Subject: [ISSUE] Re: Extra Card Ruling
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:06:39 PDT
From: "Trevor Dwyer" <tdwyer77@hotmail.com>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

[ISSUE] Re: Extra Card Ruling
From: Trevor Dwyer (tdwyer77@hotmail.com)

I have resisted the urge, until now, to reply to any posts on the dojo
that have angered me.  That was until I read a post by Karsten Durotin
about Matt Vienneau.

I am not a close friend of Matt but I have played him a few times and I
have observed him playing the game on other occasions.  I have to say
that I have never enjoyed playing magic against anyone as much as I have
against Matt.

The first time I played Matt was in Toronto at a tournament where the
prize was $1000 for 1st, nothing for 2nd.  We met in the semi-finals and
I was extremely nervous.  While we shuffled, we chatted and Matt made me
feel less tense about playing a professional player in a big prize
tournament.  Matt even told my buddy that he was welcome to watch the
match.  While we played, Matt let me take back moves and gave me tips
while we played an important game.  After playing for a while, some
eliminated players made their way back to where we were playing in the
corner.  These players (including 2 pro-players) decided they were going
to play fooz-ball 10 feet from us.  They got to the point where they
were screaming at the top of their lungs when they scored.  This really
threw me off but as the experienced player Matt was, he didn't even seem
to notice.  When Matt noticed that this was affecting me he politely
told them to shut up (for my benefit) realizing I was too shy to say
anything.  Well Matt ended up winning the match but not because of any
reason other than he was better.  He didn't want to win for any other
reason.  This showed me a great "amount of maturity and sense of
sportsmanlike/appropriate behavior".  (He also went on to defeat Elijah
Pollock to win the tournament).

As for the issue of the extra card, I must agree that the rule is beyond
belief.  However, it seems the judges were only going by what they knew
and cannot be faulted.  So, I agree that the rule sucks and needs to be
changed and that is Matt's point.  Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the
grease.

Now, on to the suggestion that Matt should have been ejected.  So Matt
was whining a bit.  He had a right to.  The rule is unfair.  Ever heard
Wayne Gretzky after a whistle?  The greatest player ever and one of the
biggest whiners in the game.  Ditto for Mario Lemieux.  It comes from a
fierce competitiveness and a love of the game.  If you blatantly cheat,
you get a warning.  If you whine a bit you should be ejected?  I don't
think so.

Matt if you read this, I gotta say I'm with ya on almost every issue
that you write about.  And thanks for making the game more enjoyable for
the people who appreciate your sportsmanship.

One final issue...
Qualifiers for Canadian Nationals.  This was a joke. Some players in the
Friday daytime qualifier went 5-2 and didn't qualify.  The few that
found the bouncing midnight qualifier/disaster only had to win 2 matches
to qualify for our nationals.  Yeah this is fair.  I guess it's not how
you play but when you play...

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