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At long last...
Apr. 23rd, 2009 12:06 pmFinally my tournament report for non-gamers. Anyone interested in a play-by-play can PM me for a link.
Friday was a beautiful day: sunny skies, fresh breeze, the smell of earth. The weekend looked to be equally as beautiful. Good thing I'll be indoors for most of it, no? Four of us drove down to the Colonial GT in Cherry Hill, NJ. What should have been a five hour cruise turned into seven hours. Never again will we drive down 95 through NYC. I don't care what time of day it is! We stowed our gear quickly and went down to the hall, our first real game was that night. It was an amazingly close game with lots of drinking (making a toast each round was part of the rules), and I ended up with a draw. My opponent would go on to will all the rest of his games and win 1st Overall as well. He defeated everyone... except me ;)
After drinking, there was eating! I took place with 5 other guys in a wings eating contest. After being crowned the two time winner of the hot dog eating contests in Boston, I thought I could still compete. Behold the fast and furious action!
Notice the Strongbow on the left, I came prepared this year! I beat the fellow next to me, but after consuming 35 wings, and hearing the leader was at 40, I resigned. The winner ("Big Al") put down 50 wings, then stopped because he wanted a cigarette. Maybe in my youth I could have matched him wing for wing, but not that I'm old and slow I prefer quality over quantity.
Saturday I picked up another draw and two wins, and was feeling pretty pleased with my results. During lunch we walked a few blocks to Subway and got to enjoy the gorgeous weather. After the last game of the day, it was time for our traditional sushi dinner at Nagoya, and the chef's didn't disappoint.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Once the blissful sushi hangover passed, it was time for poker. Thirty of us played, and got to talk about the crazy events in our games while slinging trash talk and knocking back drinks. Three and a half hours later it was down to me, my club mate Matt (my Texas Hold Em sensei) and Rob, an old friend from the GT circuit. Matt bullied me out by going all in (proving that I am still the learner), but I made enough money to recover my stake AND pay for my hotel room.
I should have put that money towards bribing my opponents, because I couldn't buy a good dice roll Sunday morning, and had two big losses. Things were so crazy in that last game that I lost my cool for a bit, which only made me more upset. My opponent was pretty understanding. Three rum and cokes and a shot of Jameson later, I apologized and promised him a rematch next year. I ended up 27th out of 82, even with my Bloody Sunday performance. Painting was 20th out of 82, including one vote for Players Choice (coolest army). That put a smile back on my face!
The camaraderie at these big events is unbeatable. The ability to "talk shop" freely and shamelessly, coupled with the party atmosphere, makes for an awesome weekend all the time. There's nothing like getting heckled by two cars of rival gamers, either. Good to know who your friends are!
Speaking of friends, I look forward to hanging out with more of you now that spring is here, and I don't have to focus on painting for a while :)
Friday was a beautiful day: sunny skies, fresh breeze, the smell of earth. The weekend looked to be equally as beautiful. Good thing I'll be indoors for most of it, no? Four of us drove down to the Colonial GT in Cherry Hill, NJ. What should have been a five hour cruise turned into seven hours. Never again will we drive down 95 through NYC. I don't care what time of day it is! We stowed our gear quickly and went down to the hall, our first real game was that night. It was an amazingly close game with lots of drinking (making a toast each round was part of the rules), and I ended up with a draw. My opponent would go on to will all the rest of his games and win 1st Overall as well. He defeated everyone... except me ;)
After drinking, there was eating! I took place with 5 other guys in a wings eating contest. After being crowned the two time winner of the hot dog eating contests in Boston, I thought I could still compete. Behold the fast and furious action!
Notice the Strongbow on the left, I came prepared this year! I beat the fellow next to me, but after consuming 35 wings, and hearing the leader was at 40, I resigned. The winner ("Big Al") put down 50 wings, then stopped because he wanted a cigarette. Maybe in my youth I could have matched him wing for wing, but not that I'm old and slow I prefer quality over quantity.
Saturday I picked up another draw and two wins, and was feeling pretty pleased with my results. During lunch we walked a few blocks to Subway and got to enjoy the gorgeous weather. After the last game of the day, it was time for our traditional sushi dinner at Nagoya, and the chef's didn't disappoint.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Once the blissful sushi hangover passed, it was time for poker. Thirty of us played, and got to talk about the crazy events in our games while slinging trash talk and knocking back drinks. Three and a half hours later it was down to me, my club mate Matt (my Texas Hold Em sensei) and Rob, an old friend from the GT circuit. Matt bullied me out by going all in (proving that I am still the learner), but I made enough money to recover my stake AND pay for my hotel room.
I should have put that money towards bribing my opponents, because I couldn't buy a good dice roll Sunday morning, and had two big losses. Things were so crazy in that last game that I lost my cool for a bit, which only made me more upset. My opponent was pretty understanding. Three rum and cokes and a shot of Jameson later, I apologized and promised him a rematch next year. I ended up 27th out of 82, even with my Bloody Sunday performance. Painting was 20th out of 82, including one vote for Players Choice (coolest army). That put a smile back on my face!
The camaraderie at these big events is unbeatable. The ability to "talk shop" freely and shamelessly, coupled with the party atmosphere, makes for an awesome weekend all the time. There's nothing like getting heckled by two cars of rival gamers, either. Good to know who your friends are!
Speaking of friends, I look forward to hanging out with more of you now that spring is here, and I don't have to focus on painting for a while :)
