So here's the story, My boyfriend and I went to this event last night, Main Stage Series: White-Ra, Special Tactics LIVE! And I can say without a doubt that it was the most fun I ever had. Here is my story.
To the people that know me, you all know how much I love video games especially SC2, I enjoy playing just as much as I like watching it. So yesterday, we arrived early and since I know some of the people who organised the event, I got to help set up the computers and stuff, I even got to set up White-Ra's keyboard and mouse (for a gamer as passionate as I am, it compares to a music liver tuning Jimmy Hendrix's guitar before a show) Then he comes out from backstage and I get to talk to him a little bit. I was like, WOW, I'm talking to White-Ra.. Teeh eeh. Believe me that was only the begining because little did i know, my question was picked to be asked to him during the show. But then just before the break, they ask me to go on stage because Mr. Ra, thought that my question was the best, he shook my hand in front of the audience and gave me HIS OFFICIAL MOUSEPAD. Nerd Chills all over(that part is like having jimmy hendrix give you his guitar pick in person on stage during a show.). Then it started to get messy a bit, after the break, he asks me to go on stage to PLAY A GAME AGAINST HIM, ON STAGE, IN FRONT OF A CROWD!!!!!. The worst part is that i had stopped playing SC2 for 1 season and a half, so i was more than just a little ''rusty" plus the stress and all. For the record I'm in the Bronze league rank 72... not very intimidating. (its like going on stage to perform a guitar solo against Jimmy Hendrix but you only played guitar hero before.). So they made him do a ''special tactics'' he only used his mouse... He still beat me, He MOTHERSHIP rushed me, i GGed but then since i was using Slush's pc/setup, there was no menu and i couldn't remember how to quit, so i BMed WHite-Ra by building a bunch of Hatch in his base, the audience was screaming F10, but i couldn't hear them. I finally got out shook his hand and took pictures. Nerd chills were gone, it was like a MultipleFullBodyNerdGasm. I'll keep this replay forever. He was so kind, it was Midnight when he started signing autographs he did it with a smile, he even asked people to tag him on the pics they took with him! He is such a nice guy, I was the last person on line to get an autograph, he signed my SC2 box, I thank him for everything and said: Hope we meet again in battle someday. he said: Practice a lot and maybe you will beat me.
I'll practice a lot more now, I really enjoy playing SC2. I'm far from being good but I wish that with a lot of pratice and hard work, some day I'll be able to compete in tournaments maybe even win, who knows. I do it for the passion of the game because, as I've always said: ''Not here for the Fame, Just for the Game!!''
I just wanted to give you guys a good idea of how much of a great, down to earth guy White-Ra is.
Our story begins last friday around 1:30pm (the 30th of march). Me and my friends Vizion (Max) and n0sp00ne (Romeo) were supposed to go to the Peter Molydeux game jam taking place this week-end, and stop by the mssmtl event over the course of the week-end.
I get to Romeo's place, his stuff isn't ready to go we are running late and I suddenly realize he doesn't look too good: ''We're going to the hospital, I can't breathe.''. Romeo has pretty bad asthma, has cats (which he got rid over the course of the weekend) and, which is kind of ironic, stopped smoking 24 hours before having this attack.
So we rush to the hospital, his breathing becomes more erratic and inconsistent, his eyes are watery and his face is bright red. My friend Max also has asthma and told Romeo to calm down, that he will get to the hospital and they will hook him up to an oxygen supplying machine and that max 4 hours later we would be out.
Needless to say, this isn't the way things turned out.
We got there, waited about 10 minutes. They took him in for the sorting process and he wasn't coming back. At some point, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. He is hooked up to all these machines, even with the o2 mask on he could barely breathe. His osat was below 88 out of 100 (100 hundred being the normal, non-asthmatic people) and was pretty low (Where is House when you need him). An hour passes, two, then three and still no sight of when he is getting out. So I was pacing, going outside to manage Tina, his girlfriend who was very. very scared and saying their son was asking for his father (Romeo, 2 yrs old, awesome kid.) Then came the news he wasn't coming out today, they would keep him in observation until the next morning, but then he would get out. Me and Max left, but Romeo had his android tablet, a wiimote, a classic controller, and a shitload of emulators so he was in good company!
The next morning, me and Max wake up (I spent the night at his place since we decided we would pick up Romeo in the morning and go to the Molyjam after that) and we call the hospital. Romeo still can't breathe, they're analysing his blood now looking for some sort of virus and things weren't looking up. He told us to go without him, but the molyjam was pointless without him since we were going as a team. But we figured we could still go see White-Ra. The worst part was that Romeo was hoping to get out in time for the show, which was not happening. He was pretty depressed when you consider the whole situation and the fact that he was REALLY looking forward to seeing White-Ra in the flesh. His fanboi aspirations wouldn't be fulfilled on this day.
So we leave St-Anicet (google map this shit) and head towards the island. We picked up RokTrooper and TorteDeLini and some hardware and headed for the venue at Concordia. There, we meet a lot of people including Elizabeth, the hottest redhead in the gaming industry, and we just run left and right to get the venue ready to roll on time for the crowd. I crossed paths with White-Ra a couple of times, but didn't want to bother him and was focused on the task at hand (although I gotta say I walked in the staff room at some point and he was filming with his iPhone. I say priviet, guys starts talking to me in Russian and soon realizes I had used up the full extent of my russian.).
Then the show started, White-Ra was on stage, me and Max were watching thinking how much is sucks for Romeo who is a huge fan that he HAD to have this attack on friday and miss the show. I had talked my way into having him sign a bunch of stuff for us but nothing concrete was settled at that point.
Then the second break came aounrd 9pm and I went backstage with this crazy idea: ''Can White-Ra talk to Romeo over the phone? It would mean a lot to him and-'' couldn't finish my sentence and he was ready to make the phone call right away and even asked me where the hospital was! He couldn't go in person since the hospital was an hour and a half away from Concordia but I really appreciated the thought nonetheless. So I set up the phone call, talk to Romeo for a bit (getting an update on his status at the same time) and then I tell him to be ready to have a second attack - passed the phone to Mr Krupnik. He spoke with him for a bit, wishing him a swift recovery and that next time he is in Montreal, he would meet him in person to show him some Special Taktiks! When I took the phone back, Romeo's voice was breaking up (it was later confirmed that he actually cried) and he was sounding a whole lot better, emotionnally at least, then when he first picked up the phone.
After the show, the whole crew went to Reuben's for chow and White-Ra took the time there to sign a poster for Romeo, sign my tablet, Max's t-shirt and even his Domo cap! We talked a lot, he asked me about Romeo, told him he had no idea on the impact he had on someone's life with what he did earlier and that I really, really appeciated it (Romeo is my long-time best friend and the godfather of my 7 months old son, Yanni).
All in all, what set out to be a great day turned out to be awesome and White-Ra, despite his rep and popularity, is one of the greatest on the e-sports scene, and probably the greatest on a human level. Don't ever change Aleksey ''White-Ra'' Krupnik and keep being who you are, for a lot of people on the scene, or otherwise, could learn so much from you.
Wow, that is a very touching story, it actually made me tear up a little, It's true that he is a really awesome human being!! Hope your friend gets better really soon. sending positive brain waves :B his way. Keep gaming and rocking!
Touching. The war-game of Starcraft brings peace and unity. I love all of you guys. Thank you for being friendly, no matter who our politics think is our #1 enemy, we are friends.
Aleksey is one of the most well-mannered, kind and polite people you could ever wish for, he's one of those people you can look up to and preserve as a role model. Thank you, Aleksey "White-Ra" Krupnyk.
I have translated it to Russian and posted on the TL of Russia/Ukraine, sc2tv,ru. Those who doesn't speak English have to know about that deed of WhiteRa as well. And again — thank you guys for being good to each other and friendly towards others. WhiteRa fans are the best sports fans out there <3 - ps was speaking about #10, not #1 obv.
I was there with my girlfriend who didn't understand a thing (eSport girlfriends fighting!). Man it was amazing seeing White-Ra in person. I couldn't get any photos because the line was too long and it was getting pretty late but just seeing him and Slush (And Im pretty sure JP was there) in real life and hearing him talk about his life and experiences was just the best.
On April 03 2012 03:27 G-Virus wrote: [start of wall of text]
I just wanted to give you guys a good idea of how much of a great, down to earth guy White-Ra is.
Our story begins last friday around 1:30pm (the 30th of march). Me and my friends Vizion (Max) and n0sp00ne (Romeo) were supposed to go to the Peter Molydeux game jam taking place this week-end, and stop by the mssmtl event over the course of the week-end.
I get to Romeo's place, his stuff isn't ready to go we are running late and I suddenly realize he doesn't look too good: ''We're going to the hospital, I can't breathe.''. Romeo has pretty bad asthma, has cats (which he got rid over the course of the weekend) and, which is kind of ironic, stopped smoking 24 hours before having this attack.
So we rush to the hospital, his breathing becomes more erratic and inconsistent, his eyes are watery and his face is bright red. My friend Max also has asthma and told Romeo to calm down, that he will get to the hospital and they will hook him up to an oxygen supplying machine and that max 4 hours later we would be out.
Needless to say, this isn't the way things turned out.
We got there, waited about 10 minutes. They took him in for the sorting process and he wasn't coming back. At some point, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. He is hooked up to all these machines, even with the o2 mask on he could barely breathe. His osat was below 88 out of 100 (100 hundred being the normal, non-asthmatic people) and was pretty low (Where is House when you need him). An hour passes, two, then three and still no sight of when he is getting out. So I was pacing, going outside to manage Tina, his girlfriend who was very. very scared and saying their son was asking for his father (Romeo, 2 yrs old, awesome kid.) Then came the news he wasn't coming out today, they would keep him in observation until the next morning, but then he would get out. Me and Max left, but Romeo had his android tablet, a wiimote, a classic controller, and a shitload of emulators so he was in good company!
The next morning, me and Max wake up (I spent the night at his place since we decided we would pick up Romeo in the morning and go to the Molyjam after that) and we call the hospital. Romeo still can't breathe, they're analysing his blood now looking for some sort of virus and things weren't looking up. He told us to go without him, but the molyjam was pointless without him since we were going as a team. But we figured we could still go see White-Ra. The worst part was that Romeo was hoping to get out in time for the show, which was not happening. He was pretty depressed when you consider the whole situation and the fact that he was REALLY looking forward to seeing White-Ra in the flesh. His fanboi aspirations wouldn't be fulfilled on this day.
So we leave St-Anicet (google map this shit) and head towards the island. We picked up RokTrooper and TorteDeLini and some hardware and headed for the venue at Concordia. There, we meet a lot of people including Elizabeth, the hottest redhead in the gaming industry, and we just run left and right to get the venue ready to roll on time for the crowd. I crossed paths with White-Ra a couple of times, but didn't want to bother him and was focused on the task at hand (although I gotta say I walked in the staff room at some point and he was filming with his iPhone. I say priviet, guys starts talking to me in Russian and soon realizes I had used up the full extent of my russian.).
Then the show started, White-Ra was on stage, me and Max were watching thinking how much is sucks for Romeo who is a huge fan that he HAD to have this attack on friday and miss the show. I had talked my way into having him sign a bunch of stuff for us but nothing concrete was settled at that point.
Then the second break came aounrd 9pm and I went backstage with this crazy idea: ''Can White-Ra talk to Romeo over the phone? It would mean a lot to him and-'' couldn't finish my sentence and he was ready to make the phone call right away and even asked me where the hospital was! He couldn't go in person since the hospital was an hour and a half away from Concordia but I really appreciated the thought nonetheless. So I set up the phone call, talk to Romeo for a bit (getting an update on his status at the same time) and then I tell him to be ready to have a second attack - passed the phone to Mr Krupnik. He spoke with him for a bit, wishing him a swift recovery and that next time he is in Montreal, he would meet him in person to show him some Special Taktiks! When I took the phone back, Romeo's voice was breaking up (it was later confirmed that he actually cried) and he was sounding a whole lot better, emotionnally at least, then when he first picked up the phone.
After the show, the whole crew went to Reuben's for chow and White-Ra took the time there to sign a poster for Romeo, sign my tablet, Max's t-shirt and even his Domo cap! We talked a lot, he asked me about Romeo, told him he had no idea on the impact he had on someone's life with what he did earlier and that I really, really appeciated it (Romeo is my long-time best friend and the godfather of my 7 months old son, Yanni).
All in all, what set out to be a great day turned out to be awesome and White-Ra, despite his rep and popularity, is one of the greatest on the e-sports scene, and probably the greatest on a human level. Don't ever change Aleksey ''White-Ra'' Krupnik and keep being who you are, for a lot of people on the scene, or otherwise, could learn so much from you.
[end of wall of text]
really enjoyed reading this. You should blog it so more people read it. Thanks Charles for putting it on Reddit.
I am so sad i missed the show. But still i am glad people enjoyed and only for Romeo, the event was a success.
Thanks White-RA for being such a an awesome and openhearted person. <3
On April 03 2012 03:27 G-Virus wrote: [start of wall of text]
I just wanted to give you guys a good idea of how much of a great, down to earth guy White-Ra is.
Our story begins last friday around 1:30pm (the 30th of march). Me and my friends Vizion (Max) and n0sp00ne (Romeo) were supposed to go to the Peter Molydeux game jam taking place this week-end, and stop by the mssmtl event over the course of the week-end.
I get to Romeo's place, his stuff isn't ready to go we are running late and I suddenly realize he doesn't look too good: ''We're going to the hospital, I can't breathe.''. Romeo has pretty bad asthma, has cats (which he got rid over the course of the weekend) and, which is kind of ironic, stopped smoking 24 hours before having this attack.
So we rush to the hospital, his breathing becomes more erratic and inconsistent, his eyes are watery and his face is bright red. My friend Max also has asthma and told Romeo to calm down, that he will get to the hospital and they will hook him up to an oxygen supplying machine and that max 4 hours later we would be out.
Needless to say, this isn't the way things turned out.
We got there, waited about 10 minutes. They took him in for the sorting process and he wasn't coming back. At some point, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. He is hooked up to all these machines, even with the o2 mask on he could barely breathe. His osat was below 88 out of 100 (100 hundred being the normal, non-asthmatic people) and was pretty low (Where is House when you need him). An hour passes, two, then three and still no sight of when he is getting out. So I was pacing, going outside to manage Tina, his girlfriend who was very. very scared and saying their son was asking for his father (Romeo, 2 yrs old, awesome kid.) Then came the news he wasn't coming out today, they would keep him in observation until the next morning, but then he would get out. Me and Max left, but Romeo had his android tablet, a wiimote, a classic controller, and a shitload of emulators so he was in good company!
The next morning, me and Max wake up (I spent the night at his place since we decided we would pick up Romeo in the morning and go to the Molyjam after that) and we call the hospital. Romeo still can't breathe, they're analysing his blood now looking for some sort of virus and things weren't looking up. He told us to go without him, but the molyjam was pointless without him since we were going as a team. But we figured we could still go see White-Ra. The worst part was that Romeo was hoping to get out in time for the show, which was not happening. He was pretty depressed when you consider the whole situation and the fact that he was REALLY looking forward to seeing White-Ra in the flesh. His fanboi aspirations wouldn't be fulfilled on this day.
So we leave St-Anicet (google map this shit) and head towards the island. We picked up RokTrooper and TorteDeLini and some hardware and headed for the venue at Concordia. There, we meet a lot of people including Elizabeth, the hottest redhead in the gaming industry, and we just run left and right to get the venue ready to roll on time for the crowd. I crossed paths with White-Ra a couple of times, but didn't want to bother him and was focused on the task at hand (although I gotta say I walked in the staff room at some point and he was filming with his iPhone. I say priviet, guys starts talking to me in Russian and soon realizes I had used up the full extent of my russian.).
Then the show started, White-Ra was on stage, me and Max were watching thinking how much is sucks for Romeo who is a huge fan that he HAD to have this attack on friday and miss the show. I had talked my way into having him sign a bunch of stuff for us but nothing concrete was settled at that point.
Then the second break came aounrd 9pm and I went backstage with this crazy idea: ''Can White-Ra talk to Romeo over the phone? It would mean a lot to him and-'' couldn't finish my sentence and he was ready to make the phone call right away and even asked me where the hospital was! He couldn't go in person since the hospital was an hour and a half away from Concordia but I really appreciated the thought nonetheless. So I set up the phone call, talk to Romeo for a bit (getting an update on his status at the same time) and then I tell him to be ready to have a second attack - passed the phone to Mr Krupnik. He spoke with him for a bit, wishing him a swift recovery and that next time he is in Montreal, he would meet him in person to show him some Special Taktiks! When I took the phone back, Romeo's voice was breaking up (it was later confirmed that he actually cried) and he was sounding a whole lot better, emotionnally at least, then when he first picked up the phone.
After the show, the whole crew went to Reuben's for chow and White-Ra took the time there to sign a poster for Romeo, sign my tablet, Max's t-shirt and even his Domo cap! We talked a lot, he asked me about Romeo, told him he had no idea on the impact he had on someone's life with what he did earlier and that I really, really appeciated it (Romeo is my long-time best friend and the godfather of my 7 months old son, Yanni).
All in all, what set out to be a great day turned out to be awesome and White-Ra, despite his rep and popularity, is one of the greatest on the e-sports scene, and probably the greatest on a human level. Don't ever change Aleksey ''White-Ra'' Krupnik and keep being who you are, for a lot of people on the scene, or otherwise, could learn so much from you.
[end of wall of text]
Thank you so much for sharing this profound moment in white-ra history: )
Even though he hasn't been playing his best, or maybe just a bad run in tournaments lately, this is the type of stuff that keeps me a fan. White-Ra don't ever change.
And OP, congratulations on getting to play him. Sounds like you had an awesome day.
Grandpa toss is simply the best. From special tactics to good manners, he may not take first place in tournaments anymore, but he takes first place for the fans at least.
On April 03 2012 03:27 G-Virus wrote: [start of wall of text]
I just wanted to give you guys a good idea of how much of a great, down to earth guy White-Ra is.
Our story begins last friday around 1:30pm (the 30th of march). Me and my friends Vizion (Max) and n0sp00ne (Romeo) were supposed to go to the Peter Molydeux game jam taking place this week-end, and stop by the mssmtl event over the course of the week-end.
I get to Romeo's place, his stuff isn't ready to go we are running late and I suddenly realize he doesn't look too good: ''We're going to the hospital, I can't breathe.''. Romeo has pretty bad asthma, has cats (which he got rid over the course of the weekend) and, which is kind of ironic, stopped smoking 24 hours before having this attack.
So we rush to the hospital, his breathing becomes more erratic and inconsistent, his eyes are watery and his face is bright red. My friend Max also has asthma and told Romeo to calm down, that he will get to the hospital and they will hook him up to an oxygen supplying machine and that max 4 hours later we would be out.
Needless to say, this isn't the way things turned out.
We got there, waited about 10 minutes. They took him in for the sorting process and he wasn't coming back. At some point, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. He is hooked up to all these machines, even with the o2 mask on he could barely breathe. His osat was below 88 out of 100 (100 hundred being the normal, non-asthmatic people) and was pretty low (Where is House when you need him). An hour passes, two, then three and still no sight of when he is getting out. So I was pacing, going outside to manage Tina, his girlfriend who was very. very scared and saying their son was asking for his father (Romeo, 2 yrs old, awesome kid.) Then came the news he wasn't coming out today, they would keep him in observation until the next morning, but then he would get out. Me and Max left, but Romeo had his android tablet, a wiimote, a classic controller, and a shitload of emulators so he was in good company!
The next morning, me and Max wake up (I spent the night at his place since we decided we would pick up Romeo in the morning and go to the Molyjam after that) and we call the hospital. Romeo still can't breathe, they're analysing his blood now looking for some sort of virus and things weren't looking up. He told us to go without him, but the molyjam was pointless without him since we were going as a team. But we figured we could still go see White-Ra. The worst part was that Romeo was hoping to get out in time for the show, which was not happening. He was pretty depressed when you consider the whole situation and the fact that he was REALLY looking forward to seeing White-Ra in the flesh. His fanboi aspirations wouldn't be fulfilled on this day.
So we leave St-Anicet (google map this shit) and head towards the island. We picked up RokTrooper and TorteDeLini and some hardware and headed for the venue at Concordia. There, we meet a lot of people including Elizabeth, the hottest redhead in the gaming industry, and we just run left and right to get the venue ready to roll on time for the crowd. I crossed paths with White-Ra a couple of times, but didn't want to bother him and was focused on the task at hand (although I gotta say I walked in the staff room at some point and he was filming with his iPhone. I say priviet, guys starts talking to me in Russian and soon realizes I had used up the full extent of my russian.).
Then the show started, White-Ra was on stage, me and Max were watching thinking how much is sucks for Romeo who is a huge fan that he HAD to have this attack on friday and miss the show. I had talked my way into having him sign a bunch of stuff for us but nothing concrete was settled at that point.
Then the second break came aounrd 9pm and I went backstage with this crazy idea: ''Can White-Ra talk to Romeo over the phone? It would mean a lot to him and-'' couldn't finish my sentence and he was ready to make the phone call right away and even asked me where the hospital was! He couldn't go in person since the hospital was an hour and a half away from Concordia but I really appreciated the thought nonetheless. So I set up the phone call, talk to Romeo for a bit (getting an update on his status at the same time) and then I tell him to be ready to have a second attack - passed the phone to Mr Krupnik. He spoke with him for a bit, wishing him a swift recovery and that next time he is in Montreal, he would meet him in person to show him some Special Taktiks! When I took the phone back, Romeo's voice was breaking up (it was later confirmed that he actually cried) and he was sounding a whole lot better, emotionnally at least, then when he first picked up the phone.
After the show, the whole crew went to Reuben's for chow and White-Ra took the time there to sign a poster for Romeo, sign my tablet, Max's t-shirt and even his Domo cap! We talked a lot, he asked me about Romeo, told him he had no idea on the impact he had on someone's life with what he did earlier and that I really, really appeciated it (Romeo is my long-time best friend and the godfather of my 7 months old son, Yanni).
All in all, what set out to be a great day turned out to be awesome and White-Ra, despite his rep and popularity, is one of the greatest on the e-sports scene, and probably the greatest on a human level. Don't ever change Aleksey ''White-Ra'' Krupnik and keep being who you are, for a lot of people on the scene, or otherwise, could learn so much from you.
ra is just a great person, and i am so happy that i met him in person and had the chance to go drink some beer with him he is just nice and cool and i am sure he wont change, he dont even KNOW whats bad manners are
Wow, I wasn't expecting such a response from my comment. I am glad the story reached the heart of so many people :D
Also, for those asking, Romeo got out of the hospital this morning and can now walk without losing all the oxygen in his blood so he should be fine now. Thank you everybody for the kind wishes towards my friend!
All the best for your friend, glad to hear he is allright now! White-ra is just soo great, im so gonna hug him whenever I get the chance to meet him! ^^
white-ra is seriously the most humble, caring player in the community. he goes out of his way for each and every one of his fans because he is simply grateful that they watch him. what a classy guy.
He did smile, a warm smile, and honestly that's when I said to myself, "I can do this!". I'm training hard now and i find that since the event, my ladder games a WAYYYYY less stressful. :b
On April 03 2012 03:27 G-Virus wrote: [start of wall of text]
I just wanted to give you guys a good idea of how much of a great, down to earth guy White-Ra is.
Our story begins last friday around 1:30pm (the 30th of march). Me and my friends Vizion (Max) and n0sp00ne (Romeo) were supposed to go to the Peter Molydeux game jam taking place this week-end, and stop by the mssmtl event over the course of the week-end.
I get to Romeo's place, his stuff isn't ready to go we are running late and I suddenly realize he doesn't look too good: ''We're going to the hospital, I can't breathe.''. Romeo has pretty bad asthma, has cats (which he got rid over the course of the weekend) and, which is kind of ironic, stopped smoking 24 hours before having this attack.
So we rush to the hospital, his breathing becomes more erratic and inconsistent, his eyes are watery and his face is bright red. My friend Max also has asthma and told Romeo to calm down, that he will get to the hospital and they will hook him up to an oxygen supplying machine and that max 4 hours later we would be out.
Needless to say, this isn't the way things turned out.
We got there, waited about 10 minutes. They took him in for the sorting process and he wasn't coming back. At some point, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. He is hooked up to all these machines, even with the o2 mask on he could barely breathe. His osat was below 88 out of 100 (100 hundred being the normal, non-asthmatic people) and was pretty low (Where is House when you need him). An hour passes, two, then three and still no sight of when he is getting out. So I was pacing, going outside to manage Tina, his girlfriend who was very. very scared and saying their son was asking for his father (Romeo, 2 yrs old, awesome kid.) Then came the news he wasn't coming out today, they would keep him in observation until the next morning, but then he would get out. Me and Max left, but Romeo had his android tablet, a wiimote, a classic controller, and a shitload of emulators so he was in good company!
The next morning, me and Max wake up (I spent the night at his place since we decided we would pick up Romeo in the morning and go to the Molyjam after that) and we call the hospital. Romeo still can't breathe, they're analysing his blood now looking for some sort of virus and things weren't looking up. He told us to go without him, but the molyjam was pointless without him since we were going as a team. But we figured we could still go see White-Ra. The worst part was that Romeo was hoping to get out in time for the show, which was not happening. He was pretty depressed when you consider the whole situation and the fact that he was REALLY looking forward to seeing White-Ra in the flesh. His fanboi aspirations wouldn't be fulfilled on this day.
So we leave St-Anicet (google map this shit) and head towards the island. We picked up RokTrooper and TorteDeLini and some hardware and headed for the venue at Concordia. There, we meet a lot of people including Elizabeth, the hottest redhead in the gaming industry, and we just run left and right to get the venue ready to roll on time for the crowd. I crossed paths with White-Ra a couple of times, but didn't want to bother him and was focused on the task at hand (although I gotta say I walked in the staff room at some point and he was filming with his iPhone. I say priviet, guys starts talking to me in Russian and soon realizes I had used up the full extent of my russian.).
Then the show started, White-Ra was on stage, me and Max were watching thinking how much is sucks for Romeo who is a huge fan that he HAD to have this attack on friday and miss the show. I had talked my way into having him sign a bunch of stuff for us but nothing concrete was settled at that point.
Then the second break came aounrd 9pm and I went backstage with this crazy idea: ''Can White-Ra talk to Romeo over the phone? It would mean a lot to him and-'' couldn't finish my sentence and he was ready to make the phone call right away and even asked me where the hospital was! He couldn't go in person since the hospital was an hour and a half away from Concordia but I really appreciated the thought nonetheless. So I set up the phone call, talk to Romeo for a bit (getting an update on his status at the same time) and then I tell him to be ready to have a second attack - passed the phone to Mr Krupnik. He spoke with him for a bit, wishing him a swift recovery and that next time he is in Montreal, he would meet him in person to show him some Special Taktiks! When I took the phone back, Romeo's voice was breaking up (it was later confirmed that he actually cried) and he was sounding a whole lot better, emotionnally at least, then when he first picked up the phone.
After the show, the whole crew went to Reuben's for chow and White-Ra took the time there to sign a poster for Romeo, sign my tablet, Max's t-shirt and even his Domo cap! We talked a lot, he asked me about Romeo, told him he had no idea on the impact he had on someone's life with what he did earlier and that I really, really appeciated it (Romeo is my long-time best friend and the godfather of my 7 months old son, Yanni).
All in all, what set out to be a great day turned out to be awesome and White-Ra, despite his rep and popularity, is one of the greatest on the e-sports scene, and probably the greatest on a human level. Don't ever change Aleksey ''White-Ra'' Krupnik and keep being who you are, for a lot of people on the scene, or otherwise, could learn so much from you.
Hello TL. Romeo here. First things first, I am better now, I can finally walk around a bit and stuff. Here's my side of this magnificent story.
It was saturday night, I was in the hospital since friday afternoon, and the doctor that was on duty cleared out almost all of the patients that remained in the area where I was, so it was empty. Silence. Boredom. You know, Final Fantasy 3 is only fun for a while
I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, missing my kid, my girlfriend, missing the White-Ra event, the Molyjam, etc.
But then. The hospital phone rang. I saw the nurse coming towards me. I was all like AWWWWWWWWW YEA social interaction. It was G. Talked to me for a bit (as he did periodically during my stay). Told him I was okay, able to breathe, but unable to move.
Then came the moment. "Are you ready for another attack?" It was White-Ra. Tears instantaneously filled my eyes, and started dropping down. The talk was brief, but direct and well needed. We hung up. The nurse came up to pick the phone up, looked at me and said: "You okay?"
I was okay. VERY ok.
To White-Ra: Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to your biggest fan ever (no, seriously ), and being so awesome. It, at least, helped me get through all that happened in the last five days. Don't ever change.
To the SC2 community: Thanks for caring. The SC2 community is the best there is. You guys are also awesome.
To my friends: Thanks for providing me with the man-love I needed while everything was happening. I love you guys.
To Romeo, I'm really happy that you're all better now and that you're back with your family. I'm also happy to have met your friends MAx and Dimitrios. I wish you guys luck in the future and hope i get to meet you too someday! Maybe at some other Main Stage Series Event, That would be cool
On April 04 2012 13:07 Siliticx wrote: Romeo, whatever happens i'll make sure You get to meet him at some poinr. Youre my #2 After Kitty meeting Day[9].
On April 04 2012 13:07 Siliticx wrote: Romeo, whatever happens i'll make sure You get to meet him at some poinr. Youre my #2 After Kitty meeting Day[9].
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/RbfAb.jpg)
I get the nerd chills i got yesterday just from reading it all !
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