Ooookay, gentlemen & ladies... I got back to NY a little while ago, but immediately crashed once I saw my bed. My bad. Anyways, I know I did this last night, but I'm going to do it again (and with gusto, at that): From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely want to thank EVERYONE -- those who competed, those who helped with brackets & commentary, those who flew out, those who were in the stream chat and those who made this wonderful game -- that came together to make Summer Jam 9 such a roaring success!
I know you guys love to give me credit for what I've been doing, but that's just BTS legwork. Each & every single one of you have given life to this revolution. I really want to stress that word, too... revolution. In my humble opinion, "revolution" is the only way that this recent surge for the community. Everyone is taking notice, as they should, because this game & its community are deserving of the attention.
If I may quote "Captain America: the First Avenger" to convey my point that much more clearly, I hold Dr. Erskine's words to heart: 'The strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength.' A little psychologically heavy for a hazy Monday afternoon, I'll admit... but it describes us perfectly. Other games have been tourney mainstays for so long that their players take it for granted. That's not a luxury afforded to us.
As such, every victory becomes both cause for celebration & a rallying cry for the entire FGC to hear. We just beat out a majority of the games on the SJ9 roster in terms of attendance because, above all else, we know how important it is to appreciate the support given to our game. While I know the next couple of months are just busy busy busy for us... I know we can continue riding this crest of morale straight into 2016 & beyond.
Said it before & I'll say it again: As big as SJ9 was, NEC16 is gonna be even bigger... looking forward to see you there.
