Now that things have calmed down a bit, I wanted to thank Donnie and Leon for organizing the event which I enjoyed immensely.
I brought nine games up with me on Friday morning, and Leon brought my other game for a total of 10. No one packs, prepares, loads, moves and sets up 10 games by themselves, so I wanted to thank my friend Ron H. (who some of you know) and Donnie, who each helped me breaking down games, and Ron for helping with the load up. When I got there, I was helped by Leon and Jeff from Vero with unloading. Setup helpers included Prok, Corpse and three friends from WPB, Jimbo, Ron S., and Fred Stab who pitched in as soon as they arrived. If I missed anyone, please rest assured you have my gratitude.
I played in the tournament a fair amount, so I appreciate Jeff from Vero and other collectors who helped keep an eye on my games and let me know when there were issues. There were some inevitable breakdowns when machines get hundreds of plays in a day or so, so I wanted to thank John I., Fred Stab of Home Use Pinball, Curly, JoeZepp and Hamster (Bill) for their generosity in helping me fix my games or in fixing things that were simply beyond my limited technical skills. As a tech, I do a good job of holding a flashlight for a real tech and fetching parts and drinks, so I truly appreciate the help. Thanks to Batman and Corpse 2.0 for altering me to issues that could have gotten much more problematic had I not been informed of them quickly.
The tournament was very well organized and featured one of the strongest fields of the year, according to experienced tournament players. congrats to all of the guys from our area who played and represented Florida with distinction, particularly Corpse and Corpse 2.0, Brian D., Sebastian, Spencer and Danny from Jacksonville. I did want to comment that the heavy duty tournament players were not what I expected. I expected very focused, super serious guys with some arrogance. What I met was a ton of very nice people, willing to pitch in and help with the tournament, with fixing a game, or with providing play tips on an unfamiliar game. The group of regular players acted very much like a family or group of close friends, but they seemed very willing to include anyone who wanted to interact with them as if they had know them for years. Brian D. plays the circuit regularly and tells me he views it as a second family, and I can see why. It was a truly enjoyable experience and even though I did not play as well as I would have liked, it perked my interest in playing in more tournaments. No regrets at all. I was especially impressed by how nice many of the bigger "names" were and how nice they were, particularly Bowen, Adam, Sanjay, Steve, Josh S, Zach S., Kevin D and Mark from PAPA. If you have an interest in playing in these tournaments, my recent experience suggests you should give it a try. You will have a good time, win or lose.
I also wanted to thank Deadlander Al and his wife, Dean and Denise, Jeff from Vero, Leon and Donny for helping me pack up. I got home with my games about 1:15 am, then got up at 6:00 am and unloaded them. Howard Levine, a tournament player from New York who is often in my area visiting his mother, called me up and offered to bring over his friend Steve M. (who has played at Asylum events and APE) to help me set up my games. Sure enough, they showed up last night and we put all of my games back together. A truly classy gesture, and one which I very much appreciate as I head into a much needed few days off.
Sorry to have run on so long, but wanted to thank all for their help. I also wanted to comment on the camaraderie, the esprit de corps and the sheer joy of playing pinball with friends. As a special aside, I derived the most joy from watching two father and son combos, Corpse and Corpse 2.0, and Adam and Escher L. Seeing them share together in the pure joy of the hobby and seeing their closeness gives me something to aim for with my son who is currently 4. I commend both Jeff and Adam as players, and more importantly, as fathers. You set the bar pretty high in both areas.
Looking forward to the next event (APE), then the next (GameWarp), then the next SPF, with FLiPs thrown in the middle, in the pinball circle of life. I will be at all if I can, although I do not know if ten games are in the cards again. I will be there, and hope to see you all there as well.
Ron
