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Now that the annual Full Nelson Tecmo event we run in Green Bay every Fall has concluded, the lidless, great eye of my attention shifts to other matters, including the future of this NHL94 tournament for 2021.  I continue to lean on the feedback of those who have attended our events, and have wanted to, but haven't been able to yet. 

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The general attitude of retro gamers, being willing to travel to events, varies per individual.  That isn't the point of this discussion, as most of those who do attend our NHL94 events have made it abundantly clear that circumstances surrounding mandatory quarantines, and risk of infection of Covid is not something they wish to navigate at this time.(That is 100% ok and we will leave it at that)  Please assume that these questions and discussion topics assume a timeframe/situation, when/where Covid/social unrest(IE protests/rioting) is no longer deterrents for tournament attendance and travel.  

For those of you who attended our tournament at The Pourhouse this year, you know that just about everything went about as well as one could hope, minus perhaps a lighter attendance than we originally anticipated.  @LeifEriksondid a tremendous job supporting us, and made the event unforgettable.  I can't thank him enough.  The traveling contingent from this community was higher than any other tournament we've run, which means the local populace of Minneapolis and beyond was largely untapped.  This isn't intended to be a "look at me/us" post, but rather, acknowledge what went well so we may attempt build on it.

Reality check:  While I would certainly like to take everything that happened in 2020, and reproduce it in 2021 again, due to a number of factors, it might not be possible.  I need help in understanding what brought you out this year, in years past, and what would bring you out in the future.   Please understand that any change regarding a 2021 event is meant for that event alone, and then as always, we will reevaluate our options moving forward.  Again, this is assuming Covid, political unrest, etc. are no longer a considerable deterrent.  

Question #1 : Is the Minneapolis geographic location(not venue/hotel specific) a draw or deterrent to your attendance?  Please explain why.  For the record, we think Minneapolis is awesome.  :)

Question #2 : If the tournament had to be held back in Green Bay for 2021(venue would be completely different from years' past),  would that change your decision to attend?  Please explain why.  For the record, flights to GB this year have been much less expensive, and have had better transfer schedules vs just two years ago when booked with reasonable advance.  While this wouldn't be our first choice, it has served us well in the past.  It's Trojan's hometown, which means lots of cross pollination with Tecmo players.

Question #3 : If the tournament was held early on a Sunday(say 10AM instead of a Saturday) , would that affect your decision to attend?  Again, please explain why.(See question #6 for reasoning on why this might be a good option for us here)

Question #4 : The SNES experience was added in 2018 in attempt to bring out the SNES players to the mix from afar, and peaked in 2019 with the inclusion of players from Elmhurst.  These players did not make the journey to Minneapolis in 2020, which greatly all but eliminated the dedicated SNES base. If the tournament removed the SNES experience, in order to expand on the Genesis experience(either through additional GENS games, or adding a 2v2 experience), would that affect your decision to attend?  Again, please explain how and why.

Question #5 : If Minneapolis and Green Bay are not good fits for your attendance, would another Midwest geographical location present a higher chance of your attending, IE, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, ETC ?  Please specify said alternative, and why you think it would be a better fit.

Question #6 : If the 2021 tournament was held later than February, say either in April or May, or combined with our Full Nelson Tecmo event in early September of 2021(Thus the idea for a Sunday event), how would that affect your ability/desire to attend?  Those traveling in to GB already for Full Nelson might stick around for some additional retro gaming for the weekend.  We are aware that King of 94 tends to happen in that general time of year, so we would be sensitive to the timing of their needs before making any decisions in that respect.  In 2016 we held our first ever tournament in September, and if memory serves King of 94 didn't take place that year.

 

I can't thank you enough for all the support dating back to 2016 shown by this community.  I sincerely hope I can see more of your faces in 2021.  Thanks in advance for your feedback and understanding during this very weird time in our world.

 

-Trojan

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Question #1  In relation to GB, Minnesota is preferred for two main reasons.  1 - direct flights and 2- actual hockey town.  

Question #2 : TBD, but Minnesota is better (see Q1)

Question #3 : Sunday would not be preferable as it would force a day off work.  

Question #4 : Unless other known SNES top players make it, I personally find it uneventful.  

Question #5 : Chicago, ease of travel and city highlights.

Question #6 : KO94 takes precedence and I could not do two traveling retro gaming events so close to each other. 

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Question #1 : Minneapolis is awesome :)

Question #2 : Less likely to attend in GB

Question #3 : Less likely to attend on a Sunday

Question #4 : SNES sux

Question #5 : Would love to attend an event in Milwaukee &/or Chicago - Every time Ive gone to Detroit have vowed to never go back

Question #6 : Fine with different month/date just depending on availability

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*Caveat: I'm a rookie here and I have never attended a live tourney/event of any kind, so take my opinion with the Kilimanjaro-sized grain of salt that it deserves, but here goes:

Question #1 : I live in Chicago, so Minny is all good w/ me. I’ve been there a bunch over the past 10+ years and have gotten smashed there a bunch. Fun town, s**t tons of hotels/bars/restaurants, all good. :thumbs_up:

Question #2 : Again, I’m in Chicago, so Green Bay is easy for me too. But, if you could have all the f**king packers fans leave town for the weekend, that would be greeeeaaaaaat (just kidding, but Go BEARSSSS). Agree with @kingraphthat Minny is way more fun tho.

Question #3 : Yes it would affect things for sure. Saturday >>>>> Sunday (unless it’s a 3-day wknd, but that’s a whole other issue lol). Like raph said, jobs/kids need to go back to school, etc.on Mondays. Saturday is just so much easier to plan for and to get a hall pass from that woman who lives at my house.

Question #4 : I pretty much only play SNES these days (I know, I know, here is where you all throw rotten tomatoes and cabbage at me, you holding-down-the-button-to-be-the-goalie-motherfuckers). If it were only GENS, then I’d still try to show up if only just to meet people and put faces w/ names (and to drink the f**king town dry), but SNES would seal it for me. Even just a SNES 2v2 tourney on Saturday evening, after the liquid courage/social lubricant has been flowing for a while, would be entertaining (my opinion).

Question #5 : First off, @corbettkb's comment about never wanting to go back to DeToilet made me laugh (blow me, Red Wings) because, not including the MoTown catalogue of music/influences, that city is about as cool as a nuclear meltdown (no offense, of course). But after that, Chicago is obviously great from a "we have f**king everything you need here" standpoint, but it's a waaaaay better road trip destination than a fly-into destination. And that's coming from someone who lives here and who's basically a total homer about all things Chicago. The major airport is far from the city (it's more dealing with the f**king traffic than the distance from downtown that makes it annoying) and hotels are more expensive while offering less creature comforts (comparatively). But if you're not downtown than (or somewhat close to it) then what's the point?  There's nothing cool about partying in Rosemont, Illinois (again, no offense).

Question #6 : I have no real preference, but I'd lean towards Sept or April actually being better, because if I’m gonna travel in February then I wanna GTFO of Chicago and go somewhere nice and warm (can we hold this in New Orleans? Just kidding).

Question #7 : I know this wasn't an explicitly asked question, @Edge of '94 Midwest, but let me just say that your picture of the kid-sized Blackhawks goalie mask on the adult-sized head f**king rules! COVID or not, I give you a 8/10 and I definitely WOULD bang!

DanK

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12 hours ago, DanK said:

*Caveat: I'm a rookie here and I have never attended a live tourney/event of any kind, so take my opinion with the Kilimanjaro-sized grain of salt that it deserves, but here goes:

Question #1 : I live in Chicago, so Minny is all good w/ me. I’ve been there a bunch over the past 10+ years and have gotten smashed there a bunch. Fun town, s**t tons of hotels/bars/restaurants, all good. :thumbs_up:

Question #2 : Again, I’m in Chicago, so Green Bay is easy for me too. But, if you could have all the f**king packers fans leave town for the weekend, that would be greeeeaaaaaat (just kidding, but Go BEARSSSS). Agree with @kingraphthat Minny is way more fun tho.

Question #3 : Yes it would affect things for sure. Saturday >>>>> Sunday (unless it’s a 3-day wknd, but that’s a whole other issue lol). Like raph said, jobs/kids need to go back to school, etc.on Mondays. Saturday is just so much easier to plan for and to get a hall pass from that woman who lives at my house.

Question #4 : I pretty much only play SNES these days (I know, I know, here is where you all throw rotten tomatoes and cabbage at me, you holding-down-the-button-to-be-the-goalie-motherfuckers). If it were only GENS, then I’d still try to show up if only just to meet people and put faces w/ names (and to drink the f**king town dry), but SNES would seal it for me. Even just a SNES 2v2 tourney on Saturday evening, after the liquid courage/social lubricant has been flowing for a while, would be entertaining (my opinion).

Question #5 : First off, @corbettkb's comment about never wanting to go back to DeToilet made me laugh (blow me, Red Wings) because, not including the MoTown catalogue of music/influences, that city is about as cool as a nuclear meltdown (no offense, of course). But after that, Chicago is obviously great from a "we have f**king everything you need here" standpoint, but it's a waaaaay better road trip destination than a fly-into destination. And that's coming from someone who lives here and who's basically a total homer about all things Chicago. The major airport is far from the city (it's more dealing with the f**king traffic than the distance from downtown that makes it annoying) and hotels are more expensive while offering less creature comforts (comparatively). But if you're not downtown than (or somewhat close to it) then what's the point?  There's nothing cool about partying in Rosemont, Illinois (again, no offense).

Question #6 : I have no real preference, but I'd lean towards Sept or April actually being better, because if I’m gonna travel in February then I wanna GTFO of Chicago and go somewhere nice and warm (can we hold this in New Orleans? Just kidding).

Question #6 : I know this wasn't an explicitly asked question, @Edge of '94 Midwest, but let me just say that your picture of the kid-sized Blackhawks goalie mask on the adult-sized head f**king rules! COVID or not, I give you a 8/10 and I definitely WOULD bang!

DanK

Haha, that is what's known as a "fan mask".  Since I am enormous it looks awful, and for that I love it.

 

I appreciate the feedback everyone, please keep it coming.

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Question 1: I like Minneapolis because I have decent flights, it is affordable, and I can get around to several parts of town without having to rely on a car. Plus it's about as far west as any tournament comes so I will take what I can get.

Question 2: I'd still most likely be able to attend in Green Bay. I was monitoring flights earlier this year, they appeared to be numerous, convenient, and affordable. In previous years it has proven somewhat difficult to find all 3 features to the point where I have flown in to Chicago to save on time and money despite the 5-6 hour round trip via car. Also, if we get more locals in GB than we do in Minneapolis, the gap between those two cities closes all of a sudden.

Question 3: Saturday and Sunday are all the same to me because I am required to take a day off regardless. 

Question 4: My suggestion is to attempt to draw an SNEW crowd whether it be American or Canadian based but be willing to pivot if no base arrives on game day. If our entire group is Gens centric, we can expand the tournament and/or include a 2 on 2 function. If we have enough space/setups on Friday night at the hotel, we can attempt to run a 2 on 2 tournament that night as opposed to the end of Saturday.

Question 5: Chicago is at the top of my list if an alternate city is required, Milwaukee would come second in that grouping. I've never been to Detroit, so whether it is there, Indianapolis, Davenport, Des Moines, or Omaha is of little difference to me.

Question 6: For me, early April is an automatic non starter due to my job. February, May and September are workable with September coming in a distant 3rd. If King of 94 resumes next September then I'm looking at two cross country trips within a matter of weeks. That would be so undesirable to me that I would actually consider my options in regards to making it one 2-3 week trip for both tournaments.

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We will make every effort to stay clear of King of 94's schedule for two reasons.  Common decency, and not wanting to put people in a tough spot where they'd have to make a choice between one or the other.  While I'm no Nostradamus, and I think our NHL94 tournament is awesome, I wouldn't expect anyone to choose us over KO94 in a tight scheduling window, unless they were regionally closer to us, or didn't have a passport.

The idea regarding the Sunday schedule would be to piggy back on our already well-populated Full Nelson Tecmo tournament in Green Bay, so we'd simply be expanding the weekend event we've been doing for the past three years to include Genesis.  Outside of Kevin Cab, Mort, DPS, and Angryjay, I can't think of anyone who has attended dedicated Tecmo events of ours, who also have competed in their event. This would not be intended to be a long term solution, and simply a bandage, that allows our group to gather in 2021, in what should be a better situation that what we're currently witnessing regarding Covid and other challenges in the world.

I know the future is difficult to predict, I'll make sure to communicate with @halifax and @smozomaregarding their KO94 2021 intentions before doing anything on my end, should it involve running a Summer/Fall event in 2021 that includes NHL94 on its schedule.

I appreciate the feedback folks, keep it coming.

 

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1: Minneapolis is a fantastic city and I'm not opposed to it at all but I would obviously always prefer a wee bit closer to ole indiana. Totally selfish reasons for that. 

2: My chances would go up because if I had to, I could make it a day trip. 

3: I'm not big on sunday tournaments. I like to party a little during these things and that wouldn't go over too well with my employer Monday morning. 

4: I don't play as much snes so my attendance is not based on snes at all. Whatever "extra" tourney you add on, I'll probably jump on and play. 

5: Chicago would be great but again this is for very selfish reasons. People from out of town will have trouble finding more affordable lodging and what not, but there is a lot to do in chicago if you do have to stay. 

6: Once you rollover into March I'm basically not going to make it to any tourney until june because of high school baseball season so february is ideal for me.

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On 10/3/2020 at 12:20 AM, Hot_sauce said:

1: Minneapolis is a fantastic city and I'm not opposed to it at all but I would obviously always prefer a wee bit closer to ole indiana. Totally selfish reasons for that. 

2: My chances would go up because if I had to, I could make it a day trip. 

3: I'm not big on sunday tournaments. I like to party a little during these things and that wouldn't go over too well with my employer Monday morning. 

4: I don't play as much snes so my attendance is not based on snes at all. Whatever "extra" tourney you add on, I'll probably jump on and play. 

5: Chicago would be great but again this is for very selfish reasons. People from out of town will have trouble finding more affordable lodging and what not, but there is a lot to do in chicago if you do have to stay. 

6: Once you rollover into March I'm basically not going to make it to any tourney until june because of high school baseball season so february is ideal for me.

How many nicknames do you have Slapshot?

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#1 Minnesota is good.

#2 Green Bay is better. 
I loved my trip to Green Bay. 
It was the high point of my NHL 94 career.

Arguing with Trojan about my seeding and then promptly beating him in pre tourney exis
Traveling and rooming with AJ
Pre-tourney games with Smoz, EA, Tex, AJ, and Jer
Beating Raph in an official tournament game of NHL'94
Post tourney 2v2 with Raph, AJ, Jer and Arda

#3 Make it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
I'll be retired and totally free

#4 SNES was the big negative of my trip to Green Bay.
Huge waste of time and it screwed up the Gens tourney that most were there for.

#5 See #3

#6 See #3

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On 10/9/2020 at 12:58 PM, CoachMac said:

#1 Minnesota is good.

#2 Green Bay is better. 
I loved my trip to Green Bay. 
It was the high point of my NHL 94 career.

Arguing with Trojan about my seeding and then promptly beating him in pre tourney exis
Traveling and rooming with AJ
Pre-tourney games with Smoz, EA, Tex, AJ, and Jer
Beating Raph in an official tournament game of NHL'94
Post tourney 2v2 with Raph, AJ, Jer and Arda

#3 Make it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
I'll be retired and totally free

#4 SNES was the big negative of my trip to Green Bay.
Huge waste of time and it screwed up the Gens tourney that most were there for.

#5 See #3

#6 See #3

 

You're a tough read bud.  :)  I could have sworn by the end of your initial review back in early 2018, that we had done a horrible job.

As you're probably aware, we moved SNES to the back end of the tournament the following year, and it ended up being a very competitive field filled with dedicated SNES players, who were also good at Genesis.

Nearly no one who travels to these things is willing or able to do that right now, and I don't blame them.  While we had a tremendous showing at our Green Bay Tecmo tournament in September, most of it from outside of the area.  Their thoughts/concerns regarding Covid risks were generally different than the masses chiming in here.(that's 100% ok)

I will be playing NHL94 with humans in the 1st quarter if 2021.  The unknown factor is whether or not it will be in a traditional tournament setting, or a smaller gathering.  My gut tells me that it won't be this time around.  I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not asking my friends to fly out if they don't feel safe about it.

 

 

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