Detroit Tecmo Kumite II

I originally had no plans of attending this tournament with it being so close to Madison, the financials, and impending worst winter on record.  I did agree to make the tournament logo and flyer for the tournament though.  As the date of the tournament grew closer, I found myself receiving the stipend bonus at school that weekend before, my mother-in-law was able to come watch the kids, and weather report was holding off until that Sunday.  So with a few days before the tournament I threw my name into the ring.  I called regulator088 so I could catch a ride up to the motor City, which what cut my travel distance in half.  I originally had plans to stay with him the night before, but I got a text saying that I'd be staying at his brother's (ones11fahzu) instead.

I left from school on Friday and made a journey up to Elkart, Indiana to crash at ones11fahzu's place before Tecmo Kumite II in Detroit.  Once I arrived we talked for about two and a half hours before bed playing no warm-up games in the process.  The next morning regulator088 picked us up and we embarked to Detroit. Once we arrived we made our way into the Bookies Bar and Grill carrying the televisions we brought.  You did some meet and greets as the final televisions and systems were being set up for the tournament. Cubanrocks, ryan11p, Kevin C., and the Ultimate Weapon all made the trek from Ohio.

I played a warm-up game in a match up that I hard personally never played before, but saw on Mort's Tecmo 101 blog.  Seemed intriguing.   Regulator088 took the Cowboys and I rolled with the Broncos. Regulator088 had no problem running the ball behind the descent Dallas OL and the pathetic Bronco DL.  Game was very back and forth and went into overtime with a 17-17 tie.  With an EXCELLENT Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys sealed the deal 23-17 on the first drive.  I felt like the match-up is fairly even and both could exploit things.  Sounded like something I would try in the tournament.

Things kicked up with the opening ceremonies by tournament directors Eric "tecmodell42" O'Dell and Matt "LuckyTool" O'Toole.  Directions were explained.  Tournament was triple elimination with a random draw of opponent each round of the tournament from a bag of ping pong balls.  the first ball drawn would be player 1 and call the match-up, while the second ball would get choice of team.  Since there was an odd number of players there would be a bye each round.  Very smooth way to run a tournament, a great concept, lots of excitement, and a guarantee of three games for the worst performances. Really hard to top that.  I was signed up as ball #11.  Let the games begin.

In the opening round I drew ones11fahzu.  How ironic.  I called the tried and new Broncos/Cowboys match-up.  Thinking I play well with the Broncos and the Cowboys line should have the advantage as well as higher rated defensive MAN players I though I could not go wrong either way.  Ones11fahzu took the Broncos.  I was pretty disappointed on how things went in the game.  First, ones11fahzu played a traditional ones11fahzu game.  I only had three total offensive possession and didn't get my first until mid way through the second quarter.on top of that ones11hafzu played excellent of defense as usual. The Dallas offensive line that tore my Denver defensive game up in the warm-up against ones11fahzu's brother did not happen in our game.  To top things off, Troy Aikman and Emmitt were in BAD for a majority of the game.  I ended up dropping the first game of the tournament 0-10.  The first and only time I have ever been shut out in MAN vs MAN Tecmo.  Nice game Matt.

In the second round game I draw a much improved ryan11p of Columbus, Ohio..  I chose a Bengals/Lions match-up.  He took the Lions.  I set up the playbook to take out Cofer and balanced the play calls.  The playbook I chose was really the difference in this game.  I found myself up 21-0 at halftime.  When he received the second half kick he fumbled and I scored.  At tack on another score on a second fumble late in the third.  In the fourth quarter I played pretty stiff defense.  I punted back on first down twice in the fourth and the final remained 35-0.

In my third round game I played Jason T. from Toledo, Ohio.  I called a Chargers/Lions match-up hoping for the Chargers.  Wouldn't you know it.  The jukes and juice-offs were a flowing.  Byrd picked off the combo of Peete and Ware a total of five times in the game.  I punted back on first down twice in the fourth being up 40-0.  On the last play Barry broke past the line for maybe the third time all game.  I put my control down and allowed the avoided shutout.  Butts had 263 yards.

The fourth round put me up against Joe M. of Detroit.  I called a Broncos/Chargers match-up.  He took the Chargers.  Things go crazy after I fumble away which he scores on.  I then through an arrant pick on a mispress.  He is up 0-14 in the blink of an eye.  I was fortunate to make a good play on a Simon Fletcher INT, which set up a score before half making it 7-14.  in second half a receive and score.  I hold the Chargers on their next three possessions forcing punts before I tack on another score taking the lead 21-14 which would be the final.

The fifth round match-up was against Eric O'Dell.  I called a Chiefs/Dolphins match-up where Eric took the Dolphins.  Nothing went right in this game.  DeBerg threw several passes out of bounds, Okoye lost two fumbles, the Miami OL was destroying my run defense, Okoye, Deberg, and Paige in BAD.  To top it off there was a killer glare from the window in which neither Eric and I could see very well for almost an entire quarter.  All I could see was a reflection of a #42 Detroit jersey in the middle of the screen.  I was only able to muster a FG late in the third.  What a disaster of a game.

In round six I got a bye, and in round seven I would square off against O'Dell again.  During my bye round I spotted two match-ups that I rarely see.  One was a Cardinals/Saints and the other was a Broncos/Lions. On the day I defeated the Lions twice already so I was thinking let's make it three if I was not to get them.  If I got them I was going to try and gain the most rushing yards with Barry for the tournament so I could win the side-game prize of the Barry Sanders Starting Line-up action figure.  I personally feel the Lions are the better team in this match-up, but I do play well with the Broncos and I felt O'Dell would take the hometown Lions.  That was indeed the case.  The game started off very back and forth as I turned over on downs and the Lions got first blood with a TD.  I answered with a score of my own.  The Lions then  lost a fumble and the Broncos capitalized.  The score was 14-7 at the half.  The Lions received the second half kick, but are caught on the kickoff inside the five.  After switching Barry to WR1, O'Dell was caught off guard by the Denver drones and was sacked for a safety giving the ball back to the Broncos with a 16-7 deficit.  The Broncos capitalize with a score making it 23-7.  A JJ to Barry deep tied it at 23-14.  The Broncos were forced to punt and the Lions had several passing bomb opportunities  to Barry, but on the third pass attempt the ball was picked off.  Clock was run out and Psycho moves out of the Elite Eight and into a potential Final Four tie.

My next opponent was the enigma that is Magic Mort.  This would be only the second time I had played Mort live, with the first being a scrimmage game the morning of the Tomczak Bowl.  I called a Bucs/Falcons match-up.  Mort took the Bucs.  Both of us set up run plays at Haddix and at Deion.  The game started out with the Bucs scoring easily on heavy running by Anderson.  The Falcons come back to tie it with a good drive of their own.  On the next possession the Bucs are forced to punt.  The Falcons then get to midfield on a 3rd and 7.  Right before I hike the ball my thumb and wrist lock out as it did in Madison the year before.  As I lay the controller on my lap to stretch it and pull it back into place the A button hit my gut and the ball was hiked.  Nine yard sack and 4th and 16; out of field goal range.  Huge downer.  I believe the game went into half tied at 7.  In the second half the Bucs get a FG and Mort scored a TD.  The score was 7-17 with 3 minutes to play.  the Falcons score a FG making it  10-17 and then recover the onside attempt.  Two chances with Rison before the final gun come up short.

After being eliminated I indulged in my second mass of meat.  The first was a Brunch Burger (bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, etc.) which was so greasy that the bun stuck to my fingers.  The post tourney meal was the Carnivore (two 1/2 pound patties, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and a coronary).  It was awesome.  Both came with some of the best beer battered fries I have ever had.  During this time I met O'Dell's wife who I might add may be the best Tecmo wife of all-time.  She was in the bar the entire day running the computer, recording winners/losers, scores, etc.  Eric you hit the jackpot my friend.

With bad weather arriving sooner than predicted, regualtor088, ones11fahzu, and myself needed to leave before the championship. Found out that Mort beat O'Toole in the championship and also had the highest run total with Barry on the day (243 if I remember correctly). I finished in the Final Four tied with regulator088, and Joe M.  Ones11fahzu finished third.

 Roads were crappy on the way back to Elkart and slowed us down pretty good. On the way back to Elkart the Millers had me download an app called Akinator.  It is sort of like 20 questions.  You choose someone sort of famous and the genie asks questions to get to the right answer.  After it worked on Kyle and Matt I tried to think of something pretty tough.  About 15 questions in that damn genie guessed Yoda from Star Wars and I about died.  I tried to stump him again with James K. Polk and this time I succeeded (at least with the free database limited app version).  I decided to crash at ones11fahzu's house again instead of driving straight through.  Had a great time.  Short weekend.  Big thanks to o'dell and O'Toole throwing a fine tournament.  Definitely worth the time and is a great warm-up for Madison in a month.

Iowa Not So Bad After All: Tomczak Bowl VI

On the 23rd anniversary of Tecmo Super Bowl's release Vogtcd11 and Ryan11p arrived at the Psycho Estate around 2:45.  I was still at school and had the 40 minute commute to the southside.  When I arrive, I stopped to show them my NES collection and gather my stuff.  In all the excitement I forgot my playing sunglasses, music headphones, and winter coat!  We departed Naptown around 3:30 PM.

I took the helm at the wheel and crushed apple slices as a pre-trip snack.  Things were going well traveling at "posted speeds", until about half way through Illinois.  Snowing started coming down in a hurry.

We stopped to gas and grabbed some Subway.  I was excited about the new Garlic Bread that they have and was telling vogtcd11 and ryan11p that they had to try it.  Vogtcd11 and I ordered our sandwiches, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki and Southwest Chicken and Cheese Chipolte respectively.  When ryan11p went to order they ran out of the garlic bread.  We gave him a tough time about it in the car.  Vogtcd 11 took the wheel as the snow started to fall.

The next four hours were brutal.  70 MPH to 50 MPH to 30 MPH speeds on the interstate.  The seemingly easy trip turned into a nightmare.  We started talking Tecmo, watched some league game recordings, and listened to the best of Tecmo Talk Radio.  As we enter the great state of Iowa the air in the car started to cloud something like Pig Pin from the Peanuts series.  A smell similar to cow manure wafted our nostrils.  Vogtcd11p asked if I pooped.  I replied no even though I needed to release some pressure.  Ryan11p said the same thing.  Ryan11p added, "This is what Iowa must smell like." Iowa dissing ensued.  We also passed America's largest truck stop the Iowa 80.  I wanted to stop but vogtcd11 and ryan11p advised that the lot lizards would get me.

We stopped at the Kum and Go gas station because we saw another Subway.  Unfortunately it was already closed so we went into the gas station to purchase candy and drinks. Ryan11p purchased an official Kum and Go T-shirt as well.   After we loaded up on food we added some more gas and vogtcd11 unleashed his pump ninja arsenal when shards of ice flung from the pump hose directly into the passenger side window. Scared the shit out of me.

Horrible road conditions make the ride painfully long.  Almost being up for 24 hours straight, (stayed up the night before cleaning my NES controller #bordem #tooexcitedtosleep) I had to take a cat nap 15 minutes before making it to the hotel.  We finally arrived to the Motel 6 in Waterloo where fellow Tecmoers mort1237 and redsethuhut98 were staying.  We asked to be as close to the celebs as possible.  We managed to be three rooms away.  The plan was to stay up all night playing scrimmages.  Unfortunately both Buffalo natives were sawing logs when vogtcd11 cup-listened at the door.  We decided to play Waterloo tier match ups in preparation for the tournament.  Some match ups we played were Falcons/Cowboys, Packers/Seahawks, Redskins/Rams, Colts/Patriots, Steelers/Jets.  We found out that at 4 AM EST that checkreyes was the only viewer watching out streamed practice games.  We woke up the next morning and played some scrimmages with mort1237 and redsethuhut98 before heading to Spicoli's Rock Garden and Grill.

When we arrived at the bar, we loved the open-ness of the playing area.  All centralized, but plenty of viewing space.  Mort1237 and vogtcd11 set up Twitch Tv to stream the tournament.  I played a practice game from the tiers with Austin C.  from Iowa.  He informed me that he was a Madden guy and just started playing Tecmo.  A.  Madden sucks. B.  I knew this would not be good for him.  He called a Vikings/Eagles match up and I took what I felt was the worse of the two teams in Minnesota.  Game was twitched.  I won 40-0 and took the foot off the gas.  As the tournament started all of the Motel 6ers won their first round games (five of us had BYES).

In round 2 ryan11p lost to averageTSBplayer 20-7 (ATL/PIT).  Vogtcd11 played some dude named Aaron and won 7-28 (SD/DEN).  I played Rob H. (The taxmancometh from Milwaukee, WI.  He called Chiefs and Raiders.  I took the Chiefs.  This dude called run 3 on defense the ENTIRE game on offense as well.  I started slow, but ran with Okoye early to open up the pass late.  Final score was 17-28.

Round 3 ryan11p played some guy in a Colts/Seahwaks matchup.  Game was close in the first half, but when Krieg started overthrowing and was picked by the Colts secondary in the second half the Colts prevailed 28-7.  Vogtcd11 played redsethuhut98 in a defensive 9-7 game.  Lou was held to three FGs in the Saints (redsethuhut98) versus Jets (vogtcd11) match up.  I played averageTSBplayer in a Falcons/Cowboys match up.  He took Dallas.  Uncharacteristic, I played the time of possession game.  Took the entire first quarter with a score at the end.  Got a forced punt in the second quarter. Made a field goal before half.  Played more possession in half two.  Cowboys got a 60 yard TD run after Deion got rolled twice.  Score was 10-7 for a while and Rison got a wide open JJ TD early in the fourth.  Aikman was in BAD in the second or third quarter and played in true LVP form.  Hopefully your beer I got you made up for it Tony ;)

Round 4, with ryan11p out, vogtcd11 played some dude named Kris. Vogtcd11 won 10-17 (PIT/TB).  Kris was very upset with the beast that is Mark Carrier on TB.  In round 4 I had the luxury of playing Chet H. From Madison, WI.  Chet is so skilled.  He had the full meter kick off mastered.  We rolled tier 1 (puke) and I called Bills/Giants.  He took the Giants.  In hindsight I think I should have done 49ers/Giants.  Probably would have had the same 39-14 result.  He pinned me inside the five yard line on every possession.  My first play of the game was a called play safety.  I was safetied later by super drones.  After it was 9-7.  He continued to score and I could not do anything.  I kept going for it deep.  QB Bills had 28% completions.  Well played Chet.  Thanks for the embarrassments.

In round 5 vogtcd11 played justin_peters and lost 14-21 Saints/Jets.  Jumping Jet Al Toon sealed the deal after the Jets were down 14-0 in the first quarter.  Vogtcd11 finished in the Sweet 16.  I played Justin E. from Des Monies, Iowa.  He called a Jets/Packers match up.  Knowing the Jets are the best team I have a superstition about the Jets so I picked the Packers.  I played extremely well the entire game and it seemed he was struggling.  He had to be a decent player to make it that far in the tournament.  I won the game 0-31.

In round 6 (elite eight) I played Tom B. from Minnesota.  We rolled tier three.  I felt Chargers and Broncos match up was extremely even.  He took the Chargers.  In my opinion, this was the best game of the entire tournament to watch.  I started out by taking a very long, almost entire first quarter drive to score first.  The next possession he scored on a JJ to Anthony Miller.  I scored again by running with B Hump.  He countered with Butts.  Right before the half I was in field goal range and thought I had about four seconds left after the tackle so I could call a timeout, but before I could call a timeout the half ended.  This I feel was the biggest mistake for me.  Second half I actually got the only stop in regulation.  Took the ball and scored to make it 21-14 in the third.  I scored again early in the fourth on a nice drive to make it 28-21.  Tom converted a fourth down at midfield and tied the game at 28 with about 40 seconds or so left.  Game goes to OT.  I got the ball.  Kick was deep.  Tom called my first two plays and left me a 3rd and long.  I got a long gain to make it 4th and 2.  I made the decision not to punt right away.  I called pass 3.  For whatever reason both DL for the Chargers busted through the line immediately.  I had to scramble (Kubiak) to avoid one lineman, and once I broke free I had Mark Jackson wide open up top and RB Winder fairly open short.  My first idea was to run with the QB for the first down, but because of the DL, I was forced to run backwards.  I then wanted to throw short, but I saw Tom cheating up with Byrd on Winder.  I know that many INTs happen when the DB does not quite get there so I was fearful of that and I took a chance on the bomb to Jackson.  Once I threw it I knew it was going to be on the money once it cleared a retreating Byrd, but phantom defender was on Jackson.  Turnover.  Ugh.  I played good defense and forced Tom to a 4th down.  Carney lined up, Mecklenberg got in the FG block cut scene, but the ball sailed through the up rights.    Great game.  Well played Tom.  I have no problem losing like that ever.  I also have never met Tom before.  Super nice guy.  It was a pleasure.  He also won the next game versus Skunker Best in World, and lost to Chet for the fourth place finish.

Chet played mort1237 in the third place game.  This was a crazy one was as well.  Mort really dominated the first three quarters being up 0-13 late in the third in the Oilers and Giants match up.  Chet scored to make it 6-13 after mort blocked extra the point with LT.  I think mort fumbled away at mid field.  The Oilers score to make it 13-13.  Deep kick by Oilers pinned Giants deep.  Mort tried one last end zone prayer as he normally does, but Childress locked Simms in the end zone for the safety and the 15-13 win to advance to the finals.  Maybe the best ending to a high stakes Tecmo tournament game ever.

Chet went on to play his brother Josh in the finals.  The first game was a Buffalo (Chet) and Giants (Josh).  Josh fumble several times during the game including a crucial one late at midfield for a long return and won on a late Thurmal run.

Chet had to beat his brother again to win another Tecmo title.  The match up was Dolphins (Josh) and Chiefs (Chet).  Very good game.  Some fumbles during the game made this very back and forth, but the action came late when Chet went up 21-16.  Josh had JIM JENSEN IN EXCELLENT.  Very entertaining to see Josh check conditions the second time to find Jensen was still in EXCELLENT.  It paid off.  At the end of the game Jensen catches a strike on pass three from Marino as Chet rushed the QB.  Josh H. ceremoniously put on the Tomczak blazer and raised the trophy to take home Tomczak VI.

Spicoli's was a great venue.  I had a Lynard Skynard burger and a Robnixious burger with beer battered fries during the day.  Staff was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in the tournament.  The tournament auction was comical.  The Madison guys took home a variety of Iowa whiskey.  Ryan11p got a Puppet Master DVD, vogtcd11 won two mixed taped CDs from some random bitch who donated her love jams to Goodwill.  I got a Dusk til Dawn DVD.  Louis got the 1981 Trivial Pursuit game.  Tournament directors were great and donated free drink tokens for all players.  Jake did a great job keeping the drunkards under control as the night progressed.  I know I said some things about Iowa on Twitter during the trip, but it was all in jest.  Iowa is not bad.  It did host Tecmo so it can't beat all that bad.  Once tournament festivities were over we decided to leave because the band that played was just a bit loud for us old guys.

We headed to the Lava Lounge (ironically named after my dorm room at Ball State) where the bartender looked no older than the students I teach.  Met up with Moulds33, ArtVandelay, Steve M., Ben in Iowa and his brother, mort1237, and redsethuhut98.  Had a good time talking strategy.  I think I entertained Ben in Iowa and his brother with Tecmo strategy.  The Madsion crew, averageTSBplayer, Chet H., Josh H., the Rickster, and Skunker Best in World came later.  They didn't get to stay long because for some reason Iowa makes last call at midnight?  Bone chilling cold air sent us back to the hotel and went to sleep.  It was nice to meet Hawkeye, justin_peters, 8bit, and Adversity from the online world for the first time.

The next morning we woke up pretty late.  I played some computer scrimmages with weird match ups.  I then took the longest piss of my life.  With no exaggeration it was easily 2 minutes.  Very League of Their Own, Tom Hanks-esk.  I then played ryan11p in SEA/NO, CLE/PHX, and GIA/SF match ups.  As we started the fourth game housekeeping kicked us out because we were past check out time.

We just stopped again for gas.  Vogtcd11 and I wandered throughout he trap door into a gas station Subway.  Ryan11p was in the restroom.  Vogtcd11 and I encouraged the cashier to tell ryan11p that they too were out of garlic bread, but we were so full of laughter and could not keep a straight face that ryan11p did not order a sandwich and we had to let the cat out of the bag.

We are currently driving back and I just found out why ryan11p is Ryan's screen name.  His last name doesn't start with P. (S.), but it is for is favorite animal, a penguin.  His favorite number is 11 for a variety of reasons.  He also has a sweet penguin tattoo holding a bomb.  I also found out that he is buddy's with Dane Cook, was an Army Airborne Ranger, and a 3rd place, runner-up, and two-time state wrestling champion in Indiana (233-4 career record; 127 consecutively).  Ryan is a really good guy.  I've met him before, but it was good getting to know him on this trip.  I consider Chris to be a good friend, especially after our night out after Midwest VI.  I look forward to embarking on future Tecmo tourneys with both.  I will post pictures later.  Until next time... Long live Tecmo.

P.S.  Something big coming for the Tecmo Community.  Stay Tuned.

Youngstown Tecmo I - Tecmo Rust Belt

I stayed up painting custom Nintendo Entertainment Systems until 4:00 AM on Friday morning. Got about two and a half hours of sleep to feed a crying baby. Stayed up all day and set out for Fairfield, Ohio to meet Chris Vogt at Symmes Tavern on the Green. We drove back to his place and played three games of preparation for the Youngstown tournament the following day. I took two of the three games from Chris, which is important to note (will make more sense at the end of this story ;) We went to bed around 2:00 AM.

Woke up at 5:00 AM and bigmv54 and youngest brother Joey (Dizzle) arrived at 6:00 AM. We packed into the car and embarked on the travel to Youngstown. Interesting conversations to say the least. Trip started out with stories of Joey's escapades of the night before. Watched some championship victories via the iPad. We picked match-ups and gave explanations for our choices. Ironically, one of them would be the championship game (Dolphins/Rams), which all of us chose the Rams (and the Rams would win). Chris and Matt put on an amazing display of imitations during the drive as well. I will leave it at that. After passing through Columbus, Ohio we hit some crazy ass rain. Hydo-planed a few times.

We arrived around 10:30 AM at a bar called O'Donald's Irish Pub and Grill It was in a shopping plaza. I will try to do a visual. As you walk in, there is an open area to the right where the tournament table and raffle prizes were set up. To the left was the bar. The bar ran the entire length of the room on the left side. The room was separated in the middle by a wall. On the right side was a corridor of booths on the left and right of the aisle. Televisions were placed on the ends of the tables. Chairs were placed in front of the televisions. If there was one thing I did not like about this set up, it would be that there was only room for the two people playing on the right of the aisle, the two people playing on the left of the aisle, and maybe one to two people maximum to watch. You couldn't get "crowds" (except for the front set of televisions were the games were streamed on Twitch and the championship was held). If people were standing in the aisle, it was impossible to pass through to get to the restroom or the table in the back selling retro gaming collectibles. They gave me a card. Shameless plug here: Stone Age Gamer

Registration was extended for a little while. Met Russell S. (Kweh) of Texas and Jason P.(Laztlain) of New York. Great to see online players in person. The extra time also provided time for some warm-up. I played Kevin C. of Columbus. First game we played we didn't change playbooks. It was Jets/Steelers. I chose Steelers and won 5-17. We played again for real. For the life of me I cannot remember the match-up or the score, but I won. Shortly after, they announced the pool play. I believe there were six pools of six players each. I was in a pool with Charles M., John M., Scott S., "T.K", and Jason P. (Laztlain).

Game 1: I took on Charles M. I won the coin toss and choose a Chargers/Broncos match-up. He took the Broncos. He passed, and passed, and passed. I called him several times and forced several INTs. He forced me to punt once and I fumbled away once. Final score was 42-0. I played extremely well this game. "On all cylinders, if you will".

Game 2: I took on Jason P. (Laztlain). First of all, this may be the coolest person I have ever met. No exaggeration. He won the toss and choose a Dolphins/Vikings match-up. I chose the Dolphins. First and second quarter his drones are on the JUICE. Chris Doleman was pancaking the "superior" Dolphins OL and dive tackling my RBs. I couldn't get more than 3 yards per rush. On defense I was getting descent coverage with Williams and Oliver, but could never get the INT. Just incomplete passes or CCs. Had him in 3rd and longs, but he always found a way to get the clutch first downs. Marino was in BAD so in comes GOOD Scott Mitchell. I find myself down 17-0 with the ball and little time left before half. I drop back and chuck as time is expiring. Mitchell lobs it up. Mark Clayton (at TE) JJ catches with three defenders between him and the end zone. COM defender one engages in grapple and was quickly tossed. COM defender two dives and misses. MAN defender gets juked one way, makes up ground, gets juked back the opposite way, and Clayton gets in for a much needed score. 17-7 at the half. Scott Mitchell gets the nod in the third quarter. INT. Ugh. Late in the third, Laz kicks a FG and goes up 20-7. In the fourth, Mitchell gets a score after a Dolphin INT. With 42 seconds left, Walker fumbles at mid-field. Dolphins put Marino back in and take it down to the two yard line with 9 seconds left. I call pass 2 offset, thinking that if he calls me I can throw to RB on the hot route and still get in or if I throw away fast enough I may have a chance for another play. He called me. I throw away as fast as possible. One second remaining. I call play action pass 3 Z In. Browner storms Marino and Marino rifles it to the RB up top for the 20-20 tie with no time remaining. Stoyanovich seals the deal for the 20-21 victory. I know that the championship game of this tournament was a thrilla, but this game was just as crazy. If I lost that way, I would have probably flipped chairs. Jason was a class act and took it in stride. Wow. This alone shows you what kind of dude he is.

Game 3: I play Scott S. He wins the toss and calls a Chargers/Rams match-up. He watched my entire game versus Charles M. when I ran like crazy with Butts. I was thinking he wanted me to pick the Chargers on that call so I decided to not take my favorite team to use and chose the Rams. I exploited the weaker DBs on S.D. and CC to Ellard most of the first half. He was a little upset. I found myself up 0-14 with about a minute left before the half and would be receiving after half-time. Of course, he connects on two CCs to Anthony Miller and I am only up a score. Second half was an exact duplicate of the first half (only I did not CC this time). Final score was 14-28.

Game 4: I play John R. He won the toss and called an Oilers/Bengals match-up. Even though the Bengals really fit my style of play, I am not retarded. CC, CC, CC. I actually played pretty bad this game. Not used to Houston. I housed a fumble and so did John in this game. Dick Dick had a pick. That was about it. I won 35-17.

Game 5: I played "T.K." I won the toss and called Raiders/Bears. He took the Raiders. He used a three shotgun playbook. I called Run 3 Sweep 90% of the game. He picked it about 40% of the time. I covered with Stinson as he started to pass. Success. I won 21-6.

So my pool played out like this:
Derek R. 5-0
Jason P. 3-2
"T.K." 3-2
Scott S. 3-2
John R. 2-4
Charles M. 0-5

Jason P. and "T.K." would go on to make up half of the Final Four.

Took a break before the Elimination Bracket. Went to get some grub. As many of you know, I have been on a very successful lifestyle change. Lost about 33 pounds since June 9 by taking supplements form AdvoCare and changing my eating habits. Bar food is a real challenge when you are trying to continue a very difficult change. I do recommend the Chicken Shamrock Sandwich from O'Donald's. Grilled chicken, tomato, spinach, onion strings, and "Shamrock sauce". It was a green sweet and spicy marinade.

Elimination Bracket 

Round 1 of the Elimination Bracket I played Joe M. I won the toss and called Redskins/Vikings. He looked at my Darrell Green jersey and chose the Redskins. I won 37-0.

Sweet 16 I play Russell S. (Kweh). Pretty crazy second round game for one of only 5 players who went 5-0 in pool play. Kweh was 3-2 in his pool. I won the toss and called Packers/Browns. He took the Browns. Lost a fumble on my first play from scrimmage. Second drive, called plays and crazy drone help forced me to go for it in my own territory on 4th down. TOD. Sharpe was covered for most of the game. I could only manage JJs in traffic and diving catches. In six isolation plays, Kweh won 4 of 6. The two I won, I was on defense. Tapping had little impact on this game. Kweh played good defense and called good play calls. I played my worst game of the day and had about as bad a start as one could ask for in this one.  Looking back on it, I should have punted the two times I turned it on downs deep in my own territory.  That was giving him an easy go at it.  Kweh is really quiet, but a nice guy. I wish he didn't live so far away so he could make it to more of these. I was rooting for him until he ran into the 513. Joey and Mort also lost in the sweet 16 round.

In the elite eight I watched brother versus brother. Chris V. versus Matty V. Matty won the toss and called Bengals/Bears. Chris chose the Bengals. Boomer torched the Bears slower secondary on quick passes and Neal Anderson scored on long runs. This battle was just like I thought it would be. End of first 7-7. End of third quarter 14-14. With about three minutes to go in the game, Matty had the ball in his territory and I thought this would end in a 14-17 win for Matt. Wrong on that. Chris forces a punt and gets into FG range and squeeks a FG in for the win.

The final four was Chris V. versus Russell S. and Jason P. versus "T.K." I obviously watched Chris and Kweh. Kweh won the toss and called Lions/Redskins. Chris took the Lions. Kweh was up 0-10 with a minute or two left in the half when Chris out-tapped Kweh for a score. Score was 7-10 at the half I believe. Chris played very composed in the second half and with a safety won 26-10 if I remember correctly.

The final was Chris V. versus Jason P. Three-time Pro Bowler Cleveland Brown Hanford Dixon introduced the players. Jason P. won the toss and chose a Dolphins/Rams match-up. Jason actually called and played the same mat-up in pool play, but I don't think anyone cared. The night before I played Chris in this match up and I took the Rams and won. We talked about it and Chris said he would choose the Rams if this was called. Chris chose the Rams. Jason put Mark Duper at TE and went to his favorite plays pass 2 Shotgun X Curl and pass 3 Pro T Flare C. The Dolphins were playing well in the first half connecting on several CCs, but Chris stayed composed and answered. In the second half Chris abused run 4 Onesetback Dive. He would fake the run up the middle, only to be met by Jason, and then reverse sometimes 2-3 times and still manage to pull out six to seven yards for continued first downs. Chris had the lead and then stopped Jason and appeared to have it locked up, but Cleveland Gary fumbled the ball to the Dolphins. Chris was trying to get out of bounds, but the ball bounced around on the line and the unthinkable was happening. My heart sunk for Chris. Jason killed some time and threw a short pass and was running to the end zone at the one yard line, but Chris took DB1 Humphrey from the top of the screen to the bottom of the field, dove, and got the diving-missed tackle. Jason's receiver had both arms in the end zone, but the Tecmo gods ruled his knees down short of the goal line and brought up fourth and one foot. Jason called the run 3 R & S Sweep Right and so did Chris. Rams got the ball and run three consecutive runs out of bounds. Tournament director Barhoover was yelling fumble each attempt. Chris punted away to expire the clock and expire the label of the Dan Marino of Tecmo. Watch it here: Youngstown Championship (this is set at the fumble, but the entire game should start at 55:23).  Jason played magnificent all day and was deserving of that championship, but the Peyton Manning of Tecmo got the monkey off his back.

Several celebratory hugs and pictures ensued after the victory. Brother Matt got a styrofoam lid full of shaving cream and slammed Chris during a championship photo opportunity. The ride back to the 513 was glorious.

Despite losing much earlier than I felt I should have, I am ok with my weekend. I took two out of three from the champ the night before the tournament. I was one of only five players to go 5-0 in my pool and two people from my pool made the Final Four which I defeated. Big thanks to John El Tecmo Barhoover who put on a very successful inaugural tournament. Despite having six-man pools and allowing every tournament competitor into the championship elimination bracket, the tournament was still over at 8:30 PM. He got a Pro Bowl NFL player of the Tecmo Bowl era to show up and raised quite a bit of money for the Fairhaven Foundation. John is a very passionate individual and gave every player the most Tecmo for their buck. I plan on attending the next one.

 

Back:  Kweh, El Tecmo, tecmopsycho, Dizzle, bigmvv54, Mort, ?, Ultimate_Weapon, DT, and ninjachessmaster

Front:  red98, vogtcd11, and Laztlain

MIB Season II Championship Game

tecmopsycho's Naptown Punch @ dyanstydegeorge's Camelback Caesars

Game in its entirety: 

ATA 24 Week 9 Play of the Game

 

ATA Season 24 Week 7

Tecmo Madison IX - Marino Royale Recap



Last year I did not write recaps for Madison and/or the Midwest Tournaments. Shame on me. After a night a pre-tournament festivities, daboy8821 and I headed to the Badger Bowl. Let's start with this venue. I have attended Tecmo VII and Tecmo VIII, so the only venue I have ever known for the Madison tournament was Logan's Madtown, which is now out of business. I thought Logan's was a great venue, but after attending Tecmo IX, I would have to say it was not. The Badger Bowl was ideal for this tournament. Due to the enormous size of this 224 person field, not to mention the increased numbers of significant others, children, and spectators, the Badger Bowl had two large rooms to split the field. One room had about 16-18 TVs/systems arranged along long walls and a small bar. The other room had a stage for live music, a bar/restaurant area, and about 10 pods of 2-3 TVs/systems.

The tournament opened with a Casino Royale-inspired Dan Marino poem read by Josh Holzbauer. I have always felt that Josh really is the gear behind this tournament with his humor and MC ability. Competitors' names and stations were called out as group play was about to get underway. The Madison crew always do a great job spreading out talent across the groups. My group this year was no different. Out of the 8 people in my group I was pre-determined as the #2 seed. Since my OKOYE jersey didn't arrive in time I wore my Anthony Munoz jersey and white sunglasses. A player from my group nicked-named Beef Juice said that, "You have no idea how intimidating it is to watch you play or to play you (my size mixed with the sunglasses and no facial/silent expressions the whole time)". I thought that this was pretty funny as I wear the sunglasses to eliminate the bright screen on my shitty contact lenses and I don't talk because I listen to music to block out the crowds and other distractions.

vogtcd, daboy8821, BigMV54, tecmopsycho

The rest of the group consisted of #1 Lucas Streiber who sported a nifty quarter-zip black turtle-neck sweater with white 8-bit snowflakes across the chest. #3 Kevin Nicksic was a no show. #4 Jake Ironside aka "Beef Juice" had Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer headbands and wrist bands. 5 Miguel Cintron, #6 Joe Lulott who was sporting a Sebastian Janikowski jersey, a Lakers hat, and had Troy Polamalu hair (the white guy version), #7 Kevin Mulcahy, and #8 Peter Best. In round 1 Lucas defeated Peter handily 38-0. Beef Juice beat Miguel with a buzzer beater JJ to Haywood Jefferies against Eagles 21-24. Kevin N. was a no show which allowed Joe a forfeit win in round 1. I defeated Kevin M. 28-7 on a matchup I called, which was DEN vs S.D. Kevin took the Chargers.  Elway played smart scrambling and had 75% completion rate. B. Hump did his thing on the ground. I did lose 2 fumbles in this game, but B.J. Tolliver threw 4 picks. The only score that I gave up came on a JJ to Anthony Miller.



In round 2 of the winners bracket Lucas defeated Jake as Jake picked a CIN/K.C. matchup, which played right into Lucas' strong suit. I had to play Joe Lulott who called a NYJ/DAL matchup. I took the Cowboys. I had a very easy drive to go up 7-0. Joe comes back and after converting a deep 3rd and 14, tied it up at seven. Joe kicked a full meter kick off right before the half. Awalt barely gets out of the end zone before he is tackled. The last play before the half I am in the back of the end zone buying time for a long JJ attempt when I see MAN controlled Dennis Byrd coming at me. Risking the possibility of a dive safety, I baited him into a grapple, tossed him over the goal posts, and chucked to Jay Novacek as he catches in stride and zig zags the drones to go up 7-14 at the half. This was huge as Joe got the ball after half. The first play after half was a Manny Hendrix INT, which led to another Dallas TD. Jets counter with a score of their own. Dallas scored again (14-28) and then force a Jets punt. Trying to increase the point differential, the Cowboys over throw a wide open TD and then throw a miss-press INT when another receiver was by himself in the end zone.



In the loser's bracket Peter B. defeated Miguel C. 24-7 with the GIA over S.F. Kevin M. got a forfeit win over the no show. Beef Juice then defeated Kevin M. Joe L. defeated Peter B. Joe L. beats Beef Juice in the loser's bracket semi.

In the championship of the winner's bracket I played Lucas S. He wins the toss and called a PIT/PHX matchup. I took PHX. Most frustrating game of the tournament. First drive I immediately force him to punt. My first possession I drive and score 0-7. Next possession I force another punt. I drive to into the red zone and then fumble away at the 25. He then scores making it 7-7. Middle of the second I have to punt after two called plays, but I get it back with a MAN controlled Lonnie Young INT. I get the ball after half only to lose another fumble. Again, I make a great MAN controlled INT with Lonnie Young with 3:20 to go in the game; still tied at 7. I march the ball down to the 25 and in FG range to take the lead. I have a wide open Roy Green at WR 2 on a streak to the end zone. I have to avoid two PIT drones in the backfield (was happening all game). As I am tapping off the drone, I over press and instead of hitting Roy Green, the ball is thrown up top to a Rod Woodson-covered Johnny Johnson and is picked. To make matters worse, the INT is returned from about the 20 to the 50. He checks conditions and of course Strom is in EXCELLENT. I have to call pass. He runs two run 3s with ridiculous blockers and then connects on a short pass to go up 14-7 with hardly anything left. After the kick-off I have 3 seconds and from my 3 he calls my play to end the game. First and foremost, Lucas is an incredible player. He was ranked higher than me for a reason. He did beat MattyV and Josh H. He had Mort down and out for the elite eight. With that being said, I completely dominated this game and got screwed by Tecmo in every way possible. He had 48 rush yards and 64 pass yards to my 108 rushing and 79 pass. I was in his back field the entire game. He had to punt 3 times yet I lose. Nuts.

So after some really bad luck I have to play the championship of the loser's bracket against Joe L. again just to advance to the big dance. I win this toss and call DET/S.D. He took DET as I expected. I dominated this game and was winning 21-0 until he kicked a FG with 43 seconds left to avoid a shut out. I held him to 77 yards on 17 carries (43 of these were Rodney Peete). So I finish 3-1 and advance to the big 64-man tournament with a bad seeding and would have to play a very skilled player in the opening round.

 



After group play I went to check on Jon aka daboy8821 (he rides up with me). He won his pool only giving up 7 points and going 3-0. With a small break before the big boy tournament, I met up with one my wife's friends who lives in Madison, and ate lunch at the bowling alley. Half-pound cheeseburger, fries, cheese curds, and a Mountain Dew ($15.63). Delicsh!

Region studs were Chet, Sobhi, Skunker, daboy, regulator088, ryanfulcher33, Mort, and Josh H. As the names get drawn out, I wait and wait. With the last names called, I am paired with Kyle Floetl aka Flo. I can count on 2 hands the number of elite tappers who are equal with me or better out of this 224 man field. Flo is one of them. I knew he was the same or better, so this would be interesting. He won 2/3 one-on-ones during the game. He called a WAS/MIN matchup. After some deliberation I took WAS. Game was a defensive slug fest. Punts, TODs at mid field, a missed Flo FG and a Chip Lohmiller make was the only score of the first half. Flo had a posse. I love this. I tend to play better when people are against me. I got a lot of shit about 3 feet from my ear despite blaring some Notorious BIG. In the second half I was able to start moving the ball with ease, mixing it up with pass and runs. The play action plays were huge and led to a 24-7 win.



In the round of 32 I got Josh Holzbauer. I called a N.O./ATL matchup. I hoped he would take ATL. He didn't. Josh has a great drive inside the 10 and all the sudden my thumb locks. I couldn't move it unless I used the other hand. I have never had this happen. I guess it was the massive amount of games played the week before. I straighten it out and try again. Same result. Extremely painful. I was on the verge of forfeiting. Josh graciously tells me to take as long I need. His wife (a nurse) says I need water and gets me a glass. This is a testimate to the Madison crew. Thank you Erin. Josh, like me, you hit the jackpot on that one. I chug and she gets me another glass. I chug again and wait about 10-15 minutes stretching my thumb. When we resume, I am wary of pressing hard, but I am able to play. Neither of us could stop each other. He ran at Deion and I threw to Rison. The difference in the game was a 3rd quarter safety on a called play. I lost 24-26. I can accept a loss like this because there was no shit and the safety was a bad play call on my part.



 I got the chance to meet several new people yet again. Chad Norwood from Louisiana. Travis R. (Moulds33), and Dave Murray were just a few. Dave Murray may very well be the coolest human being alive. Dude was as nice as could be and had the technology rolling with streaming games and conducting the interviews with O'Dell and Chris Vogt. He was throwing packs of 1990 and 1991 football cards into the crowd, giving free T-shirts, and I got a copy of the exclusive Tecmo Bowl.org 2013 cartridge.

The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 were started by readings from the book of L.T. Mort was magical pulling out back to back miracles. regulator088 steam-rolled the competition to win the winner's bracket. Daboy defeated Joe Naughton (RAI over CHI) and bgboud (K.C. over MIA) to advance to the final four.



 

8-bit Tecmo helmet on Joey Browner 

The crowd was getting larger. The outfits and throwback jerseys were awesome. Saw Steve Grogan, Joey Browner, Christian Okoye, Randal Cunnigham, Thurman Thomas, and Hardy Nickerson, and Jesse Tuggle throwbacks. Tecmo T-shirts were for sale. Beer was flowing, pizza being devoured, and spectators from the bowling alley were gazing at the spectacle. I also saw the coolest Mario tattoo ever.



Mario tattoo (castle and shy guy was on the back) 

Bounced players, significant others, and family members crowded around the two big flat screens and were standing on tables and chairs as the final four games were displayed. Daboy achieved redemption after a big loss to Jeff B. 42-21 in the Sweet 16 Round. In that earlier game, he was down 21-0 in the first 3 minutes due to a Marion Butts fumble and 2 Louis Oliver INTs. He did come back to 21-14, but a Mark Clayton CC, wide open Dolphin receivers on pass calls, and several dropped balls from Charger RBs led to that defeat. Daboy would meet Jeff B. in a rematch and called a G.B./N.O. matchup. Daboy got G.B. This was actually a really good game that was 10-3 late in the 4th. Jeff was 4th and 5 from the 5 and going for the tie. He scrambled with Fourcade and daboy MAN controlled Tim Harris. Daboy tornadoed Harris and cheated on the short pass to the end zone forcing Jeff to run with Fourcade. Harris stopped Fourcade at the 2 to hold on for the win.

Jon played Chet with the winner to meet regulator088 in the championship. It was a Browns/Saints matchup. The first half was completely dominated by daboy8821. Where ever Chet went on defense, QB Browns carved it up. Daboy stuck with Eric Metcalf and played the sidelines to avoid the fumble. He never fumbled. The pro-Chet crowd was silenced and doubtful as daboy went up 14-0 right before the half. One daboy supporter shouted, "Take him to the f---ing woodshed Jon." Shortly after this, Ironhead Hayward returned a kick right before the half with Chet having possession afteR. This completely won the game. In the fourth quarter daboy was 4th and 3 from the 3 and elected for a FG to tie it at 17. Chet was able to march the field and get a FG with little time left. I felt bad for Jon. I thought he earned it. Chet played well too, but I just felt bad.

In game one of the championship Chet faced elimination in a DET/K.C. Game started horribly for regulator going down 9-0 with a DT safety. Regulator did come back, but Chet pulled back away late forcing regulator to pass. I think that final was 33-14? The elimination championship game was another Chet matchup call. DET/CIN. Chet was the Bengals. WR2 burn route to Tim McGee all game. Regulator countered with long Barry runs on dangerous 3rd and longs and 4th shorts deep in his own territory. Two huge plays late gave the Bengals the edge. A JJ to Eddie Brown between 3 defenders for a score and a diving CC to Ickey Woods in the end zone on double coverage for a 28-17 win. Chet is truly the Michael Jordan of Tecmo with a back to back Madison titles to go along with his numerous résumé of other tourney titles.

 

LuckyTool, Ones11fauzu (front), bgboud2 (back), tecmodell42, daboy8821 (front), tecmopsycho (back), regulator088 

 



The tourney followed with the awards ceremony (video below) and group pictures. Just awesome. You aren't a true Tecmoer until you experience this. Huge thank you to Josh and Chet with their crew (Bailey, Orenga, the women of Tecmo, etc.) for another brilliant production of the Madison Tecmo Tournament. You have to keep this going.



Travel and Pre-Tournament Festivities

Hit a bad snag of traffic in Chicago.  Wasn't nearly as bad as last year.  Decided to skip the tolls this year and took a bunch of back roads through northern Illinois and eastern Wisconsin.  Daboy8821 rode with me again this year and got a bad case of McDonald's pains.  Not a restroom in sight.  We finally discovered a small hole-in-the-wall bar called Snuffy's Still.  He reported that it was very embarrassing to have all the locals stare at him while he made the march to the John.

We realized we got the same hotel as last year.  We played several games before heading to the early bird registration.  Got to the Badger Bowl and they had about 16 TVs/stations going.  We played each other several times again.  Met a few from online for the first time (Dave Murray and Travis R./moulds33).  Talked with the Vogts, O'Dell, Toolie, Louis B., and the Wisconsin crew.  Several were there getting in pre-tournament reps.



MIB Season 2 Week 2

Hooterville Jealousy hosts the Naptown Punch in a week 2 matchup which had plenty of antics.

MIB Season 2 Week 1

Defending CFC Champion Indy Force is renamed in season 2 as the Naptown Punch and square off against powerhouse Mt. Pocono Rejects (formerly Hogsmeade Aurors) in the week 1 matchup.

HSTL s21 Super Bowl

HSTL s21 AFC Championship

HSTL s21 AFC Championship S.D. @ IND from Tecmo Psycho on Vimeo.

HSTL s21 AFC Divisional Playoff Game

HSTL s21 AFC Divisional Playoff K.C. @ IND from Tecmo Psycho on Vimeo.

Another Division Title

The ATA season 22 Colts clinched the #1 Tecmo Football League division making them 13-3.  This is the Colts third straight division crown with an overall record of 39-9.

HSTL s21 AFC East Division Champs

The s 21 HSTL Colts finished a league best 14-2 this season taking the AFC East.

Colts Clinch TFA Division

The ATA season 21 Colts clinched the Tecmo Football Association division with a 35-14 win over the Chicago Bears on December 14; making them 13-1. Three nights later, the Colts defeated division competitor Tennessee 24-10 putting them at 14-1 with one game remaining. At this point the Colts are the two seed for the playoffs. Colts coach Tecmo Psycho will not be happy of anything short of American Bowl XXI.

WTF 2008 Draft

Colts GM made a tough decision when trading star LB Terrell Suggs and a 3rd round pick for the rights to RB Peyton Hillis at 1.17. With the potential bust line similar to that of 2007 draft pick Adrian Peterson, Colts management decided it was worth a shot a made the deal. Instead of hitting the bust line, Hillis rolled his best line (44 RS, 56 MS, 75 HP, and 50 REC). Now the Colts have a true one-two punch at the running back position. The 2008 season will rest squarely on the duel play of Matt Schuab and Derek Anderson at QB.

ATA Season 21 Opener

ATA's season 20 Offensive MVP carries the Colts to a 1-0 start against TechMobile's Packers. Defense covered the pass really well, picked up 4 sacks (2 safeties), and 2 fumble recoveries (one for a score).

WTFC 1992 Season Opener: IND @ PIT

The new look Colts headed east to face rival Pittsburgh in the season opener of the WTFC 1992 season. The Colts boast a talented rookie QB in Brad Johnson along with newly acquired RB Barry Foster from Minnesota. The Colts defense was bolstered in the secondary with Carnell Lake and Barney Bussey, along with rookie standout Troy Vincent. The very weak LB core from the 1991 season also changed with the addition of Chris Spielman and rookie draft picks Quentin Coryatt and Dwayne Sabb. The Steelers snagged Earnest Byner from the Colts during the off-season while keeping Gary Anderson and Christian Okoye in the backfield. LB Mike Croel and DB Wayne Haddix were going to make it tough on this new-look young Colts team.

GAME RECAP in attached vid:

WTFC 1992 Season Opener from Tecmo Psycho on Vimeo.

Colts come into Pittsburgh for the week 1 matchup in 1992 WTFC season.

Game ball goes to rookie Jason Hanson for drilling 3 FG. Coach tecmopsycho was not happy about the defense after the game. Seemed like every time our guys went in for a tackle they got popped off the line or just bounced off the ball carrier.

GG swamp and GLRW.

WTF 2007 Draft

Defensive Season

I just finished my first ever defensive regular season (haven't started the playoffs yet. This consists of no offensive plays from scrimmage (just kicking FG, scoring on returns, or scoring off defensive plays).

WTFR 1976 Week 5: The Comeback

WTFR 1976 Week 5: Dolphins @ Colts

THIS IS A MUST SEE!

WTFR 1976 Week 5 "The Comeback" from Tecmo Psycho on Vimeo.

This may be the craziest game of Tecmo ever. Down 14-0 with 1:53 to go in regulation the Colts pull off the miracle over the Dolphins.

4th Annual Midwest Tournament - - Fairfield, Ohio

This year's Midwest Tournament was triple elimination. I like this much better because if you have a bad game, or get screwed by the Tecmo gods you are not necessarily done. In my first game of the day I played Dallas from Plainfield, IN. He won the toss and deferred to me. I chose a San Diego/Denver matchup playing it safe against someone I did not know. He chose the Broncos and that made beam. It was really an easy game. I won 24-0 and ran the final break away run out at the 1 yard line.

My second game was against tournament director Chris V. (vogdtcd11) from Fairfield, OH I won the toss and went with Detroit/Minnesota. He took the Vikings and I was happy with that. This was the closest back and forth game of the day for me. 14-14 with a little under 2 minutes to go, he connects to Hassan Jones on two consecutive CC's. He wins 21-14.

My third game was against Tony G. from Toledo, OH. He won the toss and went with Bears/Raiders. I took da Bears. Things looked bad at first when I fumbled the opening kickoff and a 60 yard later in the game with Johnny Bailey, but the Bears come up with 3 picks and two fumbles of their own to secure a 38-7 victory.

My fourth game was against Matt M. (ones11fahzu) from Elkart, IN. This was the most ridiculous game of the tournament for me. He wins the toss and defers for P1. I go with Chargers/Bengals he takes the Bengals. Game was pretty even in the first half tied at 7-7 at halftime. In the second half I play it safe and kick the 3 to go up 10-7. He drives and I get a stop and force him to 3 of his own. With B.J. in Excellent, he burns David Fulcher with 94 PS to go up 17-with a minute and 34 seconds to go. Forced with a long field at his own 7, he completes a diving CC to Holman (also in Excellent), runs a few runs, and then bombs a 70 yard JJ to Holman as time expires. In OT he wins the toss. Chargers play good defense and get the stop with an INT around his 35. Butts runs to about the 5 yard line goes to the out of bounds line, fumbles completely out of bounds, and the Bengals recover out of bounds. On the very next play, James Brooks runs 60 yards as my MAN defender got bounced and my drones turned to ghosts and wouldn't tackle him. Another diving CC and two Brooks runs later he wins 23-17. I felt that I played well enough to win this game.

In my fifth game I played Matt M. from Cincinnati, OH. I won the toss and picked Chargers/Lions. He took the Chargers. This guy played mean run D. I was only getting 7 yards at max with Barry. After the first quarter I nearly passed the rest of the game. At one point in the game, Vlasic throws a ball to the top of the screen, Quinn Early gets the jump cut screen, ball goes off his hands, cut scene ends and Blades INTs the pass, but play is called dead. Chargers retain the ball on 3rd and 10. Very next play, Chargers had called pass, but there were no icons to thrown to. Never seen this happen in real life. Crazy stuff. I won this game 28-0, but this guy was good. I just played good defense and pass well.

In my 6th game I played Tony O. (averageTSBPlayer) from Madison, WI. He picked ATL/PHX. With my despise for ATL I went with PHX. ATL continually tried to force the ball to Rison who was mostly double covered for the entire game. Even when Rison cleared some space between the defenders both Chris Miller and backup Hugh Millen couldn't time the JJ or dive correctly. PHX got timely runs from a BAD Johnny Johnson, and good passes from Tom Tupa who "managed" the game very well. Final score was 21-7.

In my 7th game I played Aaron H. (ahake21) from Fairfield, OH. He picked ATL/NYJ. I went with the Jets. ATL lost 2 fumbles in this game which was pretty much the story. O'Brien was in Good during the 4th quarter and made good passes and QB runs to avoid a turnover. Final score was 21-7

In my 7th game I played Matt M. (ones11fahzu) again. This time I call Packers/Saints. I was hoping he would call Packers, but he was smart and gave me the passing team. I thought everything was gravy when I went up 10-0 in the first quarter, but Matt Played well using N.O.'s strong OL to break long runs with Hilliard. Before I knew it he was up 14-10 going into the final half of the 4th quarter. I take the ball the the 3 yard line on 2nd and goal. With a BAD 38 MS Woodside, I could not turn the corner to get in the end zone. Saints get the stop after a failed 4th and 2. I play great defense and force a punt which would have given me about 1 minute to bomb to Sharpe, but the punt was fumbled and he takes it in to win 21-10. Another good game with Matt. I didn't feel as bad on this one because Matt made the defensive plays to win it and I had about 80 yards to go with Sharpe besides the fumble. Matt played really well and had a strong showing which should not be overlooked at this tournament. He went on to beat Chris V. in the next round and what I believe to be the game of the tournament against Mort in a double overtime thriller in the next round. Great job Matt. Way to represent the Hoosiers.

Matt O'Toole beat Mort in a very good game the next round. O'Toole lost to bigmv the next game. bigmv played well against Josh H., but came up short when Josh gets an onside kick with John Carney against the Bucs. In order for Josh to win he had to beat his brother Chet 3 times. Chet had to beat Josh twice. First game Chet wins 35-21 with Rams over Redskins. Not enough Kevin Green cryptonite in this one. Chet goes 28-21 Giants over Bills in next game with Greg Jackson taking MVP honors.

Great tournament Chris. Love it and will be back next year.

Madison Tecmo VII Championship

Francis "Mort" Buennagle takes the Cowboys against Jim "Air" Bontempo's Phoenix Cardinals in the Championship of the 7th Annual Madison Tecmo Tournament.

This includes post game interviews with the finalists.

Actual Championship footage: http://www.tecmomadison.com/

Tecmo VII Hoss Whisperer Madison, WI Tournament

Ok. I have had a week to recuperate. I guess I will post my story for my weekend in Madison. I went out with my wife. We flew out of Indy on Thursday morning. One of my wife’s best friends lives in downtown Madison. On the first day we drove around downtown and also went to the Cave of the Mounds. Never been in a cave like that before. It was a trip. Thursday night we got some real Wisconsin food at a place called Old Fashioned. Cheese and Bratwurst. Good stuff. On Friday we went to the National Mustard Museum (yes there is such a place). Played some practice Tecmo with some guys on Friday night. Good times.

Saturday morning I walked to the tournament sporting my Wayne Haddix jersey, and watched some games, as I was in the afternoon session. When my pool play started I was nervous. Knowing I was fully capable of making the tournament, I had my doubts thinking back to Chicago in October.

My first game was against John D. from Madison. I was really nervous and played one of my worst games in this one. He picked a DAL/K.C. matchup. I went with Okoye and used my juice to win. On one play I juiced and popped nearly the entire defense for about 60 yards. The play of the game was late in the third quarter when he decided to punt the ball away from his own 20 on 4th and 1. I took advantage and closed him out on defense to win the game 14-7. Nightmare ran for 180 yards.

With the pressure off my back I felt at ease in the next two games. My second game was against Cody H. from Cedar Falls, Iowa. I picked a MIN/DET match up. He went with the Vikings. I came out throwing with Peete as he was picking runs the whole time. I slowly incorporated Barry. Defense played solid. I was up 3-21 early in the fourth quarter and went for it on 4th and 1 from the 1. The picked play resulted in a long MIN drive and FG. Final score was 6-21.

Being 2-0 in pool play I was really loose and was starting to feel confident. Next game I picked a CIN/S.D. matchup. I was playing Kevin H. from Madison. He picked the Bengals. I threw with B.J. and B.J. wasn’t B.J. I slowly incorporated Butts. Butts had some crazy jukes and long runs. Defense was stout really only getting beat on one ridiculous pass play threw the hands of a jumping Byrd and diving Eddie Brown. Final score was 31-14.

Brett P. and me

So I go 3-0 in pool play and I was placed as a 5 seed in the 64-man bracket. The opening round game was against Brett P. from Lake Mills, WI. I picked a S.D./DEN matchup. He took the Chargers and this time B.J. was B.J. He threw 2 picks early. Pickle came in and threw 2 of his own. Bronco’s defense was all over the place as I picked pass 95% of the time knowing this guy was a passer after the first quarter. I juiced with B. Hump and got out of bounds nearly every time. I was patient with Elway running when nothing was fo sho. Final score was 37-14.

In the round of 32 I played John B. (qb_browns). Dude put me out with a 50 yarder in Cincy back in July in a SEA/CLE matchup. Every game with him is solid. Plus he is one of the coolest people at the tournament. I go DET/S.D. matchup and he takes the Lions. I wasn’t going to give B.J. a chance to eff this up. Butts goes for 269 on 15 carries. Quinn Early got the only longer completion of the game. I might have had 3 completions the whole game. Barry ran 8 for 87 yards. I thought he would have been used more. Game was back and forth the entire time. If I remember correctly there were no picks? Final score was 21-14 Chargers.

In the sweet 16, I played Seth B. from St. Louis, MO. After the game I later found out that this was Tecmo Virtuoso. I have played him some online (http://www.sois.com/tpc/matchup.php?player=tecmopsycho&opponent=TecmoVirtuoso).
He picked a RAI/HOU matchup. I was so successful running the ball all day long, all I could think about was Bo, Bo, Bo. I even made the comment, “I’ll give you the better team.” What an idiot. I lost this game before the opening kickoff. I also forgot that WR in the RB2 spot could run the ball (Drew Hill). So banking on fumbles wasn’t going to happen. He scored at the end of the first on a called run/wide open receivers pass. I drive to his 25 or 30 and opt to not kick the FG. Mistake #2. Called play stuffed me without points. My second possession on second play from scrimmage, Shredder gets JJ picked at my own 40. He drives and gets another score going up 14-0. On my next drive I go to his 40, but fumble with Fernandez. Thankfully I recover and take it to the house with a lineman. On his first possession of the second half he sucked my defender in with a threatening Moon making dump off after dump off pass when I covered deep. He then went deep when I came to cover short. He goes up 21-7. Next possession, Shredder is benched for Beuerlein and he gets JJ picked by Johnson. I force a punt on his next drive and take a BAD Bo down the field for another score making it 21-14. I can’t remember how I got the ball back, but I did have the ball with a chance to tie. The entire second half and especially on this drive he called my play. Without exaggeration he picked me at least once every series and it seemed like 2-3 every series. For that alone he deserved to win the game. Didn’t help that Bo was in BAD the entire second half either. Seemed like he was a 44 MS back, and that sucks when you are using RAI and getting your pass plays picked. Going for it on 4th and like 7 I turned the ball over with a minute and change left. I was disgusted and can’t remember if he scored a garbage TD at the end (he probably did). Odell was right. I deserve to be hassled. I disagree with the overall showing. I was happy with what I did and how far I made it. On a side note, Indiana went 13-3 (9-0 in pool play) in the tournament.

regulator088, ones11fahzu, and tecmopsycho (Indiana)

I stayed and watched the rest of the tournament. Great games. Bgboud and Mort played a heart stopper. Mort and Skunker had a good one as well. Seth B. did go to the final four against Mort. I just would like to play him again with the reverse matchup just to see the outcome. I have video of the crowd and finals competitors. When I get a free moment I will upload. Fun time in Madison. I will be back in 2012.

me, qb_browns, and Rod Woodson