Why Would You?

I have a serious question for y'all.

Lets say you hear about this awesome resturant. Now lets say this resturant has had stellar reviews from other people so of course you want to see what all the fuss is about.

You look forward to going to this resturant, you enter and you pay good money. Then once you arrive you notice things are off. Waiters ain't helping you or listening to what you have to say, the food is sub par and it arrives extremely late and they still have the nerve to charge you an arm and a leg.

Now the serious question is, no matter the good reviews this place was given, judging from your own personal experience, would you want to go back? I hope you said no because if not I worry about you.

So let me flip this metaphor on it's head. Let's change the resturant to a tournament. A much hyped tournament called 'Seasons Beatings'. Before 'SB' I waited impatiently for it, I was told it was going to be the biggest tournament of it's kind in my local area of the Nati. I was looking forward to it, everyone I spoke to gave it good reviews. Sure it was expensive to attend but in the end I knew it would be worth it. So I arrived eager and ready to rock.

We (me and my fellow gamers) arrived on time and were ready to roll, however the venue was not. We were shut out and told we couldn't enter let alone register for another 1/2 hours. I thought that was odd but I went with it.

Once inside, the tournament began and straight off the bat, I realized that the people running the Tekken tournament were not particularly concerned with helping people. Numerous people were 'eliminated' with very short warnings. I understand moving a tournament along BUT paying $20 entry fee and an additional $10 for the game and then being eliminated without so much as a consideration? I did not think that was right at all. The tournament continued and it continued to get more and more dis-organized. It felt like nothing was moving along and it took forever for matches to be run.

I was doing well in this tournament but when I got into the losers I had a match up with one of the big draws of the tournament. Not naming any names but he won the previous years tournament. Now, here comes the bitch assness (I was going to say bish hash but it's so wrong it doesn't deserved to be watered down). All the unknowns and people who weren't 'big draws' will being eliminated without any real notice. However when it came to me and this person, I was asked to wait.

So wait I did. I waited patiently for my match and after awhile I got tired of waiting. So I asked for my match again, again I was told to wait. I waited some more. This was annoying me to know end but this player was getting presidential treatment due to his 'status'. I knew for sure that if this was the other way around and 'Drago' could not have been found, that it would have surely been a different story. The organizers even had the nerve to say if I wanted to play my match, that I needed to find my 'opponent'. Wait? Really? But yes, they asked me to find him and I actually did.
We finally played and in a moment that amuses me to know end, I beat him. I beat the big draw that I had to wait around for and find myself. It gets better of course. The player then proceed to be-little my playing skill. Very classy.

I continued on in the tournament and lost but the damage was already done. I was already over 'Seasons Beatings' and even through I paid for two days attendence, I tried to find the fastest route to get home.

Now this may sound like bitching and it sure is but my incident was not an isolated one. Talk to my friends who play Soul Calibur and asked how they were treated. Talk to my friend who was clearly winning a match and then he accidentally paused the game and his competitor (who happened to be an organizer) made him forfeit the match so he could win on a technically. Instead of bad experiences being the exception, it was the norm.

The whole tournament was clearly not organized for a community of gamers. It was more a big ego stroking contest that got out of control.

I have been to major tournaments before. I particpated in OzHadou Nationals twice. OzHadou is like the Australian equilvent of Evolution. Both times I left the tournament extremely happy and content I came. I can't say the same for 'SB'.

So now I ask you. You went to the resturant, you tried their food. In the end you had a horrible experience. Why would you go back? Why wouldn't you want to warn others about it?

pP