Sportsmanship

The Kotei in Lafayette, LA, yesterday was terrific. It was fun to see all the Lafayette guys again. I had originally met them at Mobicon last year, and played in one of their local tournaments a while back. I really like these guys. I also met several other great guys while we were there. There were 44 players in the tournament, and I really liked a lot of them. I don't think I actually spoke with everyone. And I certainly don't remember all of the names.

Some of the highlights include:

-Meeting Steve Argyle. He's a pretty cool guy. I got a playmat from him (signed), and he did some sketches for Josh and I.

-Seeing Todd Rowland again was cool. I met him at Mobicon last year, and it was cool that he drove in for the Kotei.

-Teaching a guy how to play L5R. In the 6th round, my opponent had already left. So I was asked to teach a guy how to play. That was cool. My 7th round opponent was Josh. I gave him the win because I was still playing the teaching game (and I can play him whenever!). I don't remember the guy's name, but he was really nice. He picked it up quickly.

-I got to see Patrick again. Patrick lives on the MS Gulf Coast, and has driven up to Hattiesburg a few times to hang out. He has started a play group on the Coast and brought his two best players with him. We ate supper with them, and they are all really cool. We hope to drive down and play with them sometime soon.

-The awesome theme deck. I didn't play David, but his deck was awesome. He was playing Crane, and his theme was the theater. His opponent could select either Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet (I'm fairly certain those were the two). Then he had a script and did the play as the game progressed. I only saw bits and pieces of it through the day but it was cool. He even had a playmat that was set up as a stage, with trapdoors for the provinces. And fliers posted on the walls advertising the two plays. He made it into the Top 8 with his deck. I wanted to watch, but he had lost his voice by that point.

-The games I played and the opponents. I only won one game. But all of the games were fun and I learned a lot. The first game was with Andrew. I don't remember where he is from, but I really liked him. Very friendly. I also learned why everyone says the Lion are so awesome right now. I played with David, a Crane player who I think was from Texas. He, and some of the other players, gave me tips after the games as to how I could improve my deck and how I was supposed to be playing some of the cards in them. I wish I remembered the other players' names. But I am horrible with names, so I've gotten used to it. There were some terrific players, and everyone was very friendly. (I was the only girl. It was odd, but not uncomfortable or anything.)

-We were also invited to the Montgomery Kotei in May. We may go to it. The Lafayette guys offered to let us share a hotel room with them, but I don't know if we will or not. We were also invited to a Kotei in Texas, but that is farther than we are willing to go.

And the last highlight of the day for me. I was shocked when they named me Best Sportsman. Of course, as soon as Wilbur said 'she' everyone knew who had won. It was said that even though I had some bad games (I lost a lot and some of them were REALLY bad...) I stayed cheerful through the whole day and continued to play. Then taught someone else how to play the game. I'm sure I turned red after hearing all that. But, I went there as a fairly new player only intending to learn. I learned with every game, so there was no reason to get upset. I got a few packs of cards and an awesome honor counter. Since I play honor running decks (as opposed to military) this will be very useful. And I had been planning to purchase one anyway.