EPTSo we got into the convention center, the first progamer I saw was MC. At first, I wasn't sure if it was MC since he was wearing that crazy dinosaur hoodie (awesome hoodie btw). Eventually I figured out it was MC since many people were asking for his autograph. I got my first autograph from him on my Razer Vespula mousepad.
The venue started filling up really quick. People started reverting to sitting on the floor instead of standing up. Before long, Boxer was up against Nestea. I gave my best fighting cheer but it was miniscule compared to the roaring cheers of everyone around me. (Maybe we can organize a cheer for tomorrow!) It was a pretty awesome set; I'll spare you the spoilers -- go watch it! After a few more hours of watching games, the Starcraft section started getting extremely filled. People were sitting and occupying every square inch of space. The cheers were really strong, especially for people like Kiwikaki, Idra, and Boxer.
Soon it was 6PM and the people who drove me were getting tired and wanted to leave. I was like wait what?! Of course I stayed back, saying I would stay until later and take the commuter rail or bus back to Boston.
The strength of e-sports was too strong...
So many good games and match-ups occurred tonight: Naniwa vs Nestea grudgematch, MC vs Idra, MVP vs MC... just to say the least. I also really wanted to get some more autographs, as I only had MC, Hero, and Bomber so far. Staying paid off as I got Nestea's autograph soon after. Was staying worth it? Hell yeah!
Especially because when everyone left after the the event was over for the day, I got to meet MMA with only a small group of people as competition. MMA and Boxer were the two people I really wanted to meet this weekend.
![[image loading]](http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4184/imag0188s.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5281/imag0190y.jpg)
The fruits of my labor!
I also had a small conversation with him going something like this:
Me: 만나서 반갑습니다 *bow* ("Nice to meet you.")
MMA: 반갑습니다
I learned that phrase of Korean just for situations like these. It kinda sucks that he probably didn't know that I wasn't Korean (I enjoy the surprised look when a non-Asian looking person speaks an Asian language.)
I also got to catch DRG while leaving and got an autograph from him! +1! :D
Anyways, of course I the realize that I missed the last train/commuter rail back to Boston. Completely unprepared for staying the night in Rhode Island, I started looking around for options. I could either tough the night out in the streets of Providence or find a nice cheap hotel.
Haha... nice cheap hotel...
Of course, as I kind of expected, all of the hotels were sold out for the night. All of them except one... The Westin. Guess what, they only had 1 room left. And it was the most expensive room, costing $199 a night as it had a King Sized bed and everything. I was eventually out of options and chose to take the night, failing to bargain for a discount. Oh well, I guess this trip just became $200 dollars more expensive. It's ok... I really needed to shower. I guess I get the full experience
.Oh, and if you want to stalk DRG, I saw him walk into the Hilton
So... I'm in my 200 dollar hotel room typing this out to you guys, hoping you guys will enjoy my story. It's almost 3. I'm eating pringles and peaches for dinner. If anything crazy happens tomorrow, I might make a continuation blog.
Fun things I noticed:
- I kinda felt a little bad when swarms of people horded towards progamers right after they left. But it also provided good fun.
- MC, Losira, and Leenock are small! I dunno why but I imagined that they'd be bigger. Conversely, Nestea is GIANT!
- The security guards and staff were pretty cool. It was obvious that the security guards didn't understand the game but they got into it with us. Be sure to thank them if you get a chance to tomorrow!
- Nestea either as a really sloppy signature or he rushed his autographs. The person who got an autograph before me was like "I think it says Nestea... not sure..." MC has a pretty sick signature though.
- The FPView of the players that is provided when you attend live is really insightful and is a great learning tool.
- MC is a pretty quiet guy. I was expecting him to be really outgoing. I guess it's the language barrier.
- If you have a cellphone that requires charging, get a cellphone to laptop USB cable and bring your laptop around for mobile charging. Convert that laptop energy to cellphone energy!
- Sometimes, I feel viewers do not know when to cheer. Something awesome or kinda awesome would happen but only a few people would clap. I guess we should all practice our SC watching skills and know when to produce those ooo's and ahh's. I'd also like to see some fighting cheers ;D
