Day 11: Smash bros, Now for Adults!

I'll say this in the beginning, if you arn't a Melee player then you won't fully understand what this post is about, at least the first half of it. Even if you don't really relate to Smash or the tournament scene or any of that, I hope you still get some sort of understanding of this world and think that it's at least a little bit cool. But let's be honest, it's cool whether or not you get it.

The idea of traveling abroad for smash is a dream for every player. I'm no exception to this; often I picture a lifestyle where I can somehow afford to travel around the world playing melee. I'm nowhere near this goal, sadly, so when I travel for other reasons I make a distinct effort to find the local tournament scene and pretend like I'm sponsored. It's the best way to spend a vacation, honestly. Not even related to the game, it's so cool to just meet a bunch of new people and connect over a similar passion. Even better if you can kick their asses a little bit and show them how NEW YORK DOES IT BABY REPRESENT 

I'm at the point now where nobody knows my skill level, so I have to prove myself from the ground up each time I enter a venue. That's what I love about smash the most, I think, is that it's as close to a meritocracy as a community can get. I get respect based on my competency in the game and nothing more.  With all that in mind, I was excited to prove myself and see how I fared against the top players Australia had to offer.

They call this a friendly set up. Australians provide a little extra friendliness.

It was as solid turnout, about 36 people for a monthly tournament. Crazy to think that this game is still gaining players all over the place, and that three years ago this tournament series likely didn't exist. There are a lot of people who love this game, man. I hope it can grow forever. Or at least long enough for me to siphon as much money from it as possible. 

It looks nicer than it smells

I had a lot of fun in tournament, losing only to their top two players. I wish they had a streaming set up so I could have watched my sets over, but I can't complain. I'm pretty bad with remembering what happens in the games, but I'm pretty sure that I did cool shit at least thrice and people were like "Oy, mate!" or something of a similar nature. 

I had to put this away on account of it attracting every female in a 5 mile radius

I could talk about the tournament all day, but I think I'm going to save that sort of stuff for a seperate project. Anywho, I made my money back at the tournament with enough extra to pay for a meal, which is like the third place classic. It might not have been enough to buy rounds of shots at the bar like I imagined in my head, but any sort of money earned doing something so fun is the coolest thing I can imagine. It's also the only thing that gets people who don't understand the game to respect me. Sad but true

Promptly at seven I was picked up by my family. They anticipated a triumphant car ride out to town, sadly I could only provide a lukewarm thumbs up. We continued our adventures by driving through the city and eventually picked up one of Jacki's friends, Nicole. She was a proper australian, blonde with an accent. The type they always find for an outback commercial or an airline safety video. She also called me a bitch once for not drinking fast enough, something I always imagined an Aussie saying to me.

Why the hell did I think this picture was interesting

We got to our first bar around 8ish. I actually just made that up, there is no part of my brain that can remember when we did anything that night. All I know is that we played odds for a little while and did some stupid stuff because of it. If you've never played odds, it's a game where you essentially just dare each other to do silly things in public, just for shits and giggles. The game backfired tremendously, as I was the only person losing the rounds and making an ass of myself. When the food came, I had to give the waiter finger guns while yelling "THANK YOU" at the top of my lungs. He didn't just ignore it, either, he was actually so confused that he stopped and looked me for a second before finally walking away. I short circuited him, I think.

That wasn't all I had to do, though. Jacki got me with an odds to jump around the room like a kangaroo after I finished eating my kangaroo. Oh yea, did I mention that I ate kangaroo? Well I did. What a story. Anyway, after I had the last bite I stood up and did my best roo impression, jumping around the table and on top of a couch. I'm surprised we didn't get thrown out. Or shot with a bolt action rifles cause I was mistaken for a real roo.

I don't wanna even think about these poor excuse of chicken wings #NarrabriFever

We finished up and bounced to the next bar in some town called manly. The whole square was flooded with young, sleazy college students. It felt like was back at Oneonta and got a weird fuzzy in my chest. I think it was nostalgia. No, my stomach said, you need to toot. You know you're drunk when you think gas pains are an emotion. My issue was resolved i loosened up, or to put it more poetically, I was at last relaxed as I passed my gas

Yea that's right, a fart poem

Just like every other blog post, the details deteriorate once we start drinking. I remember a couple of things though. I remember checking out a club on the top floor of our bar. It was completely filled with 18 year olds, and there was a powerful stench of vomit in the air. For a second I felt like I was looking into McDonald's playpen, young people in a colorful environent trying not to throw up on each other.

I also distinctly remember yelling at people from the car like an asshole. I didn't say mean stuff, I just yelled "Slime!" as we passed pedestrians. Not sure who I learned it from, but it was a fun game that didn't get me arrested so I consider it success. I slimed mad heads, dog.

We got home and crashed, another night in the books. It was a good day of meeting people, trying beer, and being silly. It was mostly just cool to spend time with my sisters since we all live so far from each other. I'm glad they let me do my thing with smash, too. All in all, a good day.

I'll end it with a picture of my favorite building in Sydney. Till tomorrow!