Mulge.  That’s how I would pronounce MLG if it were supposed to be spoken as a word instead of an acronym.  Mulge – that’s a good word.  I should make up a definition for it. Wait.  Let’s see if there already is one… Google: Mulge.  Doh!  Nevermind.  *Activate Men in Black memory eraser* heh heh, suckers.  Anyway, Mischief, Samurai, Strider and I spent our last days before the tournament practicing Halo 3 for 10 hours a day. We felt like Halo super heroes the way our shots were so crisp when we arrived at the venue last Friday.  Most of the day was spent warming up while the MLG personnel organized the tournament.  For those of you who haven’t attended an MLG tournament before, let me set the mood for you.  Here are some pictures to start you off –

Now you have a pretty good idea of what the place look likes, but add the loud noise – hundreds of console video game nerds talking, laughing, yelling, music playing from the Rock Band station and an announcer over the loud-speaker.  Mix that in with your heart pounding in your chest.  The pre-tournament butterflies are almost enough to make you want to throw up (also the smell of all those gamers can trigger the same reaction – FREE Online Tutorial!).  I read a quote a couple weeks ago, it went something like this – “The only difference between the professional and the novice is that the professional’s butterflies fly in formation.” Everybody gets butterflies or nervous energy right before a tournament.  The trick is to use that extra energy to enhance your concentration and focus.  I think I’ve nearly perfected this.  But just being around THIS MANY people who love these games as much as you do is enough to make you happy and stand there in awe.  People watching becomes a fun little pass time.

We spent our days playing and competing in Halo 3, and we spent our nights at the nearby pool hall shooting balls and making Christmas tree stars out of straws and sugar packets … we’re creative that way. 

Needless to say, we didn’t win… you all would have known by now, I’m sure.  We would have placed higher in the tournament had the brackets not been so screwy, but I won’t make excuses.  We got top 100 out of 250 teams.  Not terrible, but we definitely could have done a billion times better (that’s right, one billion).  The games we lost were SO close.  Close, as in 5 seconds in King of the Hill close.  Samurai and Strider were amazing teammates, and I’m sure Mischief had as much fun as I did competing with them.  We love you guys. <3

Anyway, back to Frag Dolling as usual, R6V2-style.  I think I’ll pronounce it “Rissivtu”.  Google: Rissivtu.  Phew, safe.  I gotta say, though… I’m going to miss my Master Chief (and Miss Chief! Ha, Miss-chief, Mischief, get it?).