from St Louis)

Elite 8: Sobhi over Travis R, Jimmy B over O'Dell, Seth over Ryan33Fulcher, Mort over SkunkerofBestinWorld (via 90 yd JJ as time expired).

Sweet 16: Sobhi over Tony J, Travis R over Toolie, O'Dell over Beach, Jimmy B over Justin G, Seth B over TecmoPsycho, Ryan33Fulcher over Nick T, Skunker over Holzy11.

Jimmy beat Mort in the finals, 24-14, with Phoenix over Dallas. Masterful playcalling by Jimmy B throughout the Final Four. Congrats to our first repeat champ (he also won Tecmo IV).

Link to video of final (w/ commentary from QB Browns & Knobbe):

[Deleted Account]

My personal recap. I'm trying harder to keep this short.

Let's just leave the wackiness of friday work, traveling, drinking and staying up to 4 am behind us and start the next day.

We had to be up early to get Louis there in time for the start. Then to no surprise to me but to most who had seen my bro play before Louis went 2-1. Still felt he could have won the last one but he did well compared to his past four tourneys. But then of course it was time for me to play.

I apologize now for forgetting the group players names. Doesn't help that the Madison site no longer has the groups up.

G1 I won the toss and decided to go with atl versus the jets. Getting the jets always makes me happy cause that means I get to use my favorite LB Kyle Clifton. This would be a defensive battle of Int's. I threw 2 and he threw four. I would eventually stumble my way to a 17-3 lead. Then kicking a garbage fg at the end for point differential made it a 20-3 win. He was a great defender but needs a little work on offense.

G2 was a blow out but the guy wasn't that bad. He had chosen the match up and had gone with bears giants. Terrible and I ran all over him. Still it was only 17-7 at half. It was his first possession of the 3rd that changed everything On 3rd down he goes for it on the 5. Dropping back the wr he wants is wide open on the fifteen. Yet the second it is thrown int as Reasons jumps up for the ball out of no where. With the defense stunned i easily avoid drones for a td. Then it became a blow out as I followed up with a fumble recovery and more interceptions.

G3 was the most interesting game in group. My opponent won the toss and chose buffalo nyg. Against my better judge ment I took the hometown team instead of the better team. I had a feeling this guy was good. I was right. He played tooth and nails matching everything I did and more. I would be trailing 21-17 in the fourth when I started a drive with a lot of time on the clock. It was here i decided to take a risk and intentionally waste time however possible. I ran in circles, avoided td's and consumed clock. Its a big risk, one mistake and I was done but I felt the bills where a good enough ball control team. Finally i scored with just 18 seconds and tackled his kick returner well before midfield.

After that I got another surprise as Stratis qualified too. The hard luck Tecmoer was playing great with an unorthodox but effect playbook. Then Lou continued his run with another win. I thought Stratis might win too. But up by seven in the fourth he was beset by bad luck. A late td, then an ot fumble would ruin his chances for the Hoss.

It didn't look much better for me in my next two games.

The first game started wonderful. Saints browns and I was the saints. I went up 14-0 and then 14-3 at half. He held me to three but then I stopped him. Up 17-3 i felt it was locked up. Then I fumbled on a stupid pass decision and he ran it in surrounded by a crowd of his players for thirty yards. Luckily it was my day as on his onside attempt OL Hildenberg ran for seven. Yet my d was bad and he came back for seven. I believe this would be the final score.

The next game was against Bgboud. Winning i decided to try a matchup Lou and I had experimented with and felt confident in. It had even worked well for him earlier. Pitt versus TB. Of course I got Pitt and of course I opened up like crap. It wasn't long till at half I was down 14-3 and kicking to him. Then came a great come back as I played awesome defense and ran the ball. All I did was one of three runs at Haddix. Eventually realizing a weakness that he liked to use lb 2 against singleback runs. Which does not work well with Tampa. In no time I was up three but Brent finally figured out my d and began to drive. A long fg went in to force ot. In ot he won the toss and I promptly failed at a full kick to onside it. Despite my best efforts he got a first down. Only a couple guessed plays gave me a chance. But I ran in for a block, saw no x and the arrow looked dead on. When I turned to shake his hand the ball bonged off the pole and out. I still think he was dead on and I have no ideal how he missed. Maybe Christie was in bad. Regardless I got back to the game. Drove down the field and threw a dumb interception. Now though my d was back and I quickly held him to a fourth and 6.

Brent then paused at this point to ask what happens in a tie. I told him we do another ot which I felt would mean he would punt. Instead he left the option screen and began to study plays. Realizing what he was up to I choose a pass and told him he had some major stones. I assumed at that moment he wanted to get it over with and put me down. While going through my guys on defense I was going to pick a dl or lb till something occured to me and I changed to woodson. I wanted to be sure I had my best guy to stop a sweep with.

Sure enough upon snap he choose the sweep and my only chance of a win was to dive tackle him. Which I managed to do to perfection despite two blockers in the vicinity. Then I ran the ball as close as I could get determined the next kick would go in. With 11 seconds I nailed a fg to win a game I instantly named the miracle comeback.

This win catapulted me to the sweet sixteen birth and a rematch from Tecmo 5 with Flo. I had eliminated him in a great NYJ ATL game and I know he had been itching for a rematch for some time. I won the toss and choose a matchup that Stratis and I had talked about the night before. SEA versus NE. To my shock Flo took Sea. Despite being out tapped I found I could run with NE. My only fear in using them. With that problem solved it was a good even game. 7-7 at half and I went up 14-7 in the third. It looked like another great game but then I helf Flo to a fourth and 4 at my thirty. He paused at the screen to think. Made up his mind and choose punt thinking he was on fg. It was a terrible way to go. After that Flo wasn't the same and I don't blame him. I didn't score. Just took down a couple mins of time but then he tried a jj instead of driving all the way down. It at first looked like Agnew versus John L Williams but suddenly when it dropped Lippett and Hurst had shown up. Lippett came down with it then rumbled for forty yards. A few plays later I got a td to seal it. Then on his next pass i saftied him with a dive bomb. Afterwards I would choose the next matchup as Philly det. To Flo's chagrin as later he kept asking me why didn't you give me qb eagles.

The answer was I wanted a Philly Detroit game as I felt i had an inside track to win it. Giving Eagles last year had gone great for me. This time I was not so happy as James (Skunkerofbestintheworld) ran all over me with Eagles. I could only contain him and keep the clock moving. On offense I found running lanes on the first two runs and lots of run guesses. Eventually I began to pass a lot to open wr's on his pass guesses. Just staying ahead of his best efforts on third and fourth downs by guessing pass. Till late in the forth when I switched to a sweep thinking he had to be going pass. I burst a big run then scored to go up 21-14 in the fourth. James came back though taking his time with Eagles. He ran a lot of plays as I brought everything. I was convinced I would win the toss but I didn't want him scoring. Yet my d was not enough as on third down he scored with less than 40 seconds.

Looks like OT said James as I agreeded with him outloud. I returned it about ten yards then went out of bounds. Not yet I thought as I went to the change screen and put sanders at wr1, clark at tight end. I got one play left. I knew this team was nice to my garbage game. See Cleveland Tecmo Tourney. Leaving the change screen I choose the shotgun. Not guessed was the first good sign. He had chosen white was good sign #2 and that he was blitzing with a trailer was good sign number 3.

Then a thought occurred to me as I dropped back. I could do this smart and so I ran at him with Peete getting out of the end zone and avoiding him. A jj might be garbage game but I would never live with my self if I lost on a safety. When he missed I knew I had something good going on. I dropped back and waited just a little while longer and let loose. Sure enough Gray jumped up and came down with it. I fought off a drone. Then juked around the last defender to run the last 30 yards for a win.

Final four Seth. During the wait I decided now was the time to use Ari versus Atl if I won the toss. Winning the toss I was sure he would take Atlanta. But I guessed wrong and he wanted Arizona. It started off with a bang. A huge run up the gut with rozier to the redzone set up my first score. Then a 3 and out and I got a big pass to my tight end for a 14-0 lead. Later I would hold him again and drive down for 3 more to make it 17-0. It was in the third when on his first drive I picked him off i knew it was over after my td and another int. I decided to try to take some time down. Seth was a much better player than his misfortunes in this game. Eventually he would score once and I wasted some more time scoring once more.

Finals. After Jimmy B held of Soby, the pregame festivities and the long wait for him to think of a matchup I went to the bathroom. In the background I heard him yell AFC/NFC. Meanwhile once in the John I had a big smile cause I finally didn't have to pick the matchup. Its such of a headache. I had used up all my good ones and had no idea what to call against him. When he came back to choose Dal-ari I instantly chose Dal. My confidence was sky high.

We exchanged TD's as I began to notice how well he was playing on offense. I stopped him once on downs by chance. Only to throw a dumb int. Then I got lucky as the half expired to guess a sweep and keep a td of the board.

I'm sure mostly everyone has seen it so we will get to the key play 4th and 3 from my 30. I go for it in those situations. I felt I had it cause he was guessing run a lot. I felt I wasn't going to stop his offense at that point. As someone pointed out my angles where horrible and my d was lost at times. I knew even if I failed and he scored I had one more chance with more time than if I punted.

The pass was the shotgun and he guessed a run. As I ran down and over with the qb he came to stop me. I had Agee open in front of me going on a streak. He had a guy near it but not too near it. That pass gets caught a lot. But on that throw it was not to be. Agee dived and it fell in between his fingers. I won't say I win if I complete that pass but I still had chances afterwards. Sure enough as I felt was the case he scored, I scored then with 4 mins I could not hold him to three points. Game over. I managed to get into field goal range but it took too much time. My only hope even then was a short kick, fumble and miracle td. I used up all my luck earlier. GG Jimmy and way to go on a title. I'm glad I lost to a guy who got his start the same place I did. OTFL p4. Strange how far back that goes. That was almost ten years ago.

Regardless I did win 350, broke even and finally I could drink as I don't drink while playing a serious tourney.

[Deleted Account]

1. 5 of the 7 Madison Tecmo Champs are proud to call Wisconsin home (Beach-Tecmo I, Peter-Tecmo III, Jimmy B-Tecmos IV & VII, Kevin-Tecmo V)

On a side note it turns out I was right about my joke. I am a member of the 513. When I was born on Wright Patterson Airforce base it was still part of the 513 area code along with my hometown of Fairborn. It became its own code in 1996. Hopefully this will prove to be good luck the next time I venture into my birthplace area code region for a Tecmo tourney.

[kingsoby1]

FYI, my official place of residence during tecmo 2 was wisconsin, since I was a student at U of MN.

[sonofpatbeach]

FYI, my official place of residence during tecmo 2 was wisconsin, since I was a student at U of MN.

I stand corrected! 6 of the 7 champs resided in Sconnie when they won the title. It must be the protein boost from the copious cheese consumption.

[bgboud2]

What about cow beer?

[sonofpatbeach]

What about cow beer?

I suspect that plays a large role, too.

[Leonardite]

I echo an earlier comment that I regrettably have forgotten the names of the guys I played against. I know that one of them was Adam and the other one was wearing an Andre Reed jersey. He was a cool guy and I would not be surprised if he was on here, based on his apparent success in past Madison tourneys. I was in Group H, so if someone was so inclined my considerable gaps in memory could be filled in accordingly.

Anyway, my first game of the pool started off rough. Opponent picked a BUF/CIN matchup (undoubtedly trying to lure me in based on Boomer Esiason ensemble.) I lost a hard luck fumble, then blocked a FG and had him pick up a first down with Jim Breech of Contract that led to a 10-0 hole. The Bills found a way to rally as they always do, however. Scott Norwood gained sweet revenge by finding paydirt after a blocked FG recovery of his own and I finished the game the 21-10 victor.

This is where it starts to get fuzzy. My next matchup was with the dude in the Reed jersey and I think I beat him 13-10. It was a tight game and the matchup was Rams (me) vs. Vikings. Reed made a questionable call to go for it in FG range in the first half, but I returned the favor by shanking a FG later. Tight game. He ended up #2 in the pool.

Last matchup is almost a complete blur. I believe the final was 14-7, with me winning as the Redskins over the Chargers. I picked the matchup.

I was 3-0 heading into the bracket, but due to my close games, I only pulled a #8 seed. I met up with Justin O. in the first round with a Washington (me) vs. Some Team matchup. This was a back-and-forth tilt. Down 13-7, I had three chances at hail marys. None of my plays got picked and on the last play, Monk made a diving catch at the three but I lost the thumb war and the game.

After that, I proceeded to get severely hammered with the rest of the Tecmo players, not the least of which was Frank ("Black Mamba") who fired up the shot train with particular gusto. By the end of the night I was sleeping under a table and playing random games in COA mode. This explains my poor recollection of details from earlier in the day.

Anyway, I want to thank the organizers of the tourney for a tremendous experience. I speak for all three North Dakota players when I say we had a great time and have penciled this in as an annual event. Should never have taken so long. Also big thanks to Rod for the webcam idea and for sending Tecmo fans to my site over the years. Always enjoyable to meet a legend and I deserved the GameFaqs admonition. Random shout-outs to Black Mamba, Wes, Gabe, Orenga's crew, and countless other kickass people that I met and spent the day with. Looking forward to it again next year.

I took a good amount of pics and will be doing a big writeup on my website about the tournament. Hopefully I will have patched my memory sufficiently by then.

[hoigaard]

Hi guys,

Name's Ryan Krebs. Longtime lurker on the board. Got to meet and chat with Knobbe for a few minutes Saturday. Love the site, loved the tourney. I'll try to fill in my info for my games based on what I remember and the updates I posted on my Facebook:

Group P.

Game 1: Ryan vs Ahmet. Ahmet wins the toss and calls Eagles-Raiders. Not fearing getting out-tapped and facing Bo, I take the Eagles. Pretty smooth sailing and had a 26-0 lead before allowing a garbage TD with 6 seconds left. Final 26-7.

Game 2: Ryan vs Curtis H(?). The call of teams is up to me and I go with Vikings-Falcons. Curtis takes the Falcons and gets up 10-0 early due to a couple Herschel fumbles. I grab a TD before halftime and then a late Herschel-filled drive to go up 14-10 with just over a minute left. Strong defense stand at midfield as time expires and I win 14-10 to go 2-0 on the day.

Game 3: Ryan vs Ron. Ron was remarkably drunk. It wasn't quite noon yet. And he had his infant with him. The man deserves a solid salute and slowclap. I don't remember a lot of this game because I was so frustrated during it. He called a Niners-Giants matchup and I took the Niners. It took me until the 2nd half to score points and he just kept completing long pass after long pass. Finally stuff started clicking and I was able to tie it up with under a minute to play and we went to OT. I won the toss and he opted for the onside kick because he "didn't care" if he lost since he couldn't play in the afternoon anyways. I recovered and went to Jerry for the 20-14 OT win.

After going 3-0 in pool play, I drew a 6 seed against Troy H. in the round of 64. We were both suprised to realize who the other guy was, as we squared off in pool play last year. I got the best of him then to take the group and didn't find out until right before our game Saturday that he actually went on to make the Semis in Tecmo VI. On Saturday it was much of the same. Lots of defense being played. He called Cowboys-Saints. I was eliminated in Tecmo VI by the Cowboys so in order to exercise some demons, I decided to side with them. I got up early on a long Emmitt run. He came back on a drive that went for approximately 16 straight running plays and took up about 5 minutes of clock. Second half was much of the same. I took the 2nd half kickoff and went on a long drive that chewed up about 4 minutes and ended with me kicking a FG. He got the ball back and did the same thing, killing another huge chunk of clock before kicking a FG to make it 10-10 with under 2 minutes. The ensuing kickoff pinned me back at my own 9. Emmitt Smith then carried 3 straight times for all 91 yards and we held off a last-second bomb attempt for the 17-10 win.

In the round of 32 I faced off against Justin G(?). He called a matchup of Eagles-Chiefs. I had a feeling I could out-tap him so I wasn't fearful of giving him Okoye and I went with the Eagles. It paid off early as I stuffed 2 straight runs and then picked a pass. I scored right away on the drive to go up 7-0. Then he tried 2 more runs which were stuff and I then intercepted a pass which led to a FG to go up 10-0.....

Then the deja vu of Tecmo VI come out in full force. A late fumble in the first half put him in a position for a FG and he cut it to a 10-3 lead. I took the ensuing kickoff and was tackled at my own 11. First play from scrimmage I fumbled and he housed it for a TD. Now we're tied at 10-10 as we hit halftime. I take the 2nd half kickoff and put together a decent drive, killing a lot of clock and get down to the 35ish where he holds me to a FG attempt. He breaks through but doesn't get the block and we all assume it's good because it was lined up pretty well... not so fast. Shank. So he gets the ball back and completes two passes to covered guys and gets down inside the 10. I have a huge goal line stand to hold him to a FG, but now I find myself trailing with just a couple minutes left. I take the kick and cruise right down the field. I get 3 cracks from inside the 20 with less than 30 seconds left. On third down I call a pass play that I threw into coverage but luckily fell incomplete. Also lucky on the play that I still had time left, as I dicked around and killed all but 2 seconds on the clock. I kick the FG and we go to OT. He takes the kickoff and gets out to near the 30. I stuff Okoye on first. Stuff him on 2nd. 3rd and 16. He drops back, launches a hail mary to an Eric Allen-covered Stephon Paige and catches it, TD, game over. 2nd straight year I have fallen in the elimination rounds in OT after leading by 10 both times.

Team Hoigaard ends the day with a 4-1 record, moving to 6-2 lifetime in Tecmo Madison. I am disappointed to end it the way it did, but I feel better than I did after Tecmo VI. Word from a source inside the Team Hoigaard front office says that whispers of Gonzaga/Atlanta Braves/Buffalo Bills-type comparisons are running rampant through the organization. Gonna need a deep run next tourney.

On a personal note, I was jokingly asked by one of my friends about trash-talk or guys throwing controllers, etc in fits of rage. I happily told him that really doesn't happen. When I signed up for my first tourney last year, my big worry was an event filled with "Madden-Nation"-type guys who are far too arrogant and aggressive than they need be. I couldn't have been happier to have my worries erased in Tecmo VI and it was more of the same in Tecmo VII. The group of guys who put this together and come out to compete are extremely classy and the entire event has an air of gentlemanly competition. Everyone I met, talked to, watched play, etc were great guys. I cannot wait to come back next year (and maybe sneak in a tourney beforehand). You guys are great.

Thanks again for an awesome time,

Krebs

[Knobbe]

Hi guys,

Name's Ryan Krebs. Longtime lurker on the board. Got to meet and chat with Knobbe for a few minutes Saturday. Love the site, loved the tourney. I'll try to fill in my info for my games based on what I remember and the updates I posted on my Facebook:

I'm glad you came up and said hello. My favorite part of the tournament is meeting the people who visit this board.

[JimmyB]

Hey folks, as usual, I had a really good time at the Madison Tournament.

I’d like to begin by first off thanking the Holzbauer Bros. These guys do such a great job running this tournament (from the selected readings, Hostetler coins, and just overall excellent organization) that I may be too spoiled to enter a tournament not run by them. They also have a great Tecmo mindset, as great players who know the game, but also have a lot of fun with the analysis, trash talk, various nicknames, and overall goofiness. To put it simply, they’re probably two of the coolest people on this planet not named Charlie Sheen.

I’d also like to give credit to Bailey, Tony, Knobbe, and Toolie for all the work they did. The website was great and the play-by-play with live game breaks was awesome. It’s this kind of stuff that really makes it fun for the rest of us and separates the Madison Tournament from all the rest.

And of course to my good buddy Rico, who I've spent countless hours playing against. Next year will be yours.

Anyways, I’ve been playing this for so long and often times I wonder why a 20 year old Nintendo game is still so much fun for me? Especially when I’ve been running the same playbook and style for as long as I can remember. But I really think the reason this game is so much fun is all the banter that goes around it; from playing friends in the neighborhood, to the message boards, and now in tournaments.

So on to the tournament…

To begin, aside from getting hot, one also needs a lot of breaks along the way. And after winning this a few years ago, I never figured the stars would align to allow me to do it again. In my 9 games I had 1 lost fumble and 1 interception, while seeing a lot of my key players go into good and recovering more than a few fumbles from my opponents.

Group

I had a solid group (good dudes too), but was able to go 3-0 and grab the #2 seed on the back of timely fumbles in all three of my games. After group play I took a wise hiatus from drinking as I ate a hamburger and took a walk to the Capitol.

1st Round

I played Nate C. (who was in my group) and the interesting thing about this game was that it was my third straight game with the Pit-Phx matchup and the second such for me and Nate. Nate called Pit-Phx in group (I took Pit), my next opponent called Pit-Phx (I took Pit) and then I returned the favor against Nate by calling Pit-Phx in our playoff game (he took Pit).

2nd Round

I go against Louis B. and win with a match-up of Falcons-Cardinals.

Sweet 16

I play Justin G. (Mia-SD), but Dan is off and throws a few interceptions, none of which were by Byrd.

Elite 8-

I dominate O’Dell as I expertly cause two fumbles late and start to hit my peak.

Final Four

Big game against Soby. I was hoping someone else would do the dirty work for me and knock him out (as I feel he’s the best to play the game, he can play multiple styles like few can), but I was also looking forward to another game against a good friend in a series that dates back quiet a few years and includes an HSTL and Madison Tournament Championship games.

After calling the matchup of Chargers-Broncos I thought maybe I had goofed because I didn’t like Soby with Elway and I was afraid he would be able to lockdown my running game with those linebackers.

Luckily Tolliver and Butts went into excellent/good, I called a lot of his plays early to get some punts, and I got away with a few passes into coverage to hold on to the win.

Championship

Neat game here as Mort and myself were both former champs (Mort looking to repeat) and also because we go back a ways in the world of online Tecmo as I believe we both started in OTFL Pool 4 and I want to say it was in the Wild Wild NFC West, he was 49’ers I was Saints.

The game was a good time, Mort is a great guy and I enjoyed it as we both did a lot of hollering and celebrating.

My offense was on, but I really had no answer for Mort’s offense either. I think my only stop came on that 4th down play and in my opinion it was the right call to make and am still surprised (and very happy) that Jay didn’t make that catch. Mort may very well be a back-to-back champ had he done so.

In conclusion, it was a great time. Thanks again to everybody, the night before the tournament I always feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I wish I could’ve gotten a chance to talk some of the guys a little more, but I’ll see you all next year.

I’ll be taking my trophy to school tomorrow and talking to the principal about starting a new extracurricular activity…

[Knobbe]

Group Play 1

Local Issac "SexPather"

He picks Falcons-Bucs and I roll with the Bucs

It takes me about a half to realize that he is going to go to Rison deep regardless and I'm down most of the game.

I'm able to rally back from 21-14 in the 4th quarter to kick a FG with about a minute to go and withstand a last ditch effort to Rison and win 24-21

Group Play 2

Josh (C. Woodson Jersey...I had on the R. Woodson)

He picks Buffalo-Oilers and I take the Oilers

Josh had some bad luck and some Warren Moon action as the Oilers rolled to a 42-7 win with Moon throwing 6 TDs

Group Play 3

Bob Wothe (Wolfbob)

Leading up to the tournament I knew I had to win my first two games because I didn't know if I would be able to take down former old school tecmoer (playing online before this site was online)

He picks Raiders-Eagles and after a bit of thought I roll with the Eagles

In the first half neither of us can stop the other and it's 14-14 at half. I eventually get a two TD lead on him and then he answers back. On the next drive QB Eagles is pressured into a pick and he scores the game tying TD with 2 seconds left to go.

He receives in OT and eventually fumbles the ball deep in his own territory. I then manage to throw the second INT of the game. My defense manages to hold and he decides to punt the ball. I run nothing but QB Eagles rollouts and Bontempos all the way down the field. I almost let the clock expire as I call timeout with one second left and kick the game winning FG.

I ended up with the 6th seed and found out I was going to face....Wolfbob again!?!?!?

Round of 64

Wolfbob

Browns vs Packers - he picks Browns

I spent probably an hour trying to think of a matchup to roll with for the rematch. Considering my luck with this matchup with Nebraska it seemed like a good idea. I had 3 things going for me in this one.

1. My off I was holding up against his crappy LB 4 which can really blow up the off I

2. I was able to build a 14-7 lead and then receive the kickoff

3. I could throw to Sterling Sharpe anytime I was in trouble and chances are he would catch it

I end up building a 28-7 lead and then burn clock the rest of the way and hold out 28-21

Round of 32

Toolie

Cardinals vs Jets...I picked Cards

From what I knew about Matt I didn't want him to have the 50 ms rb. Thus, I rolled with the Cards. However, I really out-thought myself and went with some obscure running plays to complement a R&S when off-I would have probably been preferred. Maybe I should have taken the Jets?

He scored a TD to open the game though I held him to FGs and a safety the rest of the way. He basically shut down my running game as my WRs were popcorned all over the place and Timmy R was throwing balls 20 yards over WRs. I wasn't really in this game. Final score 21-7 as he throws in a safety to make it look normal

I had a blast as always and I actually think the venue topped the Badger Bowl from last year as it was much easier to walk around and see all the action. It was great getting to meet some of the guys from the board for the first time.

Thanks to TechMobile (try saying that really fast and you'll get a chuckle) and Fulcher for hauling me to and from Milwaukee. Also thanks to Avg for being a great friday tecmo host and Bailey for carrying the load on broadcasting.

Finally I just want to say that all of this would not be possible without the vision and drive of Josh and Chet. They started up a Tecmo tourney like many have though and a few have done but have grown it beyond what anyone has thought possible.

[Bad Moon Rison]

Quick Recap:

Finished first in Pool Play, going 2-1, as did other two guys, but I had +28 point differential. I did not get to choose one matchup in this tourney, losing the flip every time (realized later this was bad for me). My team is on the left.

Game 1: K.C vs. CHI- won this one 31-10 against Jason, game froze at half so needed to play two separate games

Game 2: DEN vs. DAL - had trouble running with Humphrey, but went up 21-17 with 2 to go. He gets 60 yard kickoff return and then throws JJ into endzone with 25 seconds for the win.

Game 3: PHI vs. K.C- Kyle E picked K.C and though I'm not good with PHI usually, QB Eagles was sharp. Up 24-7 until late when he scored and made it 24-14.

Round of 64: T.B vs. ATL- Lost this game to Nick on all field goals, 12-7. I played against the deep ball to Rison most of the game and refused to let my namesake beat me. I moved the ball well on the ground, but two fumbles by Anderson inside Atlanta territory killed. Also threw an INT to Deion in the endzone on my first possession. Gotta give credit to his run attack, ran for over 200 yards. My bend but don't break defense didn't work here. I hate Tampa.

I probably would've lost next round (guy who won the bracket and finished 4th was next), but would've been nice to advance. I'll write up some other thoughts about the tourney in the other thread. Thanks to people, etc.

[Tecmo Psycho]

Psycho's Madison Recap: