Interview #8 - Doug aka The Meerkat
What brought you to NA?
I found the site from a Google search when I was trying to find information about the NWC carts since Cincinnati was one of the host cities.
Do you have a NWC cart or were you just curious?
I owned a gray cart (#311). There's threads about it since it was the first VGA graded copy and the first to get an 85+ gold grade. I wish I still had it, but I had to sell it for financial reasons.
So were you the original owner/winner?
I wish, the cart would've been a lot cheaper! I think when the NWC was in Cincinnati, it was at the Cincinnati Gardens, but I couldn't get anyone to take me to compete. I doubt I would've won since I had no idea that the best strategy for SMB was to intentionally die at the 10 coin block and I wasn't that good at Tetris back then.
What brought you into the contest fold?
It was kind of random. I'm pretty sure the first contest I played in was the 2012 Bubble Bobble contest. It was a game I owned and enjoyed, so that's how I got involved.
I gather from your user name you're a Bearcat fan. Probably named Doug too... anything more to it?
Not really. I'm a Cincinnati Bearcats fan and my name is Doug. It was basically just a carryover from my ebay username.
Favorite Bearkat sport; football or basketball?
I've used my Bearcats 2009 undefeated season football in my contest screenshots before, but they lost in the Sugar Bowl that season to Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. The basketball team has two NCAA Championships, so it's a tough call. If I have to pick one, I'd go with football.
Did you go to UC(CU?)?
I played high school baseball and hoped for a scholarship, but I had torn up both of my knees by my senior year so I ended up going to a small commuter college instead. I actually went on to train in MMA for a few years afterwards, but that's another story.
What do you think of Brian Kelly?
I don't think much of any coach that walks out on an undefeated team on their way to the Sugar Bowl at the team banquet after the regular season.
Big East or American Conference?
I'm guessing you mean the old Big East when the Bearcats were in it and not the current basketball only conference, so I'll say the Big East. When they still had football and the champion had an automatic bid to a (then) BCS game, it was much better. Unfortunately the Bearcats didn't get into a "Power 5" conference when all of the realignment was going on, so they're stuck in the AAC for now.
Yeah my dad's family is from Pittsburgh and a number of them are Pitt alumni so I always root for them. The ACC is nice but I rather liked the body bag games (especially against Huggin's Bearcats) of the old Big East
Browns or Bengals?
To paraphrase former Bengals coach Sam Wyche, I'm from Cincinnati, not Cleveland! The Bengals haven't been the most successful franchise, but they're still my hometown team. I was alive for both of their Super Bowl losses to the 49ers, so I just hope I get to see a Super Bowl win in my lifetime.
Columbus or Ann Arbor?
Ann Arbor since Bearcats and Wolverines fans both hate Ohio State.
Predictions for Bearcats @ Wolverines?
Hopefully a Bearcats win.
Travis Kelce or Brent Celek?
Both were great players for the Bearcats, but I'll give the edge to Brent Celek
Best Bearcat game you've ever been to?
I don't get to go to that many games in person, but I used to try to go to the Cincinnati/Louisville "Keg of Nails" rivalry game. I wish they would have kept that series going after Louisville moved to the ACC. They were a lot of fun.
I'm an A's fan. Do you remember the '90 World Series?
Sure, the Reds went wire to wire and swept the A's in the World Series. Other than a few scattered playoff appearances, the Reds haven't done much since then.
Same for the A's. 25+ years and all they have to show for it is a Brad Pitt movie and a clip of Jeremy Giambi being thrown out by Jeter
Pete Rose or Johnny Bench?
Wow, that's a tough one. Pete Rose is the all time hits leader and he's from Cincinnati, so I'd have to go with Pete.
Joey Votto or Adam Dunn?
Joey Votto, not even close.
Who gets their shit together first, the Bengals or the Browns? And by that I mean, actually competes for a championship in any real sense
Probably the Bengals. Until last year they had made the playoffs five seasons in a row even though they lost in the first round each year. The Browns just seem like they are in nonstop rebuilding mode.
Carson Palmer or... what's-his-face. The ginger from TCU
Carson Palmer was the better QB, but Andy Dalton has won more games although I'd say it has more to do with having a better overall team around him.
Married? Kids?
Nope. I'm not married and don't have any kids.
I'm guessing Ms. bearkitty is the gf?
For as long as she's willing to put up with me!
What do you do for a living?
I was a supervisor at an assisted living facility that was part of a nursing home, but it closed down, so I'm out of work at the moment.
So wait, are all the comments skinny makes about retirement homes just a coincidence?
Yep. As far as I know his comments are related to me being retired from the contests. I don't think he knew that I actually worked at a retirement home for 16 years.
Was Happy Gillmore an accurate depiction of retirement homes?
Luckily not the one I worked at, but I'm sure some of them can get pretty crazy.
Best retirement home stories?
I never worked out on the floor, so I didn't really see anything too crazy. I'm sure the nurses and nurses aides probably have some wild stories though.
Any of the seniors ever make a run for it?
A few would wander off, but they usually got caught about the time they went out the door. The worst one was a guy that would actually hitch hike uptown to the bar.
Where'd you work before the nursing home?
I started there when I was 16, so that was actually my first job.
How's your dad doing nowadays?
My dad is fine, but my step dad had a fall a little over a week ago. He cut up his arm pretty bad and tore his quadriceps tendon, which isn't good since he'll be turning 80 next month. He got out of the hospital already and he's currently in a Care Center for physical therapy. He seems to be doing fairly well with it so hopefully he'll bounce back. He's in good shape and very active for his age.
I can relate. My mother-in-law fell and broke her wrist right before she came out here to help with babies. So now I have a one-armed senior citizen trying to juggle twins and/or a toddler. I keep waiting for some sort of horrible phone call about someone falling/being dropped down the stairs
Sorry to hear that, I know the feeling. Hopefully things get better on your end soon.
How are things going overall?
A little rough given the situation with my step dad and that my mom is currently home alone trying to take care of everything on that end, but still needs help from time to time. Ms. Bearkitty has a lot going on personally and healthwise, so it's tough to catch a break. It seems like some kind of issue is popping up almost daily, but hopefully it will calm down sooner than later.
I'm not a religious man, but I will "wish" the Ms. the best. Nothing too serious I hope
I'm not the religious type either, so wishes are much appreciated. I don't think there's anything life threatening, but there will probably be some kind of surgeries in the future.
Seems like a lot of regulars are having to deal with that stupid thing called life. I know it's keeping Santa away too.
Yeah, it does. I can't speak for what Santa has going on, but it does seem like life issues are hitting a few regulars all around the same time. Hopefully they all pull through just fine.
I wanted an interview after reading what Other Doug (gloves) had to say. I seriously will go with this as long as you want. I've lived in a run down duplex and scrubbing toilets for a living. I've slept in the truck I had at the time making minimum wage. I had a time where I was making good money and didn't want for anything to going back so scraping by due to hard times. I've been at the top of several hobbies, to where I was using spare change to be able to buy a six pack of beer while becoming a Hall of Fame NES player in the mean time. Ms. Bearkitty is fairly private, but I was really impressed with how open other Doug was with his interview and I'm hoping that I can share enough to touch someone with the highs and lows that I've been through. That's why I said when we started that I've been on NA since 2011 and most people just know me as the weekly contests version of Shawn Michaels and don't realize that they really don't know me at all. You've done a great job with these interviews. It's easy to think you know a member from years of posts, but you really don't know the true person behind the username.
I think we can all relate to the lows. Were you ever actually living in the truck?
Like I mentioned, I worked at the nursing home for 16 years so I started out as a housekeeper making minumum wage and working my way up to eventually being the assisted living supervisor making decent money before getting laid off due to it closing down
What about nowadays? You've obviously got a lot going on with the stepfather, and health issues, and the job closing down. What do you do for fun, or is there even time for that?
Free time is pretty hard to come by for sure. Since it's baseball season, I usually just try to relax on the couch for a few hours and watch the Reds games in the evenings. I wish they were having a better year, but as a baseball fan, I still enjoy watching the games.
What happened with your baseball career? Gradual injuries, or was there a specific incident where you got hurt? Play any other sports back in the day?
Basically it turned out that I had bad knees and they just couldn't take the running. I did some MMA training for a few years, but I had to give that up due to the wear and tear.
Ever do any actual fights?
Not professionally. Our sparring sessions were basically real fights though. Between those and about four hours of training six days a week it was pretty rough. Between my knee issues, my back started acting up and I had to give it up right about the time I would've been ready for actual competition.
What position were you?
I was a right fielder when I played baseball. We had a Cleveland Indians scout come out and he compared me to Manny Ramirez. Basically he was saying I could hit the ball a mile, but my fielding and throwing weren't exactly suited for playing the field.
Ever try to slide and field a ball, but your cleat plants and flips you over your head? That was always my favorite Many being Manny moment
I don't remember ever sliding to field a ball. With my luck, I probably would've ended up with a broken leg if that happened.
I think they'd call that Dougy being Dougy
Did you have awesome dreads too?
I've always had fairly short hair. I don't think I could pull off dreads even if my hair was long enough.
Are you a QB, RB, WR, or O-line?
If I was a football player, I'd most likely be a linebacker even though that wasn't one of the choices. I got recruited to play high school football by the next town over to be a linebacker because my school didn't have a team and I was already the size of a NFL linebacker back then.
Dream job?
My dream job would be anything that let's me work at my own pace and pays well. I always wanted to be a professional baseball player, so that would be my dream job.
Have any re-occurring nightmares?
I don't get a lot of sleep due to insomnia, since obviously I've got a lot of stress going on. Luckily, in the rare times that I do get sleep I don't normally have dreams or nightmares.
Beer, wine, or liquor?
I like beer. Cincinnati has a lot of good local craft breweries. I don't drink wine often, but I'll have a glass of red wine or champagne once in a while. I don't care much for liquor. If anybody watches Archer, I can handle Bloody Marys, but I can't drink the stuff straight.
Best restaurant in Cincy?
It's tough to mention Cincinnati without thinking of Skyline Chili, so that's the obvious choice. Cincinnati has a lot of great restaurants though.
Best Ohio beer?
You can't go wrong with anything from Rhinegeist or Christian Moerlein, but I'll give the edge to Moerlein.
Best Cincy beer?
Both of the breweries from the last question are from Cincinnati, but if I have to pick one specific beer I'd say Moerlein OTR.
Wrestling is obviously a huge passion for you. Where does that come from?
Growing up in the early '80s, the old WWF was as big as Saturday morning cartoons. It was a lot more fun back then before dirt sheets and the internet that basically exposed the business. When I was watching it as a kid I could basically just enjoy it at face value as opposed to watching it as an adult and having a fairly decent knowledge of what's going on before it plays out on TV.
Top ten wrestlers of all time?
In no particular order, I'll just go with the first ten that come to mind.
1. Shawn Michaels
2. Randy Savage
3. Ric Flair
4. CM Punk
5. Hulk Hogan
6. AJ Styles
7. Ted DiBiase
8. Mr. Perfect
9. Rowdy Roddy Piper
10. Kurt Angle
Ever seen Hell Comes to Frogtown?
Nope. I had to look it up to see what it was about. It looks like Roddy Piper played the main character, but I don't watch a lot of movies.
If you were a wrestler yourself, what would your name be?
Whatever Vince McMahon tells me since he signs the paychecks. I think if you're lucky, the writers will give you a list of names to pick from based on whatever gimmick they come up with.
Ever think about pursuing the dream like Andy (Megamanfan) or Jimbo?
There was a developmental promotion called the Heartland Wrestling Association based in Cincinnati that sent several wrestlers to WCW and the WWF/E. I started having knee issues in high school when I played baseball and I did some MMA training for a few years after that, but by then I was in my mid 20s and it probably would've been too late to start with no real experience and have a legitimate shot of making the WWF/E.
Hobbies outside of games and wrestling?
I'm just a sports fan in general. My main focus is the Cincinnati teams (Bearcats, Reds, Bengals), but I watch everything from soccer to hockey to UFC.
Favorite movie?
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I like the entire Indiana Jones franchise, but Sean Connery was great as Indy's dad, so it narrowly edges out Raiders of the Lost Ark as my favorite
I saw that at the drive-in with my dad. I would of been 4 or 5. No word on whether Julian Glover rotting to pieces caused me to wet my pants.
After already seeing the ending scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when the ark is opened and most of the stuff from Temple of Doom, I thought that was fairly tame by comparision.
Best movie set in Ohio?
If I recall correctly, the beginning of Rain Man was set in Cincinnati and it was a pretty good movie.
Have you seen Gummo?
Nope. I had to look that one up too. It doesn't really sound like my type of movie so I guess I didn't miss much.
...it isn't really a movie for anyone
I hadn't even heard of that movie before. I had to look it up to see what it was even about.
Favorite show?
This is a tough one since I don't really watch that many TV shows regularly. House M.D. was my favorite show when it was still on even though I didn't really like the series finale.
Favorite band/album?
Wow, another tough question since I listen to all types of music, literally anything ranging from Britney Spears to Metallica. I usually lean more towards rock, so I'll say Metallica for the band and Master of Puppets for the album.
Best song on Master of Puppets?
Master of Puppets, but Battery is a close second.
Favorite book?
The last book I read was a biography of Mickey Mantle called "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the end of America's Childhood". Being a baseball fan, I also enjoy learning about the history of the sport and the older players, so that was probably my favorite book that I've read.
Dream contest line-up, 2 per genre
Wow, this will be tough. I Guess I have to keep it to games that have already been played so here it goes:
Action/Platformer: Super Mario Bros./Mega Man
Arcade: Donkey Kong/Pac-Man
Beat Em Up: Double Dragon 2/Batman Returns
Puzzle: Tetris/Klax
Shooter: 1943/Guerrilla War
Sports: Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!/Excitebike
What SNES contest game would you like to see?
SimCity. I've actually been able to get the "ending" screen for building a city with a 600k+ population. I think my personal best was around 615k. I was pretty excited to be able to achieve that.
10 favorite games of all time
Another tough one. I'll probably just go with the first ten I can think of in no particular order.
1. Super Mario Bros
2. Mega Man 2
3. Punch Out!!
4. The Legend of Zelda
5. Castlevania
6. Super C
7. Mortal Kombat II
8. Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo
9. Daytona USA
10. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
Those were literally the first ten games I thought of. I probably could come up with a completely different top 10 tomorrow.
Mind expanding on what made you pick those ten games?
They were literally the first ten games that came to mind. If you asked me tomorrow I'd probably come up with ten different ones.
Worst game you've ever played
This is another tough one. The first game that comes to mind is Dragster for the Atari 2600. I know I'm old, but that game sucked even back then.
I see you have awards for participating in the DKC and Star Fox competitions. What were those like?
They were just held at local Blockbuster video stores, so I don't remember them being all that special. I was pretty good at DKC, but terrible at Star Fox.
I vaguely recall taking part in a contest at the fairgrounds playing HyperZone
I've never played it. If they had a contest for it around here, I didn't know anything about it.
2017 contest champion predictions?
Tables w/ Chairs seems to have a solid lead, but if I had the time to play a full schedule, I'd like to think I'd be in the hunt.
Target Renegade prediction?
Gutsman004 had a solid effort the last time we played and he is due for a win.
Looks like you got 2nd last time in Target Renegade with 24,000ish to guillavoie's 31,000 and change. Not a fan though?
It was one of the many games that I rented as a kid. It's a decent game, but there are a lot of better beat em ups on the NES.
It looks like a Double Dragon. Too bad it doesn't play like one
It does look similar to the first Double Dragon, but it's not even close to being as good.
Spy Hunter prediction?
Man, this is just a guess, but I'll go with Gloves.
Klax prediction?
Red, if he plays. I finished a distant second to him last time.
Contra prediction?
Me if it's high score and I get time to play. I've maxed out the score under TG rules.
Star Force prediction?
Another wild guess, but I'll go with skinny since he does really well at shooters.
Who would you like to see get interviewed?
Tom (rdrunner). He was my arch rival back during the 2013 season and he seems like a pretty reserved guy, so I think he would be a good interview.
Who would you most like to see return to the contests?
I'll have to go with Tom again. He's as good as it gets and motivates everyone he plays against to elevate their game.
Favorite contest week?
It's probably a toss up between Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! and Double Dragon 2. I think I've pretty much hit my peak when it comes to both games, but I'll go with MTPO since a fraction of a second can make a big difference when the rules call for the quickest time.
Worst contest week?
Even though I won the contest, Gauntlet II has to be one of the most boring games that I've ever played. I thought I'd pick a puzzle game, but that was tedious.
What happened to our friend Shane anyways?
I believe he still posts on the site, but he hasn't played in the contests in a while. I'm sure he's sitting in his game room playing Ninja Gaiden while listening to the Ultimate Warrior's entrance theme on a loop.
Word association, first one that comes to mind
skinny
Shooter specialist
Bimmy
Dedicated
guillavoie
Champion
rdrunner
The best
Shane
Trash talker
JimTendo
Artistic
Bea
Tough
bertsampson
Competitor
Dennis Fleaman
Banned
Do you know the details of what went down with Mr. Fleaman? I pieced together some of it when I was archiving, and some more through talking to Bimmy and Gui
It's probably not my place to comment, but I'm guessing you were probably able to piece together enough to figure it out so I'll just leave it at that.
Mog
Contest original
TooLegit
Solid player
T Warwick
Snoopy
Red
Skilled
Guts
Intense
arnpoly
Natural
Was there a paddling involved with the Hall of Fame initiation?
Thankfully no.
Will there be paddling for the HoF initiation now that you're on the committee?
I'm guessing that would have to be put up to a vote, but if someone has put in the time into the contests to build a Hall of Fame resume, they've probably taken enough abuse over the years, so I'd give them a pass.
Does the HoF have a super fancy members-only inner circle thread like the one those other jerk-asses are always going on about?
There's a HOF committee thread for members, but I'm not in the inner circle so I don't really know what goes on there.
SNES or Genesis?
SNES
Battletoads or Double Dragon?
Double Dragon easily. I never cared much for Battletoads. I beat it once several years ago and haven't had any desire to play it again since.
Major League or Bull Durham?
Major League. I haven't seen it in years, but it's a really funny movie.
Count Chocula or Franken Berry?
Count Chocula
GI Joe or Transformers
G1 Transformers all the way. I thought the first and second series (1984-85) were amazing in how detailed they were.
Trump or Trudeau?
I'm really not into politics, so I'll just go with Trump since I have to pick one.
Canada or Mexico?
Mexico has warmer weather and good food, so I'll go with Mexico. Nothing against Canada, but I don't like cold weather or those gravy covered french fries.
Brian Kelly or Chip Kelly or Jim Kelly or Kelly's Heroes?
Jim Kelly is a Hall of Fame QB and we have the same birthday, so he's the clear winner there.
How about if skinny wins the championship this year, you change your name to meetkatdoug. If he doesn't I'll give you gaming skills props in my sig for a week?
Even though I'd feel pretty safe taking that bet, I don't think I'd want to risk it since I'm not an active competitor and don't have any direct involvement in the challenge.
Mbd linked some surprisingly lucid posts from skinny's past? Is his current posting style a persona he's adopted, or have the Natty Ices started to go to his head?
I'd go with the Natty Ice. That stuff can seriously kill some brain cells.
Crap beer of choice?
Busch or Keystone. When you get that low it doesn't really matter what you get.
What's the Hooters story? Stories?
It's basically been my watering hole of choice for the past 15 years. There used to be one maybe two minutes up the street in Beechmont, but it closed a few years ago. There's still three within 20 minutes of me in Newport, Florence and Springdale. The one in Newport is right on the river, so it's pretty awesome since it's literally across the river from Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium and they even have a free shuttle to the games. As far as stories go, the one up the street from me basically got shut down because of what was allowed to go on there. I mean it was literally Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas level stuff since you keep bringing up obscure movies.
I could go into more detail, but I've probably seen enough that it could be its own interview.
Like, hallucinating a giant lizard sitting at the bar?
I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be on LSD or something during that scene. Beer is about as extreme as I get and I don't think I've ever drank enough to hallucinate anything.
Well you can't leave us hanging. Top 3 Hooters incidents?
I can honestly say that I had no part in them, but the activities allowed to go on weren't exactly legal. I'm guessing that anyone reading can come up with a decent guess regarding what they let slide since I don't think there was anything that they wouldn't let go on after hours.
When I was maybe 10 I saw a billboard for Hooters in St. Louis. It said something about a shrimp (or clam...) special and I really, really wanted to go. My grandmother refused...
I doubt that your grandmother would enjoy Hooters.
...my dad explained it to me later
I'm sure he wouldn't have minded stopping there!
What would it take to get you out of retirement?
Basically enough free time to play a full schedule where I could give a 100% effort each week. I had a pretty good run and a Hall of Fame career already, so I'm content staying retired for now at least.
What is the last game you actually sat down and beat? Double Dragon II?
It's probably been over a month since I've played anything. I think I just played a quick game of Ninja Gaiden on the NES Classic the last time.
Why is Bea so terrible at video games?
There seems to be some kind of running thing about her struggles with Mega Man 2 that I don't know how legit they are when she can run through games like Ghosts N Goblins and Ikari Warriors. Even if she seriously can't beat Mega Man 2, she's not terrible at video games.
Ever have any wardrobe accidents?
I'm always wearing t-shirts and jeans so that's never been an issue.
Think you could beat up Bea? Think you could beat her at video games?
I guess anything is possible, but even if I could beat her up, I'm guessing that I'd walk away in pretty rough shape too. As far as video games go, my answer is pretty much the same as the last question. I'm sure she could beat me at certain games like Ghosts N Goblins or Ikari Warriors, but still feel like I'd be able to win more times than I'd lose.
No puzzle award though? Seems the resume is a bit incomplete...
Puzzle was always my least favorite genre. It seems like the players that are good at puzzle games really excel at them and I just don't have the patience. I still like to think I'm above average, but I just can't get to that top tier.
Who do you think will win the bet between skinny and I?
I have a tough time imagining that skinny would make a bet if he wasn't confident that he could win, so I'll go with skinny (sorry man!).
If I told you I was sitting on a 35,000+ Target Renegade score, and Battletoads Double Dragon was the first game I ever owned, would you change your prediction of our bet?
No leaking that info to him either!
Yeah, I'd say having that info would change my mind. I still don't see him taking a bet that he doesn't think he can win, but it sounds like you have an advantage there.
Hardest game you've ever beaten?
Battletoads is the first game that comes to mind. I remember being so frustrated trying to beat that game that when I finally did, I literally took the cart out of the NES, went down to the local game store and traded it in because I never wanted to play it again.
I've never done that, but that closest I got was with Space Football
Actually I think I did throw Double Dragon II this year after it f'd me over in the contest
It seems like it only took me about two weeks to beat it, but Battletoads is a really frustrating game, so once I finished it I had absolutely no desire to play it again.
It's definitely a game that has to be learned by trial and error for better or worse. At least it controls like a dream; I just finished off the NES version of Battletoads Double Dragon and that version handles like shit. Half the time I try to dash into an enemy and he saunters over instead and takes a beating
I played through Battletoads and Double Dragon a year or so ago and I didn't really care for it either. It seemed to be easier than Battletoads, but the controls did seem to be off. I'll just stick to Double Dragon and Double Dragon 2.
Best piece in your collection? Assuming you even have a collection anymore. Otherwise, what was your best non-NWC piece?
I got out of the collecting side of the hobby a few years back. As far as value goes, the best non-NWC piece I had was a Stadium Events cart that I sold to K.Thrower, which I believe he still owns. Probably the coolest item (in my opinion) was a basically unused CIB test market NES Deluxe Set with all of the original serial number matching paperwork.
Last game you bought?
Does the NES Classic Edition count? I had to sell off my carts about a year ago to cover some expenses and I was lucky enough to get a NES Classic Edition at retail so I just play my games on it.
So your entire collection is gone? I know you had sold your SNES games awhile back
Yeah, financial issues and such. I had planned on getting a PowerPak or an Everdrive, but I ended up with a NES Classic Edition.
How many games were in your collection before it was purged? I know you had the competition carts as well
I never had a large collection compared to a lot of members. The most games I had at one time was roughly about 100 NES, 50 SNES and around 30 Game Boy. I had about 200 games total. Since you mentioned the competition carts, I did have a few rare SNES games including both the DKC and Star Fox competition carts.
200 games, including Stadium Events, NWC, and the two competition carts? That is crazy.
Yeah it was. Short of a gold NWC, a SNES Powerfest '94 or the Campus Challenge carts, I basically had everything I could've wanted as far as a NES/SNES collection since going for full sets was never anything I had an intention of doing. I tried to focus on quality over quantity. That was basically something I carried over from my years collecting vintage baseball cards. I would focus on trying to get the key/HOF player cards from a specific set as opposed to trying to put together complete sets.
Most valuable baseball card you had?
A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. I was lucky enough to own seven of them over my years in the hobby. I collected vintage toys and golden/silver age comic books before that so I've had the opportunity to own a lot of amazing items over multiple hobbies.
Okay, I know you touched upon selling your valuable games because you needed the funds, but amount of money this stuff is worth is crazy. Did those Mickey Mantle cards buy you a house or what?
If I still owned the stuff I did back then now, I have no doubt I could've paid for a house in cash, probably two. I got in early on a lot of these items before the prices took off. In the late '90s myself and a guy from Miami had the two largest known collections of sealed G1 Transformers. He actually had a complete 1984-87 sealed G1 set. I had everything from the 1984-85 series along with a few rarer sealed figures from the 1986 and 1987 series. Everything I had was in case fresh mint condition. This was in the early days of eBay and I came across a guy in San Diego that I got most of my figures from. I sold my collection to the guy in Miami for $7500 in either 1997 or 1998 because a lot of mine were upgrades over what he had, so now that there's AFA grading and gold level figures go for thousands each, I probably would've had a six figure collection of Transformers alone. I had a sealed GI Joe collection that was fairly impressive as well. Back then the most expensive figures might cost a couple hundred dollars, so I probably could've made a fortune if I still had them. I really don't dwell on it. When I got my Stadium Events cart I think I paid a then record $3500 or something. Now they go for around three times that. I try to focus on the positive side that I owned a lot of awesome collectibles over the years that I couldn't even dream of affording now. When I collected comic books I found a More Fun Comics #52 in the wild at a small comic shop in Florence, KY. Besides being a key golden age comic, it's literally as rare as a gold NWC since there are only about two dozen known copies. Being able to tell stories like that and just having the opportunity to own some of the top items from multiple hobbies mostly due to lucky breaks means more to me personally than whatever all of it would be worth today.
Tell us some interesting collecting stories. How'd you get the Mickeys, or the Stadium Events?
Probably the most interesting collecting story I've got was the one I already mentioned about finding the More Fun Comics #52 in the wild at a small local comic shop given that there are only around 20 known copies. I got all of the '52 Topps Mantle cards off ebay and I won the Stadium Events in a NA auction so there's not much of a story behind those. I was able to find a lot of my sealed G1 Transformers by networking with what was a fairly small group of collectors on ebay back in the late 90s. Usually if someone had one or two sealed items listed, it was worth sending them a quick PM to see if they had any others, because it seemed like they did more often than not.
Weren't those Mantle cards worth a ton even back in the 90s? I had tons of Beckets and recall a pretty good 5 figure amount...
They've gone up about 10 times what they were in the '90s. I'm not sure what the exact Beckett price for a NM condition card was back then, but I think it was about what a low grade card sells for currently.
How'd you front the money for this stuff? Live off ramen and Cheerios fo 5 years?
I only had one hobby at a time, so once I cashed out, I basically just rolled the funds into the next one. I was making fairly decent money for several years and the ramen comment isn't much of a stretch. I've always had a fairly inexpensive lifestyle and managed to stay debt free, so I was able to pay the bills and have quite a bit left over.
Biggest profit margin on an item?
Since I sold my Transformers collection all at once. I guess that would count since I sold them for about 4-5 times what I had invested in them individually. As far as a single item goes, I made roughly a $2000 profit on one of the '52 Topps Mantles.
Did all that money go to strip clubs, blow, or Hooters?
I wish! Since times have been rougher in the last couple years, it basically all went to cover bills and unexpected expenses.
Think you'll get back into collecting anything?
Probably not unless I win the lottery or somehow come into a lot of money. I honestly don't miss any of that stuff. It was cool owning things like a NWC cart or a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, but the "new" feeling wears off fast. If I got to a point where I could start collecting again and money wasn't an issue, I might get back into something.
Did you buy a Switch?
Nope. The last current gen system I owned was a PS3. I don't have a lot of free time, so I don't get much gaming in at all anymore.
Gonna buy a Switch?
I doubt it. Funds are pretty tight at the moment and I just don't have the free time right now to justify buying one.
If I was to invite the other interviewee, Richard, into this interview at some point for some sort of guest spot, who would be the better subject?
I guess it would depend on the topic or the questions. I'm sure he's an interesting guy.
Who do you see more of yourself in, Richard, Jimbo, or skinny?
I'd have to say skinny, although he probably takes the trash talking even farther than I did.
Who will get their first gold first; James, Jimbo, Richard (he gets an asterisk on his existing one), Michael, ninjistar, or Stryphos?
Probably Michael. He seems like the most likely to really hit on a game one week and get a win.
Is guts gone for good this time?
I doubt it. It looks like he took the last two weeks off, but I'm sure he will be back at it.
Ever play video games drunk? Is there a progression of improvement and then rapid decline, or are you a shitshow from the beginning?
Yeah, but not often. I wouldn't say that there's any improvement at all. I pretty much start out at my regular skill level and slowly go downhill from there.
If you were to make your own NES homebrew, what game would it be?
My first choice would be a college football version of Tecmo Super Bowl, but I think that's already been done. It's just as well since I'm awful at math and there's no way I'd be able to code a NES game even if I could come up with a better idea.
All-time favorite NA thread?
I don't really have a single favorite thread. I'll go with the easy answer and say the Weekly Contest threads in general since they are my favorite part of the site.
Did you know 1943 champion JD?
Sadly, my only interaction with him was when he encouraged me to post a score during the 2012 1943 contest, but unfortunately I saw the contest late and didn't get a score in. I remembered that exchange when the 2015 contest came up and I dedicated my score to him to try and make up for it. He seemed like a great guy. I wish I had a chance to have gotten to know him better.
FMK. We're gonna tread dangerous water this time
Bea, Redneck RN, Miss Trixy
That's treading too dangerously for me!
FMK
James, Richard, Jimbo
I can't really answer this one either since I basically just think of them together as the Colorado Crew. I don't like any of them enough to want to do the first two parts and I wouldn't really want to kill one since they all seem pretty cool.
Fiiiiiine
FMK
The Dark Queen, The Lindas, the transsexual from Final Fight
Okay, this game somehow seems a little less weird with fictional characters. F-Linda, M-The Dark Queen, K-Poison and Roxy from Final Fight
FMK
Kickle, Bea, Tentacle Kickle & Bea hybrid
Seriously, you like these FMK questions! I like Jimbo's cartoons and Bea seems to help inspire them, so hopefully they all stick around.
FMK
A Mantle '52, a sealed G1 Optimus, a Stadium Events cart
And again with the FMK and they keep getting weirder... F - Stadium Events M- '52 Mantle K-the sealed G1 Prime. G1 Prime doesn't go for a lot due to the high production numbers. Finding a sealed G1 Megatron is way tougher and worth a lot more. Anyone that ever watched the cartoon knows Megaton is cooler. I saw the 1986 Transformers movie in the theater and I was the only kid that actually wanted to see Megaton beat Prime when they fought head to head.
FMK
Richard wearing that wig, skinny wearing his princess tiara, Jimbo wearing his My Little Pony getup
I'd just kill all of them before that mental picture is stuck in my head.
How we can get Bea to rue the day... got any ideas?
Bea will probably will kill me, but if Jimbo can come up with some kind of Metal Man/Kickle hybrid with tentacles, I'm pretty sure she would rue the day she saw that. Sorry Bea!
I like where you're going with that. He just needs to bring Carmen SanBea-iego into the mix and turn up the weirdness another notch and we'll be set. PM'ing him now.
I'm sure Bea will hunt me down Predator style for coming up with that idea.
Best trash talk you ever laid down?
My best trash talk would have to be everything me and Shane said to each other. If people look through your archive thread, there's some crazy stuff in there.
Who would win at video games, you, or other Doug?
It probably would depend on the game. He seems to be better at shooters than I am, but overall I think I could win, although it might not be by a large margin.
Rank the video game talents:
guillavoie, Red, Doug, Bea, table
I think we all have different talents, but I'll go for it. 1. Me 2. Guillavoie 3. Bea 4. Tables 5. Red
Opposite ranking who is the worst at games
Jimbo, James, Shane, Toxie
It's tough to say who's worst. I don't think any of them have a career win so it seems like a wash.
Rank the following video game talents
doug, bert, skinny, Brock, Richard, guts
1. Me 2.Bert 3. Guts 4. You 5. skinny 6. Richard
So then would you call Richard's championship a fluke, where he took advantage of a temporary void of talent?
Tournaments are just the luck of the draw and apparently Richard is pretty good at Adventure Island. I'd consider it fortune that his one career win was in the tournament finals. A championship is a championship.
Does it piss you off he won a tournament while the fates have conspired against you winning one?
It doesn't bother me at all. I never put much stock into the tournaments. They are fun, but they allow for someone to survive the first two rounds and possibly end up with a championship by being good at the finals game. I put more stock in the regular season championships because you're competing against everyone across all genres for an entire season instead of relying on the luck of the draw. The winners just worked within the system, so it is what it is. If I was able to stay a contest moderator, I probably would have brought this up, but in the end these are Bimmy's contests and they are highly successful so I'm probably in the minority when it comes to the tournaments.
This kind of sounds like the argument against implementing a playoffs in FBS football. Yeah, a postseason mean the best team doesn't necessarily come out on top (any given Sunday and all that), but if you bring your A-Game you certainly have a pretty good shot. Would people like March Madness as much if the regular season ACC or Big 12 champ automatically got the title?
I guess the players that make Tier 1 would be similar to conference champions. The main difference is that everyone on here plays each other all season instead of being separated into tiers from the beginning.
What about the previous finals format where everyone was head-to-head with 3 games, one of their choice each, and a game picked by bimmy? That would remove a lot of the luck-of-the-draw and almost turns it into a three game series
Granted if you got matched up with, say, arnpoly and the random game was Battletoads and he picked Puzznic you would be all sorts of fucked. But it still seems like a good system
I'm just not a fan of a playoff system. The regular season champion proved themselves each week against every player and over every genre for a full season. If a playoff was done for fun, that would be fine, but I think the regular season champion was the best player that year because they had to be consistently on the top of their game each week.
So would you say the undefeated 2007 Patriots should be recognized as the NFL champions that year?
No. In the NFL they aren't playing every team each season. During a NA season, each player is competing against the the entire field week in and week out. If you're looking for a sports analogy, the weekly contests would be like NASCAR, which also has an unnecessary playoff system now, but NA doesn't rely on TV ratings going down if the champion has it locked up with a few weeks left.
Are you though? Red's attendance is sporadic, Bea was the same until this season, table didn't even join up until the end of last season, Gloves seems to only play the shooters and whatever else catches his fancy, bert and Swift are MIA, and guts appears to have quit again. And I can say from archiving that attendance was even more spotty the further back you go.
Now of course regular season and tournament champion are both recognized, as there are awards for both, so I think bimmy and gui must agree with you on at least some level.
The names you dropped are making my point. In any given week you may not only be competing against the regulars, but you may get a random participant that's great at that week's game. There are awards for both now, but I still feel that the regular season champion should be rewarded for playing the entire season instead of declaring the tier 1 tournament winner champion. Richard won tier 1 last year, but Bea had a better score under the same rule set, but she was in tier 2. If a single championship is going to be recognized, I think it should go to the season champion and not who wins the tier 1 tournament. Nothing against Richard, but his single career win was in the finals and he was beaten by Bea in a lower tier under the same rules. I think bertsampson won the season title and didn't even make the finals. That just makes no sense to me when he was the best player over the entire season.
Well to be clear, nothing has actually ever been "declared." Other than the column I made in the archives. Which could always be expanded to include regular season titles.
And bert made his own bed. He could of beaten that Richard score if he wanted to
The best teams don't always win. The Niners were the best team in the NFL in 2011, 2012, and 2013 as far as I'm concerned. And they got nothing to show for it. Just the way she goes.
I think the regular season champion was to play against everyone in each genre and should be recognized as the season champion. The simple solution would be just to count the single season and tournament champions separately, but I still think those should be just for fun. Bea beat Richard under the same rule set, but Bea doesn't get recognized as a champion because she was in tier 2. The tournaments fully weighted on the final round making it luck of the draw since a player could win the first and second rounds, but finish fourth in the finals due to not being good at that game and get eliminated. It just seems like a flawed system for declaring a champion to me.
Would you say a playoff forces you to perform when it counts? One game for all the marbles, no excuses. There's something to be said about performing under pressure
I did everything I could to give a 100% effort each week during the regular season contests, so I never felt any additional pressure personally. You definitely have to give your best effort during tournament weeks to make sure that you have a chance of moving on or winning. There's no option to post a participation score and move on to playing the next game like there is during the regular season, so there is a lot more pressure to perform at a high level.
This time, rankings, but I'm putting you with the less heralded elite players
The Mexican Runner, doug, pegboy, Andy_Bogomil, Mog
Again, I'll put myself at 1. Everyone else can be second.
So would you say Tom is the only superior talent in all the retro lands?
I don't know if he's the only one, but he's probably the best known NES player in the world so if I'm second to him, that's still pretty good.
How close do you think the margin is between Tom and you?
That's a tough one. I know back in 2013, I was able to beat him in several contests, but he still probably beat me at least 3 out of 4 times. I seemed to be better at sports games than him. We seemed to be fairly even at beat em ups. He's probably got the edge on me at platformers. I have no doubt that he's better than me at shooters and puzzle games. I guess the margin is close enough that I can compete with him, but he's probably going to win more often than not.
Would a hybrid of red, table, Bea and Shane be able to take you down? In video games or in wrestling?
The only hybrid that would scare me would be one of Tom and Chuck Norris. Nobody could beat that.
Is talent God-given?
I guess it depends on what kind of talent. Physical talent or at least athletic talent is something I believe that you're born with and can train to improve. If you mean gaming talent, I think anybody can be good if they practice enough.
As Santa once asked you, how do you stay so humble?
I'll stick with my original answer from the question that got cut from the Hall of Fame interview. I'm not sure that being humble is something I've ever been described as since I'm fairly confident in my skills, but I do try to stay realistic at the same time.
What would you of done if you didn't make the HoF first class?
If I didn't make the first HOF class, I may have been in trouble since I had already retired and arnpoly and Bea will probably have better career stats than me after this year since I basically only played two full seasons like Tom did. I did seriously consider returning full time this season, but with everything going on I knew I couldn't give 100% each week and if I'm going to compete, I want to give my best effort.
Which member of the Breakfast Club would you be?
Probably Judd Nelson's character. It doesn't hurt that he also did the voice of Hot Rod in the 1986 Transformers movie.
Did you see the thread about the guy selling his name on eBay? What name would you give him?
I hadn't seen it until you mentioned it. It looks like it's currently at $155 and I'd borderline be willing to let someone change my eBay username for that much money.
This is for his actual name...
Wow. I just glanced at the listing and I thought it was for his eBay username. I checked it again and it said he would keep his first name so the winner only gets to pick his middle and last name. He seems to be doing it for a cancer charity, but that's still taking it pretty far. It seems like it would be a better idea just to try collecting donations or something.
What are your plans for the 4th?
Hopefully just laying around on the couch relaxing with some Skyline cheese coneys and watching baseball, which is basically my version of a perfect day.
Burgers or brats?
Burgers.
Potato salad or baked beans?
Potato salad.
Do you enjoy NASCAR like your fellow wrestling fans?
I'll watch a race if I happen to notice one on TV, but I don't really follow it as far as the standings or in any real detail. I basically will just watch whichever race like it's a standalone event. That's basically how I am with hockey and soccer. I'll watch a game if it's on, but I don't really follow the sport.
Do you do beer league softball, or a city baseball league or anything?
I've never really looked into it. I stay fairly occupied with everything going on, so I just try to kick back and relax whenever I get some free time.
World series predictions this year?
Wow, that's a tough one. I'll say Yankees/Dodgers. Yankees win.
Who's worse right now, the A's or the Reds?
I don't think I've seen an A's game all year, but I imagine they're worse. Unless I missed something, their only All Star was Yonder Alonso, who was a former Reds first round draft pick that was blocked at first base by Joey Votto. The Reds are definitely rebuilding, but they seem to have some solid prospects. I don't think I've heard much about the A's having any high profile players in the minors.
Moneyball or Fever Pitch? Moneyball. I may hate math, but I love stats. I really like the entire concept except it seems like the big market teams started applying the same philosophy, but with a much larger budget than what those A's teams had. If Billy Beane was the GM of the Reds, I'd be all for it.
Did I ask you about kids? I cannot remember. Any plans for them with you and the Missus?
Yeah, you did. I don't have any of my own. She already has two grown kids from her previous marriage and can't have anymore, so it's kind of a ready made family. Her son is a Marine and her daughter is a genius that's going to be going to college to become a pediatric nurse at 16, so if she ever becomes Mrs. Bearkitty, I'd be proud to have them for stepkids. I'd basically be like Shawn from Boy Meets World and the situation he ended up with in Girl Meets World since I'm the same age as the cast. House barely edged out Boy Meets World for the question about my favorite TV show since I could really relate to it as a teenager in the '90s..
Can't say I ever saw that show. It had Kirk Cameron right? Man, what happened to that guy... (note - no, the buddy is played by someone that kind of looks like Cameron)
Kirk Cameron was on Growing Pains. Ben Savage was the main character in Boy/Girl Meets World. He's the younger brother of Fred Savage from the Wonder Years or probably more well known on NA, The Wizard.
So, I guess that takes me to the next question, does that make you the oldest person in the contest? Besides Murray who was outed by the Crew to be of the older sort (note - see Murray's comments after the Richard interview)
I guess I missed how old Murray is. Greg (gutsman004) is a few years older than me and is the oldest person in the contests that I know of.
How old do you think Guillavoie is?
I actually know this, but I don't remember his exact age. I think he's in his early 30s.
What about mbd? He's very mysterious
I don't have any idea how old he is. I'd guess somewhere in the late 20s/early 30s since that seems to be the average around here.
So tell us how this whole Shawn Michaels thing started?
Well, basically it started with Shane somewhere during the 2013 season. I'm not sure what exactly got it going, but we started trash talking each other, which was kind of a new thing at the time. He apparently watched as much old WWF wrestling as I did and he would often respond with wrestling GIFs that seemed to feature Shawn Michaels more often than not. I was a fan of Shawn Michaels' character how he was supposed to be a cocky bad guy, but he actually could back up what he said. I was always fairly confident in my skills during the contests so it gave me an opportunity to kind of ramp up my real life personality a bit to try and see if I could stir up and motivate the other players. Tom was already posting amazing scores, but he was always fairly quiet and reserved, so I thought I could play up the rivalry by throwing around some friendly trash talk and motivating myself to post scores good enough to back it up. I would throw in some Shawn Michaels nicknames, calling myself the showstopper, the icon and the main event to keep things stirred up and as a bit of an inside reference for any of the competitors that happened to be wrestling fans and recognized where I was getting this stuff from. Since I was a fan of wrestling back when they still tried to blur the lines between reality and entertainment, it gave me a chance to have some fun trying to keep people guessing how much of my trash talking was real and how much of it was "in character". I'm sure there were probably some players that thought I was legitimately really cocky and arrogant about how good I was, but I think most of them realized that it was more "sports entertainment" to introduce some friendly banter to the contests. The entire "rivalry" with Shane was basically over his Glass Joe like head to head record where his single win over me was in the 2013 Ninja Gaiden contest and we really played it up when he was a contest regular. It was all in good fun and the trash talking element in the contests kind of took on a life of its own after that when more players started taking good natured shots at each other to the point where it seems like a regular part of the contest environment today.
Well it obviously inspired the creation (or birth, according to skinny) of Cobra Kai. Ever try to trash talk Tom?
I'm pretty sure I did early on, but it's like trying to talk trash to Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. Even if you beat him, he would just congratulate you on the great score. That was part of my reason for coming up with the Shawn Michaels inspired "BCD/bearcat" personality. He was such a nice guy that he could put up a world record score and the other players would be happy about it. I was happy to be the "bad guy" in the rivalry, since I could hold my own with him and I brought more of an attitude that would make the other competitors step their game up to try and beat me. We were like the Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels of NA back in 2013. I'm probably responsible for introducing trash talking to the contests and skinny has kind of done his own thing with it. Good or bad, I guess I left my mark on the contests and it all seems to be good natured, so it's not giving Bimmy and guillavoie too much of a headache. I think I got a warning or two, but like I mentioned before, I liked trying to blur the lines between reality and being "in character". I pushed the envelope a few times, if I was going to say something that seemed to be over the edge, I'd try and clear it in advance. When me and Shane would go back and forth, I'd shoot him a PM if I had something on the edgy side and see if he was cool with it. We actually got along great behind the scenes, but the banter hopefully made for some good entertainment and drew some attention to the contests.
Michigan musician musicians, blood relative relatives of mine
#1 - Are they an actively performing musician whose music can be heard on current X (being a variable for any genre of music) radio station(s)?
Answer - No
#2 - Hmm, is the musician still alive?
Answer - Yes, mostly
#3 - Is it George Winston?
Answer - No
#4 - Kid Rock?
Answer - No
#5 - Alice Cooper?
Answer - No
#6 - Stevie Wonder?
Answer - No
#7 Hair color?
Black and/or grey
#8 Facial hair or no?
Both
#9 Hawt or not?
So much hawt
#10 what kind of music?
R&B
#11 what instrument?
Various
#12 male or female
you jewed me with the instruments answer.
Both
Did I say musician? I meant musicians
#13 Is it member/members from Rare Earth?
No
#14 Is the person/persons white?
Sortof
#15 Is it Celine Dion?
No
Three questions Doug
I'll just go ahead and see if I can nail it. Based on the clues that you already answered, I'm going to guess The White Stripes since that's the only guess I can think of that seems to fit based on what's already up there.
No
Well I guess I get two more guesses. The Moonlight? Hidden Agenda?
No and no
Oh well, maybe the next person will get it.
Burgers or brats?
I'm pretty sure you already asked this one. Still burgers. President Ronnie still owes me one from back when I saved him from those ninjas.
So is Shane dead, a quitter, or did you run him out of town? Would Ninja Gaiden bring him back?
I haven't talked to him in a few months, but I think he's just been busy. He came back for the 2015 Ninja Gaiden contest where I got my head to head win back from 2013, so I'm guessing that he would play for best 2 out of 3 if it comes up on the schedule again.
I have played Ninja Gaiden all of once, and I have never played the sequels. How would you rank the following series;
Ninja Gaiden trilogy or Castlevania trilogy or Contra...dualology...?
If I'm ranking the NES franchises in order I'd say Contra, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden. They're all great. It's basically like trying to rank three Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
What do you think about all this North Korea news? Specifically the escalations of 2017?
I don't really pay much attention to that stuff, but I'm not too worried about it.
Best movie of 2017?
The only movie that I've seen this year was the Fate of the Furious and I wasn't that impressed. I'm sure there have been far better movies this year, but I'm lucky if I see two or three new movies a year.
My mother-in-law loves those movies. Whereas if I mention going to see Baby Driver she snorts in derision at me.
(redacted)
(redacted)
Play NES Spy Hunter much?
I've played it a few times, but it's been a while.
Spy Hunter predictions?
I'll got with mbd39. I think he has a good shot at getting a win this week.
What would it take to get you to permanently change your name to Meerkatdoug?
A lot of money. As in enough to buy me enough beer for life so that I wouldn't remember it. I think skinny was the one that came up with it and I don't even know what it means. At least when I call him Marty Jannetty that reference is pretty obvious to anyone that watched the WWF.
Timon from The Lion King is a meerkat. So he's basically calling you a small weasily type, who also may or may not have a voice like the eternally fabulous Nathan Lane.
A shot at your machismo in other words
Would you do it for a Bearkat NC? How about a Bengals Super Bowl appearance?
Skinny says lots of things. I figured he had the upper hand on your bet and now it looks like you might win handily. I've told him before, if he wants to be a trash talker he needs to be able to back it up with some wins.
I don't know what I'd do if it would guarantee a Bearcats national championship. As far as the Bengals go, you just said Super Bowl appearance. They've been twice and lost both so guarantee me a championship and give me some options and then we'll talk.
Well I figure an appearance would be 20 steps in the right direction for them, and then it'd be in spaghetti monster's hands
Apparently Joe Montana is god and he hates them based on the two Super Bowls they were in, although they pretty much blew the one in '88. Watching Joe Montana drive down the field on that final drive like he was god is painful.
Take a wild guess on the 5 posters that have exchanged the most PMs with me
(no answer)
Ever talk to the Ms. about NA?
I've mentioned NA to her, but with everything going on she hasn't gotten around to joining or anything.
Best movie set in Ohio?
You already asked this. I know Rain Man was at least partially set in Cincinnati so I'll stick with that answer.
Dammit. Again...
Best band from Ohio?
Not my type of music, but the Isley Brothers started in Cincinnati.
How can we top the lip-synching video of James and Rich?
Lip syncing doesn't seem too hard to top. I'm sure something crazier will come up with this crew.
I mean how can you and I top it it in this interview?
Put it on a NES cart, do a LE auction and split the profits?
Would you change your name to MeerkatDoug for one month for me if I win the 2017 (postseason) championship?
Nope. I've had the same username since I joined in 2011, so there's nothing that would make me want to change it now.
Did you take excessive amounts of steroids and cocaine to prepare for big contest weeks?
No, my routine was much more boring. Usually I would research each game, practice and then start playing.
Are you really retired, or just on hiatus?
I am really retired for the time being due to the lack of time to give a 100% effort, but if I get the time again, I wouldn't rule out playing again.
What odds do you give me for slipping into tier 1 and upsetting heavy favorites Bea and table for a championship?
I think you have a good chance at making Tier 1 and anything can happen in the tournament so you could pull off the upset.
What would you most like to see added to the contests? Added to the archives?
I really can't think of any specific way to improve the contests. I think you've done a great job with the archives. The only thing I would probably change is either awarding the season championship to the regular season winner since that's how it was done in the pre tournament years or have separate categories for the tournament and overall season champions.
We'll end with (anonymous) questions from the group:
What is your favorite beer to drink in the shower?
I've never drank a beer in the shower. I don't want soapy water in my beer.
Ever done a full brazilian wax? Be honest.
No. I'm not sure why I would want to pay someone to do that.
Is Cincinnati pot any good?
I don't really have any knowledge on the subject. I guess I'd have to ask someone.
Favorite activity on the toilet (reading, play games, etc.)?
I'm usually one to just do my business and go on my way, so I don't really spend the time doing anything else.
Are you on Reddit?
No. I wouldn't swear that I've even been to the site.
Mooncups, tampons, or pads?
I don't even know what a mooncup is, but I'm guessing I don't need it since I have no use for the other two.
If you were still active in 2016, do you think you would have won the championship over Richard? How many genre icons and wins would you have got?
Adventure Island was the finals game and I beat it as a kid, but I don't think I've played it since. If I had a full week to spend playing it, I'd like to think that I could've had a shot at winning the championship. I don't know how many genre icons I would've actually won, but I probably would have been in contention for the sports, platformer, arcade and beat em up icons.
If you were still active in 2017, do you think you win this year's championship? How many genre icons and wins would you have got?
Assuming that I had the time to play at 100% effort, I think I'd have a shot. As far as the genre icons go, I'd probably have a shot as the same four I mentioned in the last question. I like to think I'm at least above average at puzzle and shooter games, but the guys that usually win those two genres seems to almost specialize in them.
If you were active every year would you win all of the championships?
No, because Tom already beat me in 2013 and he probably would have beaten me in 2012 as well. I'm sure guillavoie would have won a few over me in the earlier years.
Ever had a really bad ingrown toenail?
Not that I recall.
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Are you really a Canadian?
Not unless Cincinnati becomes part of Canada.
How much fellating Santa did it take to get in the HoF?
None thank god. I'm honored that I got inducted, but that's beyond my limits.
Why is chocolate better than sex?
It's not, at least in my opinion.
What kind of watch do you wear?
I haven't worn a watch in years, I just check the time on my phone. Back when I did wear a watch it was usually just some cheap digital Timex.
Are you just a fat guy that likes sports or are you in fact athletic and active?
I guess neither one. I'm not fat, but I'm not overly athletic and active anymore due to my bad knees and back issues.
What type of make up do you wear on your daily life?
I don't wear make up at all, let alone daily.
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You're retired because you're afraid of the crop of players, right?
No, I basically retired after the 2015 season due to combination of a championship and four out of six genre icons being a pretty good season to call it a career on since I doubt I'd ever beat that and the fact that by the time the 2016 season started, my free time was cut down to the point that I wouldn't be able to give a 100% effort on a weekly basis due to personal/life obligations.
Final thoughts?
As far as my final thoughts go, you do a great job with these interviews and I would encourage anyone that's offered the opportunity to do it.
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(redacted) -and I'm choosing to interpret that as "abuse mod powers to remove skinny's score posts"
Thank you Doug
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