Jump to content

Madison, WI - 03/07/15 - Tecmo XI: Apocalipps Now


sonofpatbeach

Recommended Posts

I always look forward to your annual recaps and this did not disappoint. I am elated for you man, a friend who is such a great player, who just hadn't had that Madison luck to date. Group play was a real dog fight that only made you stronger. So proud of you bud. Congratulations!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

huge shout out to my man TECMO PSYCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!


you deserve this like no other, enjoy it, after riding up to madison wit you for 4 years. I cant imagine any1 putting more work into this thing, all that work paid off big time, Congrats


 


great job from the Holz brothers and company, great job from the stream team, Murray,Knobbe,Bailey, fantastic event


 


for any1 wanted to know, i had some cramping in my left hand before my game vs josh H. before me and josh played he asked me if i needed some time. josh H is a really good dude and just a total class act. i told him im good n lets play it. we got to the 3rd qtr and then bam, my thumb went in, kinda curled, and I felt a pain shoot through my foreman while my arm buckled close to my side. After that josh H insisted i take a break. Not sure how many other tecmoers experienced this but thats how it went down. 


We then continued on playing and the final play of this game was epic. does any1 have a recording of this game?????????????????????????????????????????????????? the qb mitchell to wr clayton JJ at the 5 and then the double juke.


My apologies on going  bananas after that play, the atmosphere, the noise, the shit talking going on behind me about my hand, the best juke I probably ever had for a win, the JJ loss 2 games prior to vikingmoe(good dude), combination of all that ='s bananas


 


great meeting some new faces and of course the commoners that rock


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of my highlights from Saturday:


 


  • I met Noonan and had a few great conversations with him. He's very nice guy and very interesting to talk with.
  • Also great to see Diaz again. We talked some tourney and some HSTL. I just have to say, he remains among the nicest people on the planet. Just a great dude.
  • I played Eric O'Dell in a Friday night warm up game, and I won in overtime. I told him later on Saturday that I thought that win gave me that extra boost of self-confidence to make my run to the Elite 8. So thanks for letting me win that one O'dell.
  • Obviously my game with Daboy (super stand-up guy btw) in the Elite 8. It was a grinder (my first posession of the game went into the 2nd quarter). I was pumped that I put myself in position to win against a great player when I had the ball and 2 minutes left. When I fumbled shortly after, I thought it was over (as did every other sane person in the room), but my brother got in my ear and just said "D up and play it out hard". The rest is history: 3 and out, time wasting punt from Daboy, 80 yard JJ to Steve "Air" Jordan. The Madison City Miracle.
  • Had a nice conversation with Isaac W. (Disasta) afterwards. I defeated him in the Sweet 16, but I thought it was cool that he wasn't bitter or anything. He just wanted to talk about Tecmo and life afterwards. Very cool guy.
  • I reconnected with 3 of the 4 Vogt brothers. What a great group of guys. Super fun talking with Chris and Joey especially.
  • I didn't get skunked by Skunker. I really enjoyed playing him. I had a great chance to force OT at the end, but I just didn't execute, and he was making me earn every stinking yard all game. Great game, but I really want that last play back.
  • Chris Hendershot...aka Tecmo Ninja...aka The Mighty BombJack!! How do you not love this guy? He told some of the funniest stories to my brother and I that day, too.
  • As I mentioned before, it was super fun to interview with Bailey and Knobbe on the stream. They are a couple of great guys.
  • Most importantly, having my brother (Trav G. 23) and one of my best friends (Ryan France) there to support me was just awesome. Ryan wasn't even a participant. He just came to support my brother and I for the weekend (and to drink beer). I wouldn't have had much sucess without them in my corner.

A couple Lowlights:


  • My brother just missing the bracket for the 2nd year in a row. He's such a great player that just hasn't gotten what he deserves at Madison yet. I think he's learned some valuable matchup lessons from the past 2 tourneys, so I'm hoping next year is his year to break through and make a run.
  • Mort getting plastered (and eventually sick). It was a little funny to some at first, but then I just felt bad for him.

I find that with anything you do in life, it all comes down to the people. It's the people that make it special, not what you're actually doing. There are plenty of other people I didn't mention (mostly because I don't remember all the names, or usernames), but obviously it was an amazing gathering of really great people on Saturday.


Edited by vikingmoe02
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Ryan11p Madison Perspective!


 


So my second Madison trip was incredible as always and for me this year was all about lessons. In a whirlwind year new job, new baby this has really been the biggest learning experience of my life so why would Madison be any different. I went 2-2 on the day and didn't make it out of pool. Along with most people in the past I would have been extremely negative and wouldn't be writing a post but I'm simply in a different frame of mind.


 


Highlight 1.


 


Kevin C and I had a amazing new addition to our trip as Matt Miller (Ones) came with us Incredible guy that I always look forward to seeing and adding him to the trip was awesome! Thanks as always to my tecmo travel buddy kevin c always can count on him for anything one of my best friends. Side note Kevin is not only a great tecmo player but is the best overall video gamer i have ever met.


 


Highlight 2. 


 


I know it may sound and seem silly but through losing in pool play i learned to be more confident in my ability and trust myself in more difficult matchups.


 


Highlight 3. 


 


Losing with class, I'm sure at some point we have all been there lost a close one or you feel like you were tecmoed bad luck whatever. I can honestly say before I was a sore loser in everything. I made it a point to remove this attitude and I believe I lost with a high level of class which to me was important. I think Ryan H. really drove this home in his awesome post prior to madison and I embraced that. So thanks to my son, Ryan H, and the countless examples i have seen in person from this wonderful community. I hope Gripsmoke and Nate C agree that I was stayed a class act in tough losses.


 


Highlight 4 Fun stuff now


 


Seeing a guy who got me started in online play and my true friend win this bad boy. Along with that putting the Orenga posse out of the game with the psycho ward was incredible! and in all honesty the posse showed up and I have never seen a game that was as intense as that one. That game will go down as the loudest in madison history im sure.


 


Highlight 5 


 


Getting to call some games with kevin and then getting to introduce the real pros Matt and John, Kevin and I felt like we were the opening act for elvis or the beatles lol. now I'll watch them and hopefully be better if I get the chance to call more games in the future. Along with this interviewing Gripsmoke, Sirted, and tecmo bo was incredible i know these guys from online and getting to meet them and talk to them live for the viewers was awesome.


 


Highlight 6


 


My time spend with Jimsocks and woodshed. we had our seats on lock down and 4th qtr DT was classic. Man I had so much fun with you guys those last 4 games were non stop fun and can't wait to see you at the Tupa Bowl! I gotta come down and see you guys soon!


 


Highlight 7


 


My game with gripsmoke was one of the greatest I have ever been apart of, and even in losing i cannot be upset it was awesome and grip and I now have a bond that both of us will always remember i feel. Oh yeah another lesson get better at kicking FG's immediately lol.


 


 


Thanks to the madison crew for your hard work what you guys do is truly amazing. Thank you to dave murray for not only being such a great friend but your work is incredible and what you do ppl will never understand until they come to a madison then they wouldn't talk. For all the ppl that give dave a hard time do yourself a favor and keep your mouths shut until you come and see what he does and the work he puts in. Last thanks to all my friends i love seeing you guys .


Edited by Ryan11p
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take your time, I'm going to take a champion-shit

Lol. This shit made me laugh. Chris and Jon were still in Arbys ordering. I was walking out with my food and Derek said" go ahead and eat in there.. I have to take a champion shit. " I just put my head down and shook. One of the best trips I've had.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

huge shout out to my man TECMO PSYCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you deserve this like no other, enjoy it, after riding up to madison wit you for 4 years. I cant imagine any1 putting more work into this thing, all that work paid off big time, Congrats

 

great job from the Holz brothers and company, great job from the stream team, Murray,Knobbe,Bailey, fantastic event

 

for any1 wanted to know, i had some cramping in my left hand before my game vs josh H. before me and josh played he asked me if i needed some time. josh H is a really good dude and just a total class act. i told him im good n lets play it. we got to the 3rd qtr and then bam, my thumb went in, kinda curled, and I felt a pain shoot through my foreman while my arm buckled close to my side. After that josh H insisted i take a break. Not sure how many other tecmoers experienced this but thats how it went down. 

We then continued on playing and the final play of this game was epic. does any1 have a recording of this game?????????????????????????????????????????????????? the qb mitchell to wr clayton JJ at the 5 and then the double juke.

My apologies on going  bananas after that play, the atmosphere, the noise, the shit talking going on behind me about my hand, the best juke I probably ever had for a win, the JJ loss 2 games prior to vikingmoe(good dude), combination of all that ='s bananas

 

great meeting some new faces and of course the commoners that rock

LOL, I wish I could have seen this. I heard through the grapevine this was the play of the tournament. Someone one time have this on recording!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Highlight 3. 

 

Losing with class, I'm sure at some point we have all been there lost a close one or you feel like you were tecmoed bad luck whatever. I can honestly say before I was a sore loser in everything. I made it a point to remove this attitude and I believe I lost with a high level of class which to me was important. I think Ryan H. really drove this home in his awesome post prior to madison and I embraced that. So thanks to my son, Ryan H, and the countless examples i have seen in person from this wonderful community. I hope Gripsmoke and Nate C agree that I was stayed a class act in tough losses.

 

 

It can be hard. My first game was a tough 9-7 loss on three field goals. I knew I could do better and just focused on bouncing back my second game and I did with a 20-14 OT win against Wes. At the end of every game though, win or lose I'm always gonna say "good game" and shake the dude's hand (or in Psycho's case a fist bump).  I can't even start a game without saying "good luck" and shaking hands. Just seems like terrible Tecmo karma to not do so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have several shout-outs, thank yous, and other ephemera from another exciting weekend in Madison.


 


First and foremost, a huge thank you to Chet and Josh for putting on another tournament and letting me help organize and run the thing. Who would have thought that the tiny tournament started in the backroom of the Plaza Tavern would turn into this???


 


The rest of the backroom staff deserve a huge thank you as well. The Child of Destiny (Dan Durch) does the art and graphic look, avgtsbplayer (Tony “Ortega” Orenga) does the website and assists in the organization, Larry (@nesjumpman) does the tedious task of data entry and organization during the tournament, Joel was our semi-official photographer you may have seen around the tournament and he took some good looking shots, and the various Ladies of Tecmo who run the registration desk and add to the creative ideas that pop into our heads.


 


Dave Murray should be included in that already lengthy list above but deserves his own section. Dave has done so much for the community and for live tournaments that I’m probably going to have to name my eventual next child (boy or girl) DaveMurray Bailey – seems like the only fitting thank you at this point for all his work.


 


It was a real joy to once again sit down in front of a microphone and call the Elite 8 with my broadcast partner The Godfather, Matt Knobbe. It was too long between tournament commentaries, but it didn’t feel like it on Saturday.


 


The list of amazing people at the tournament that I met for the first time or reconnected with after a year apart is too long for this thread – suffice to say it was good to see all of you again and I hope we keep it up.


 


Here are some quick hits:


-Seeing Chris Vogt again is always a good time and watching his brothers go crazy just adds to the experience


-Flo arriving on Friday in a shirt and tie was shocking. I thought Flo just went around to tournaments, having an actual life outside Tecmo is strange.


-Both daboy and vikingmoe gave excellent interviews and potentially played the greatest game of Tecmo that we have ever streamed.


-Matt Diaz and Garbage Gauthier deciding to just do a juice off, and take stats on it, was excellent.


-Ryan Stewart gave Matt and I a good intro and Kevin Cabarello was the hardest working man in the Elite 8 getting updates for us – that was excellent work by him.


-Enough can’t be said about Bryce, Barry, Joey, and Neil from North Dakota. If you are ever in Fargo or see them at a tournament walk up, say hi, drink the beer they offer you, and just enjoy the ride from that point on. It’s going on 5 years with those guys coming down and wreaking everyone’s liver and each year is better than the last.


 


Finally, and equally as importantly, congrats to tecmopsycho on winning the tournament. Derek, if I had my wits about me during our 30 second interview after your victory, I would have made sure that you had more time to say hi to your son.


 


Another great tournament.


 


Another day to remember fallen friends at the graveyard of Tecmo (Hi again Sobhi!)


 


Long live Tecmo.


 


Eat Shit Orenga.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shout outs:


 


- To chet, josh, jon, tony and the rest of the madison crew for putting on another great tourney! Loved the shirts this year! Josh glad that the beer swap happened. If you ever want some enjoy by IPA I'll send some to you. Chet thanks for indulging me in a game. 


 


- To manyo for the thursday night tecmo and drinking marathon. I still don't remember anything about the final two games we played after coming back from the plaza on thurs. Good times


 


- To Dave Murray for doing the stream again and some quality Tecmo bro time.  


 


- To Gats for all the late night pre-tourney practice and strategy support during the tourney. Glad you made it out man. You played well


 


- To everyone else and especially the online posse that I hung with on Fri it was awesome as always. Cool getting to meet a few people for the first time (sirted, tecmobo, and gripsmoke). All cool dudes. 


 


 


Another year of Tecmo Christmas in the books!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have several shout-outs, thank yous, and other ephemera from another exciting weekend in Madison.

 

First and foremost, a huge thank you to Chet and Josh for putting on another tournament and letting me help organize and run the thing. Who would have thought that the tiny tournament started in the backroom of the Plaza Tavern would turn into this???

 

The rest of the backroom staff deserve a huge thank you as well. The Child of Destiny (Dan Durch) does the art and graphic look, avgtsbplayer (Tony “Ortega” Orenga) does the website and assists in the organization, Larry (@nesjumpman) does the tedious task of data entry and organization during the tournament, Joel was our semi-official photographer you may have seen around the tournament and he took some good looking shots, and the various Ladies of Tecmo who run the registration desk and add to the creative ideas that pop into our heads.

 

Dave Murray should be included in that already lengthy list above but deserves his own section. Dave has done so much for the community and for live tournaments that I’m probably going to have to name my eventual next child (boy or girl) DaveMurray Bailey – seems like the only fitting thank you at this point for all his work.

 

It was a real joy to once again sit down in front of a microphone and call the Elite 8 with my broadcast partner The Godfather, Matt Knobbe. It was too long between tournament commentaries, but it didn’t feel like it on Saturday.

 

The list of amazing people at the tournament that I met for the first time or reconnected with after a year apart is too long for this thread – suffice to say it was good to see all of you again and I hope we keep it up.

 

Here are some quick hits:

-Seeing Chris Vogt again is always a good time and watching his brothers go crazy just adds to the experience

-Flo arriving on Friday in a shirt and tie was shocking. I thought Flo just went around to tournaments, having an actual life outside Tecmo is strange.

-Both daboy and vikingmoe gave excellent interviews and potentially played the greatest game of Tecmo that we have ever streamed.

-Matt Diaz and Garbage Gauthier deciding to just do a juice off, and take stats on it, was excellent.

-Ryan Stewart gave Matt and I a good intro and Kevin Cabarello was the hardest working man in the Elite 8 getting updates for us – that was excellent work by him.

-Enough can’t be said about Bryce, Barry, Joey, and Neil from North Dakota. If you are ever in Fargo or see them at a tournament walk up, say hi, drink the beer they offer you, and just enjoy the ride from that point on. It’s going on 5 years with those guys coming down and wreaking everyone’s liver and each year is better than the last.

 

Finally, and equally as importantly, congrats to tecmopsycho on winning the tournament. Derek, if I had my wits about me during our 30 second interview after your victory, I would have made sure that you had more time to say hi to your son.

 

Another great tournament.

 

Another day to remember fallen friends at the graveyard of Tecmo (Hi again Sobhi!)

 

Long live Tecmo.

 

Eat Shit Orenga.

I watched back the stream twice last night. Matt and you are so good behind that mic. The play by play and insight is so cool. I'm sorry that I didn't get over there right away. I know I stuck you in an awkward position playing the waiting game, but you just kept talking like a pro. I had to swim through a mob of people and wrap my head about what just happened to get up there. Probably a good thing that you didn't have more time. Would have saved me some embarrassment crying on the stream as I was only thinking of Dolan watching it when he emailed me after each game from the sweet 16 on. Great job as always. Good seeing you again as well.

Edited by Tecmo Psycho
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since originally retiring from TSB at the age of 16 (when my parents filled out my application to work at the grocery store, shut off the Nintendo and pushed me out the door) it was a gift from the Tecmo Gods that I searched online for Tecmo Super Bowl and found a community of people like me and so I re-opened my life to a childhood passion.

 

I watched the last two years of the Tecmo Madision stream (thanks Dave and team) and in December 2013 joined the online community on TPC.  (Thanks Bruddog for the great tutorials)

I am now proud to be an ambassador for TSB Online, helping newcomers like Johnny Rocker and others get setup for online play.

My experience level is not at the level of the Tecmo greats/veterans, but maybe someday.  That inexperience kept me from traveling from Central Iowa to Madison past 2 years.  HOWEVER, after reading hoigaard's SUPURB post "The Comprehensive Guide to being a Madision Tecmo Rookie", I was LOCKED in.  I was GOING!  Ryan hit the every nail on the head.


 

My experience highlight.... The People!

It's completely unfair to catagorize any of these people... and even more shameful to leave anyone OFF this summary, but I need to shout out to those that made my first Madison tournament the best experience possible.

 

A++, Purplehaze and Odell.

Spend my first 2 hours with these guys and they were the two that advanced from my pool. I was pissed off for about 5 seconds after losing my rematch with Rob (Purplehaze) and not advancing to the round of 64. And then immediately jumped into party mode. Other than winning an earlier game against Rob and Jon Bailey, making the round of 64 would have blown my mind.  Winning at all was my goal, and 2-2 for the day was EXCEEDING my expectations.

 

A+, VikingMoe, Gripsmoke, ScienceGuy, Luke C, Matt K, TecmoPsycho, Chris Vogt, Matt M (Ones), Dave Murray, Retro4ever

These guys were awesome. This group of guys asked me every time I came across them how my games were going, my match-ups, my record, etc.  Not keeping up with you guys for the year leading up to Madison XII would be a disappointment.

 

A, Ryan11p, Matt OTool, Kris K, Kramer, Matt/Jimmy V, Manyo, Diaz (calling me out.."NOOOONAN"), Sega, Ryan K, TravisG, joeygats (I was a contributor to your attendance, and glad I did)

 

A- **disclaimer. These guys don't get the top grade because it's MY FAULT!  I didn't go out of my way to converse with these guys. We did introductions and I unfortunately left it at that. I was told ALL are TOP NOTCH guys and I sincerely believe that.  This crew will get more of my attention next year!

Kevin C, Coconuts, disastamasta, Jon Bailey, Flo, Mort, Beef Juice, Tony Orenga, Louis B., Daboys, 4th Vogt, Bruddog, Skunker, TecmoBo

 

The organizers: A++++, Chet, Josh, Bailey, the dude behind the computer, the women that helped these dudes, Dave M and the internet stream.  Another group I wish I could have talked to more... but you had a lot on your plate so I kept my distance.  You guys know what you do, and are modest about it. Take it from this guy that crossed something off his bucket list... your efforts are appreciated.

 

The Orenga Posse:  At first impressive, but then I found their weekness.... MY LOUD VOICE and WIT.

I showed up to challenge the Posse by backing Purplehaze against Orenga in Round of 64 match.  I believe I made my mark when Orenga leaned over to Rob (Purplehaze) and asked... "do you know this guy?".

After Orenga advanced, he played Rico and Joeygats while something interesting was developing: Tecmopsycho was making his run.  After Derek eliminated Joey V, then Odell, worlds were about to collide.  Myself and the Vogts discovered that Psycho and Orenga were on a collision course and the PsychoWard began setting up residency.  Jimmy V, the WARD and I began discussing chants and our plan to destroy the Orenga Posse.

Once the matchup and TV station was announced, the PsychoWard was mobilized. 20+ surrounded station 20, while we laughed at the Posse's attempt to get close to the TV.  As Derek described in his blog... he and Tony were against the TV, shoulder to shoulder, with no room to move.  I recall about 50 people around that match.  I jokingly looked around this group, turned to purplehaze and scienceguy and asked "Is there another game going on"... it sure didn't feel like it.

It was so loud, I couldn't hear myself yell, literally.

The tough reality; I liked Tony O.  I may have altered a chant from eat shit Orenga, to drink piss Orenga.... but that's what happens when you get committed to the PsychoWard.

 

 

Tournament Highlights from my viewpoint. (No highlights from my games... wouldn't do service to what I witnessed from other matches.)

 

1.

The Daboy8821 win by using a double-juke to avoid a drone and Josh H was likely the Tecmo play of the day.  And how this makes the top highlight when I didn't see it???? That's how epic it was.  This play was talked about more than any other, including the last Steve Christie kick of the day.  This play was so good that I heard it from a guy, that heard it from a guy that heard it from another guy that sat behind Josh as it happened.  (its unlikely this was record, but give me ideas about my next post-tournament report to the organizers on my ideas to kick this even up a notch (unlikely, but possible).

 

2.

The Gripsmoke vs Ryan11p "KICKS heard round the world" were cool.  Kick for the win... MISS, Kick for the win... BLOCKED.  Kick for the win.. "finally". Heck, I don't even remember how many kicks or the order in which they happened... it was that batsh!t crazy.

 

3.

The TecmoPsycho kick to win the tournament.  I was lucky to see this in person.

 

4. Coconuts, you out-tapped Psycho in that Championship game and stopped the world from spinning. This was that moment when you jumped to the top 5 of my list of Tecmo-skilled players.  The collective "OOOOOOH!" from the crowd was <southern slang> "Purdy frickin' cool"

 

5.

I was opposite Chet vs Daboys and not watching the game, but when it ended, the PURE emotion shown by Daboys can only expressed as a result of an INTENSE battle.

 

6.

Was absolutely THRILLED not to see a single guy show dejection.  Nobody stompped off, nobody called out rules violations, no back-talk.. just pure sportsmanship all-around.  I wouldn't have put it past Derek (after losing hearing in his right ear) to stand up and put me in my place... but this guy was a machine, with his Tecmo mode dial set to "psycho", and I wasn't in his world at that point.

 

7.

PsychoWard - would be higher on the highlight list if I could talk about it... but I lost my voice during the Orenga vs Psycho match.

 

 

See you all next year.  For those of you reading, but didn't attend... you have been put on notice. Make your plans as soon the next event is announced.

-Cory Schultes (noonan)


Edited by noonan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave Murray should be included in that already lengthy list above but deserves his own section. Dave has done so much for the community and for live tournaments that I’m probably going to have to name my eventual next child (boy or girl) DaveMurray Bailey – seems like the only fitting thank you at this point for all his work.

 

I welcome this gesture and will look forward to future Bailey kindred.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

A- **disclaimer. These guys don't get the top grade because it's MY FAULT!  I didn't go out of my way to converse with these guys. We did introductions and I unfortunately left it at that. I was told ALL are TOP NOTCH guys and I sincerely believe that.  This crew will get more of my attention next year!

Kevin C, Coconuts, disastamasta, Jon Bailey, Flo, Mort, Beef Juice, Tony Orenga, Louis B., Daboys, 4th Vogt, Bruddog, Skunker, TecmoBo

 

 

 

noonan, you gotta swing up to Tomczak in December.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watched back the stream twice last night. Matt and you are so good behind that mic. The play by play and insight is so cool. I'm sorry that I didn't get over there right away. I know I stuck you in an awkward position playing the waiting game, but you just kept talking like a pro. I had to swim through a mob of people and wrap my head about what just happened to get up there. Probably a good thing that you didn't have more time. Would have saved me some embarrassment crying on the stream as I was only thinking of Dolan watching it when he emailed me after each game from the sweet 16 on. Great job as always. Good seeing you again as well.

 

Actually I immediately made a beeline for the bathroom so your timing worked well for me. Heck, you almost had me bite it as I could see the pride of your son in your face. Couldn't have asked for a better guy to win the tourney.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick hitters. First, dumb stuff:
-I think some people think my name is Ryan Hoigaard. It's Ryan Krebs, but I'm happy to keep up the Ryan Hoigaard charade.
-I'm not going to talk much about actual games in the tournament in this post because what can I add that hasn't been said already? Just intense fun Tecmo action for 12 hours.
-6 of my 9 career losses in Madison have been by <4 pts. This game can be so, so, so stupid sometimes. (But that's what makes it great)
-In what is sure to send a seismic ripple through the Tecmo world, rocking the foundation to its core: For those 2.5 people who care, after my exit Saturday I announced my retirement from competitive tournament Tecmo. I'll still play recreationally, help plan tournaments and attend/support events (Madison, NYC, etc) in a non-playing capacity whenever possible, but I found that I'm at the point in my Tecmo career where I have legitimately twice as much fun (if not more) watching the gauntlet of tournament games instead of playing in them. Not salty about it, not woe-is-me, nothing like that. I'm involved in Tecmo to have fun and I have significantly more fun watching/analyzing/discussing Tecmo than actually playing.
-A double Makers Mark & Sprite at Badger Bowl is $7.75. It's $12 for a single Makers neat here in NYC. Basically, if I hadn't gotten completely hammered while back in Wisconsin it was like I was losing money.


Ok, now not dumb stuff:
-I know I probably said it 1,594 times to various people that night, but this year's Madison was definitely my favorite. I never root against anybody, but the chaos that started to evolve once Regulator didn't go, 2 champions didn't make it out of group play, Matt V & Mort got knocked out early, and Chet falls before the Elite 8 (in a revenge game for the ages by DaBoy)... well, that made those final few hours jaw-droppingly fun.
-Related, and Chet alluded to it in his recap a few posts ago, but as a spectator, it was cool to watch Chet/Matt V, etc actually watching some of these late games. You could sense how much they genuinely enjoyed being able to step back and take in the late stages of the tournament for the first time in a while.
-When they started to announce the Sweet 16 matchups, you found yourself going "Oh, that's a pretty good one ... Well that's tough too ... Jeez, another good one on paper ... HOLY SHIT THESE ARE ALL AMAZING MATCHUPS" and the games didn't disappoint. I think I tweeted at some point that it was genuinely depressing that you couldn't watch all the Sweet 16 games at the same time. I settled in to watch Psycho and O'Dell (I think Noonan and I sat and watched that together on the stage? Fun and chatty guy, that Noonan), and I was glad I did. That game was a masterpiece.
-Observing Psycho through the stretch run on Saturday was an incredible study in "Competitor playing at a high level and showing a total sense of calm and Zen." He was locked in, and that was awesome.
-It was a really weirdly-cool feeling going to the cabin room late in the day and being the one to basically give the "Ok... it's time" message to Psycho. He was talking strategy with the knights of the round table. Really cool behind-the-scenes moment to be a part of. And he's not kidding when he talked about entering the room like a champion fighter. Following his procession in there was amazing.
-To echo what Ryan11P mentioned about losing with class, I loved what I saw across the board on Saturday. So many handshakes, cooler heads prevailing, and just true respect for the game and other competitors was far and away the norm during Tecmo XI, this is what keeps the tourney fun and pure.
-Bruddog's numbers don't lie, and anecdotally I'll agree that competition is so much tighter than ever before. Isaac was clearly the #1 in our group, but honestly seeds 2 through 6 or 7 were real coin flips. There were 5-6 guys in our group who, if they'd made the bracket, my reaction would have easily been "Yeah, they're definitely worthy." Then extrapolate that all the other groups with deep fields and, at least until the Sweet 16 or so, you couldn't allow yourself to be shocked by too much of what you saw in the form of "upsets."


Apologies:
-To the Plaza, for lifting the bubble hockey game to jar a puck loose, and not realizing a large glass of beer was sitting on it. Thank you for not even bothering to clean it up, but I apologize nonetheless.
-To my stomach, as this was the 6th Madison in a row that I did not order food. It's become a tradition to treat my body like shit for 36 hours, and I apologize for that.
-To the NYTecmo twitter followers. I said "Video to come" after Psycho won, but then I realized I turned the camera on its side about 3 seconds in, and I can't rotate the picture. Rather than post a video you have to watch upside down, I just opted to break my promise. I apologize.
-To anyone listening/watching the stream during the Sweet 16. I was sitting on the stage right in front of the mics watching Psycho/O'Dell and I couldn't stop (loudly) praising how awesome that game was. If you heard a loud drunk guy drown out your announcers with "This is an INCREDIBLE GAME" 55 times over the span of 20 minutes, I apologize.
-To Bryan P, who I knocked off in the opening game. You deserved a much better fate than to lose on an E2E CC at the buzzer. I realized I never bought you that drink I promised, as well. For all of this, I apologize. Find me next year and say "Beer me," and it shall be done.


Ok, now to sentimental stuff:
-As always, my annual chats (whether extended or quick ones) with the likes of Chet, O'Dell, CVogt, Joe Nelson, Troy H, (I'm forgetting dozens of others) are something I look forward to all year. Great to see everyone again. This year I also got to chat way more than I have in past years with guys like Coconuts, Brud, Knobbe, Ryan S, Matt M and more. Tecmo Madison is a social gauntlet and you can only see/chat with so many guys in such a limited amount of time. Also always good to see Lou/Mort/DT and the east coast guys, and after seeing Lou's hat on Saturday I have a new item to put on my Xmas list this year (Go Leafs).
-Meeting/chatting with Psycho, Daboy, Noonan, Manyo, Isaac, and others (I think Swayze and I talked for a little bit? I don't know. After about 6 pm you could have told me I just had a conversation with the President and I would be like "Oh, yeah, I don't remember but I bet it was cool"). Also nice to meet Kevin C and chat a little hockey and give him a tidbit about Psycho's epic title run for the broadcast. Between him, Chris V and a few others, I may be turning ever-so-slightly on that "Worst State Ever" title for Ohio.
-Since moving to the east coast, I don't see my family as much, so it's awesome that my brother's made it to the last couple tournaments. Even though he (and I) didn't play as well as we wanted, it was great spending a full day relaxing and chatting with him. If you don't know who Adam K was, he's the guy with the big beard, mohawk, and Marino jersey. He may look like a drifter, but he's got a heart of gold.
-Thanks to my travel partners Scott S and Dan M for playing better than me but not making me feel like a loser. Fun guys to call friends.
-One of these years I'm going to have an actual "Hi, my name is ____" convo with Jon B, Tony O, Dan D and Josh H. After 6 years, I should know those guys better. On the flip side of that, I loved chatting with Chet at the Plaza for what felt like 4 hours. Great to talk with him outside the chaos of the Badger Bowl. Visit NYC any time, Chet.
-And last but not least, big shout to Nick and Jake (Sega and Beef Juice). I barely scratched the surface chatting at Tecmo X, and I really wanted to raise hell with them at Tecmo XI. Mission accomplished. Those two are crazy fun. Thanks for letting me bum along in the cab and I will try to continue to go back to Madison for Tecmo and the Plaza post-party until they finally make good on the hour of Sarah McLachlan songs Jake paid for. Sons-a-bitches.

Viva Tecmo

Edited by hoigaard
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pardon my ignorance, but how do you watch/re-watch the stream? Is it recorded somewhere? I'd love to watch it.

 

Dave recorded it locally and is working to get it up on Twitch. He'll chime in with an update, but I think he should take a break and spend some quality time with his kids, especially the incredibly recently born one. Just my two cents. He'll probably post these soon since we are already talking about next years stream :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

-In what is sure to send a seismic ripple through the Tecmo world, rocking the foundation to its core: For those 2.5 people who care, after my exit Saturday I announced my retirement from competitive tournament Tecmo. I'll still play recreationally, help plan tournaments and attend/support events (Madison, NYC, etc) in a non-playing capacity whenever possible, but I found that I'm at the point in my Tecmo career where I have legitimately twice as much fun (if not more) watching the gauntlet of tournament games instead of playing in them. Not salty about it, not woe-is-me, nothing like that. I'm involved in Tecmo to have fun and I have significantly more fun watching/analyzing/discussing Tecmo than actually playing.

 

 

I care!! Am I the .5?

 

I understand completely. Heck, I'm not sure I've ever qualified myself as more than a lucky "participant" (not competitor, not player, etc.) I started studying it out of college boredom and writing nostalgically (word?) about my childhood with it before I realized it was a "thing" and went to check it out. It's probably not the smartest thing to only play Tecmo once a year, and play it at Madison, but I still have a helluva time and am lucky to have rubbed shoulders with some of the names above. I'm generally sore about missing this year after basking in these recaps, just had too many things bumping up too close to each other, but as long as some of the rumors I've heard about aren't true I'll make my triumphant return as 8th seed in Group ## next year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Past broadcasts link is here http://www.twitch.tv/tecmobowl/c/6298622


 


Stuff that wasn't broadcasted live to the masses that Dave has recorded offline will have to be waited upon til he's free to broadcast.


 


Dave, Kudos to you sir. And all those that helped you. TecmoAz, when I said what happened when I tried to chromecast, I understood what you were saying but I was just sharing what specifically happened on my end. With details. Thank you too sir for your help in that.


Much props to all the Madison tourney putter onners. I can't believe what a terrific job you do. I'm really bummed I missed out this year, but it's for good reason. So glad to hear another one will be put on next year.


 


Long live live tecmo. (I would have been all up in that Psych-ward!)


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...