Madison's 8th Annual Tecmo Super Bowl Tournament

[taddeimania]

joining in with the thanks for a great time! I'll be sure to be more practiced for next year

[Dotdon]

Another fantastic tourney. Kudos to all the Madison crew for putting this together, everything was smooth, everyone was nice and great to talk to/meet, and the Tecmo was extremely high quality. The Merril Hoge region was as tough as I thought and then some. Congrats to Chet. Saw him play Mort and he was playing so well I figured he had it locked up.

Thanks to the ND crew for the hospitality, it was good to meet you all, and a lot of folks from Missourah that were cool guys as well.

Looking forward to bringing a couple of guys next year.

[buttdouglas]

Now that was a tournament. Thanks for the hospitality and hard work to make it a definite no-brainer as to whether to come next year or not. Sort of surreal to meet all the guys I've been watching and following from afar. You people ARE real! And you are real good Tecmoers. My dedication will never match yours, but it never hurts to keep trying. I'll be in touch, and as I already promised, I will do my best to bring the hot chicks next year...will probably have to start trying right after this post if I'm to have success in the next 363 days...

[bgboud2]

My experience/recrap

Pool Play

I went 3-0 but didn't have any blowout. First two guys I played I did not know/non-online players.

First game I won with Bucs over Rams 35-21. Second game was actually a guy from Texas near me but I had not met him. I picked Steelers Cowboys and he went Cowboys. He actually gave me a tough game and that I won 17-10 and I had the benefit of a fumble. It took an Excellent Hoge for me to get the winning TD. Third game I played Houlie who is a long time online guy and still in ATA. I chose Bears Chiefs matchup and he went Chiefs. I think the final was 28-14. I hit him early by sneeking Johnny Bailey deep on the fly and he had thrown a pick to Stinson on called pass 2.

Bracket

First game I faced skunkerofbestinworld. I won the matchup coin toss for a 4th time and picked Browns Packers. He chose Packers. I had a little trouble adjusting to the Bob Nelson defense and got stopped on downs a couple of times in this game. Just before the end of the half I guess correctly and it led to a sack/fumble for TD. Late in the game I had the ball down 17-14. I faced a 4th and 3 or so in FG range and I could hear some "what is he doing?!" comments in the background. Well, 1) I'm not sure if I trust my FG kicking enough, 2) I'd rather not give him the ball back with time and still have to play OT. After converting the 4th down, Bernie lofted a 25 yard diver to Slaughter who was wide open and the man defender couldn't quite get over to block it.

Second game I get to face Regulator...the tap advantage I had in the first four games ended. I also lost my first matchup coin toss. He chose Jets Cardinals and I went Cardinals. First drive I got him into a FG attempt and got the block. Ball bounces forward and OL picks it up unharassed for a TD. After only a 5 yard kick return, I got sacked by a drone on the T formation pass 2 who dove out of nowhere...just didn't see that coming, and it's a safety. Jets drive for another TD and it's 16-0 in the second quarter. I drove to just about the end of the second quarter but didn't go for a FG, so the half ended 16-0 and the final was 23-14.

After that I drank much spotted cow beer and would be better off not going back and listen to my brief commentary on the live feed.

Two trips to Madison, two second round exits to the tournament runner-up.

[Knobbe]

Thanks from the DC Crew for such an awesome time. If there is any doubt in any future particpants' minds whether it's worth the trip, I want to strangle those future participants for even doubting the power of Tecmo Madison.

Seriously, though. Everybody there was awesome. I lost but didn't feel bad about it at all. And there was a lot of great games to watch.

Also, I think I left my liver at Visions strip club. If you see it, tell it that I regret nothing.

Good meeting the DC crew.

[bob sacamano]

An amazing time at Madison VIII! A very special thank you to all of the tournament organizers and anyone who had a hand in the marvelous production - Chet, Josh, Bailey, Orenga Knobbe, the stat-keeping laptop guy, Jamie M, Erin H, NFL Films and anyone I may have missed! Truly a mind blowing successful event yet again!

My recap to come...

[ Post made on a Tecmo Super Mobile Device!]

[ Post made on a Tecmo Super Mobile Device!]

[Primis]

I'm dumbfounded though at how scared some of ya'll play.

Scared? What do you mean by that?

I'm amazed at how uber-conservative guys are on returns and rushing. Yet they'll heave the ball reguarly into triple coverage. I mean, an INT is just as bad as a Fumble usually, yet guys seem far more scared of the latter.

That's ok. There was that one DET-SD game where SD refused to pass even once they got far behind I guess, which is going too far the other way.

Did anyone record the final? I'd like to see that...

[qb_browns]

I'd like to thank everyone for coming to the tournament-without all of you this wouldn't be the event it is today.

Congrats to Chet, finally, finally, finally winning the Madison Tecmo Tournament. You've come a long way since the 0-5 record against CoD a few weeks ago.

Many thanks to O'Dell for helping out with the commentary for the final few games, that was an awesome time. Thanks to O'Toole for providing some sideline reporter action. Thanks to Rod for the whole set up of for the commentary booth and live feed. Thanks to Dave F Murray for carrying on when Rod had to play. I hope between the 5 of us we can provide an even better combination of commentary, live feed, and cover-it-live coverage for everyone out there.

I'm not going to rehash my tournament playing experience. It was nothing important compared to the experience of just being there.

I say this every year, and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir but...

If you have never experienced this event you need to come. If you have doubts about the quality of the competition, read everyone's posts about the incredible collection of talent in the room. If you think this is a one-time thing, we've been doing this for 7 years and 8 tournaments with an increase in field size every year. If you think Madison is boring, ask any non-Madisonite about the town and I assure you that it is at least considered "somewhat fun." If you think it is too expensive to show up at the tournament, flights into Madison--when booked in advance and we give you a few month lead time--are inexpensive; hotels are cheap comparatively speaking; and it's Wisconsin so general food and beverage prices are down--especially compared to larger metro areas. If the payout isn't enough for you, well all I can say is that you don't enjoy Tecmo then if all you are after is a monetary payout for playing in a tournament. Show up. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell whoever you want to come. This tournament really cannot exist without the support of die-hard Tecmo afficiandos like everyone here. Every tecmoers bucket list must have:

"Compete in the Madison Tecmo Tournament"

if it doesn't, just know you are missing one of the best experiences a gamer could have anywhere.

Thanks for coming everyone, you made it special as always.

Tecmo Forever

[hoigaard]

First off, as I say every year following this tourney: Holy balls. Standing ovation to everyone involved from the organization, setup, structure, gameplay, talent, sportsmanship, etc. An almost perfect tourney top to bottom, and everyone in charge (notably the Holzbauers) deserve more lauds than we can toss their way...

Secondly... Get out of here with that "Fumbles are as bad as an INT" gibberish. I lost in the single-elim brackets of Tecmo VI and Tecmo VII due to KO Ret fumbles in the 4th quarters after being up by 10 pts w/ 3 min left in both. And this year I was miraculously awarded the Bears twice in pool play but fumbled four times each game (Muster for some reason was not dishing out Karma to me. Muster's Last Stand? No, "Hoigaard's Last Stand." Bleh), so I went 2-1 and according to early research by Chet & I (ie- spur of the moment, 3 seconds of brainstorming), I was the only 1-seed who failed to advance out of the pools this year. I consider myself to be one of the most extreme conservative-style players I've seen in the tourney (I run out of bounds nearly any chance I get), but sometimes, ya know, it's just Tecmo being Tecmo.

Fumbles can sit on a fist.

[DrFrolf]

Barring an LT piss to the face, there is no way in hell that the ND Triumvirate will miss the Madison Tournament for the foreseeable future. There are so many good guys there (note: lots of guys) I can hardly contain my laughter throughout the timeline of the day. Even during the games it is tough to hate the man sitting next to you. True, I am not as salty as some looking for the #1 prize, but there is something special about 176 dudes cuddled into a room playing a game from 1991.

The amount of stress, time and dedication with something like this is through the roof. For all those that have nurtured this tournament from its birth to everyone that helped at Tecmo VIII, we are in your debt. It was fun meeting everybody at the Ryder Cup and now I am able to put a face to the hard workers of the tournament -- thanks again. A special shout out to DotDon for climbing the ND bandwagon, Gabelikesbutts for generally being a cool dude, and a very special sorry to whoever's girlfriend/fiance/wife I spilled beer on at The Plaza.

In case you are blind and dumb and haven't been convinced yet about coming to this event if you are on the fence, just check out some of the happenings of Tecmo VII here (http://www.leonardite.com/fea/hoss/1.html). It doesn't matter is you are stone sober or stone cold alcoholic, you can definitely take in the sights and sounds of this tourney. Reference ND and women in the same sentence in a positive manner and I will buy you a beer next year.

Looking forward to Tecmo IX. Maybe somebody will catch it on the X in 2013.

[Knobbe]

You're in for a big disappointment, Rod.

You weren't kidding!

[Knobbe]

First part of thetecmobowl.com roundup

[Knobbe]

Until I can cut it down

Madison Trophy Presentation

Final 4

Before Final 4

Also, this made the TecmoVII finals work

(Mort-Dallas vs JimmyB Cardinals)

[Ones11fahzu]

I think Bruddog, and Chet in his above interview, nailed my thoughts on the Final Four game exactly. Shorten the game, burn max time bewteen plays, limit the amount of possessions. The 1st half went exactly as I had hoped. I burned the entire 1st quarter on a FG drive. I even remember Chet being upset and making a snide comment about it, which re-inforced for me that I was playing it right. Frustration can be as effective of a weapon as skill. In addition, Chet was forced into a time-consuming drive that ended in a FG, 3-3 at half. The only things that could have gone better for me was punching it in on that 1st drive to put a little more pressure on, and hitting the JJ attempt at the end of the half.

2nd half I think was more indicative of the real disparity in skill. A solid TD drive to open for Chet, although if he had just pulled the trigger on Pass 1 on his 4th and G from the 5 (which he said he amost called) things might have been different. Regardless of the fumble on the next drive that made it 17-3 and basically put the game away, I had 0 offense in the 2nd half....literally 0.

I still think it's exactly the smart way to play it, even if it's obvious, even if it's frowned upon.

Matt Miller (Ones11fahzu)

[regulator088]

At the end of the day, Bruddog has nothing to gain by going in my eyes. He either shows up and knocked around by a new generation of tecmoers and taints his legacy of being "one of the top players" and every sneers at him and calls him a joke. Or, he shows up and does well and everyone says "OK, maybe the guy is good at tecmo" and we all go on with our lives.

In my opinion, the game is not flawed. If you couldn't break through with LB 4 to stop middle run plays, if you couldn't chuck 120 yard JJ's, if you couldn't scramble for 5-10 yards with your QB, and if multiple defenders didn't change the variance of an INT on a covered WR, you wouldn't be playing tecmo. Instead, you would be playing one of Bruddog's 100 ROMS that no one plays and he tries to force onto people.

Like I said in my interview in Madison.... If you LOVE tecmo, there is NO reason you would "be to lazy to attend" and "have no burning desire" to make the trip.

Until you attend and experience the atmosphere yourself and the game-play yourself, you sir do not have a credible reason to be commenting here.

As Browns said, I'm not going to let your "infinite wisdom" affect me anymore as well and you shall be ignored. I hope more contemplate doing the same.

[marionbarry]

Thanks from the DC Crew for such an awesome time. If there is any doubt in any future particpants' minds whether it's worth the trip, I want to strangle those future participants for even doubting the power of Tecmo Madison.

Seriously, though. Everybody there was awesome. I lost but didn't feel bad about it at all. And there was a lot of great games to watch.

Also, I think I left my liver at Visions strip club. If you see it, tell it that I regret nothing.

Yeah, what he said. And thanks to whoever paid for the cab to Visions, those dudes were cool. Plus I didn't get stabbed there, which was awesome.

[qb_browns]

Reference ND and women in the same sentence in a positive manner and I will buy you a beer next year.

I don't know if I can do that. Guess I'm not getting a beer next year.

[Knobbe]

Reference ND and women in the same sentence in a positive manner and I will buy you a beer next year.

I don't know if I can do that. Guess I'm not getting a beer next year.

It's not that hard for me.

North Dakota women don't look as bad after drinking beer

[Knobbe]

(4) Favorite tournament moment? During my Round of 32 game, Edisaurusrex was playing Mort on a neighboring TV just a few feet away. Edisaurus was leading by 14 at one point, I think, but the next thing I know, he’s screaming “f**k you Mort” with his right hand raised in the air as Mort is running to the endzone with Dalton Hilliard. I have no idea what happened, but the way Ed said it was hysterical. It was the most endearing f bomb I’ve ever heard.

Depending on when this happened we might have this on tape....in fact I think we do because Odell and I were playing at the time and we would stop for bits to check in on their action. I dropped a giant F-bomb about 10 minutes later when fumbling a kick return.

[DrFrolf]

(4) Favorite tournament moment? During my Round of 32 game, Edisaurusrex was playing Mort on a neighboring TV just a few feet away. Edisaurus was leading by 14 at one point, I think, but the next thing I know, he’s screaming “f**k you Mort” with his right hand raised in the air as Mort is running to the endzone with Dalton Hilliard. I have no idea what happened, but the way Ed said it was hysterical. It was the most endearing f bomb I’ve ever heard.

This is the stuff live tourneys and Tecmo dreams are made of. This simply isn't possible in a chatroom. I can AOL the shit out of you and it can be funny, but the look on somebody's face, their body reaction, and their pissed off voices are only immediately accessible in tourney time. It is also enjoyable to hear the frantic smashing of the "A" button when grappling head to head, 6 inches from the other competitor.

Reference ND and women in the same sentence in a positive manner and I will buy you a beer next year.

I don't know if I can do that. Guess I'm not getting a beer next year.

It's not that hard for me.

North Dakota women don't look as bad after drinking beer

Knobbe = 1 beer for the sentence and 1 Rolling Rock in a can for being creative

QB Browns = 2 beatdowns in COA mode

[Neerrm]

So I was talking with a friend about madison (a friend who isn't really a football fan) and he said kind of jokingly "did the winner get a super bowl ring?"

And I thought...how legit would that be?

[qb_browns]

QB Browns = 2 beatdowns in COA mode

Bring it on! That was my favorite part of the Ryder Cup.

To be honest I watched the games and came away feeling like " why do these guys post sweet 16 Tecmo Madison as an achievement, there are only like 12 really solid players in the field". True or not, thats honestly how I felt.

Just out of a sense of morbid curiosity, who are the 12? Or, if you don't want to name anyone (I am kind of putting you on the spot), what would you define as "solid?" I think there are plenty of quality players out there (my preferred choice of adjective), but I'm kind of curious as to the standards that others hold in player evaluation.

[qb_browns]

So I was talking with a friend about madison (a friend who isn't really a football fan) and he said kind of jokingly "did the winner get a super bowl ring?"

And I thought...how legit would that be?

That would be extremely cool and extremely spendy.

But we may have to give a ring like that to a guy who looks like this:

[averagetsbplayer]

I'd be mad at you for posting this, but I don't remember it at all. All I remember is Frolf destroying me, Nick and O'Toole talking to me while I was in a disastrous state in the bathroom, and that's about it.

[bob sacamano]

I initially felt that the ongoing debate was within this thread, so didn't want to place a lenghty recap here. I've now realized it is in fact within a different thread, but here is a link to my own very, very, very, lengthy personal recap. Enjoy if you dare.