Benny The Jet Rodriguez
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- May 23, 2009
- Messages
- 82
Hey guys, it's AndyG. I'm not sure if you'll remember me. I'm an old fella from oh, roundabouts 2008. I play Olimar.
I'm applying for a staff writer position at MLG to detail Brawl, and try to represent the Smash community in the best light that I can.
The application asks for references, and on top of my connections in MLG (who are currently at the tournament, unable to be reached) the best connection I can think of is the Smash community itself. I'd love to be able to show them a thread just to prove that everybody's got my back.
Here's my app so far, if you're interested:
MLGpro.com Username: Rocann
Name: Anderson A Garron Jr.
DOB: 9/16/90
AIM Username: Andy Is Neat
Place of Residence: Collegeville, PA
College/Major (if applicable): Ursinus College/Double Major, Math & Computer Science
Current Job/Position (if applicable): Ursinus College Tech Support
References from MLG:
- I have a substantial amount of references in both the MLG Staff and Pro Player circles. However, I have only tonight (4/15) heard about this job offering, and for professionalism’s sake, would like to be able to speak with them and get their blessings before listing them here. Unfortunately, all of my MLG Staff, Smash pro player, and Halo pro player references are currently at the Orlando event, so I can’t talk to them. However, the sample question has to be answered before the tournament’s finale for obvious reasons. I will send in my references ASAP.
MLG/EA Tournament Experience: MLG Philadelphia, 2005, Halo 2. Lackluster performance. Not sure if Gamebattles counts, but:
- 2nd place, Spring 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 3rd place, Summer 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 7th place, Fall 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 220th place, Winter 2009 Brawl Ladder
Summary of Writing Experience: In college, I’ve taken two intermediate level college Philosophy/Writing courses. Honors courses throughout high school requiring solid writing skills, and in college, as Ursinus is a liberal arts school and a prerequisite for graduation is a certain well-roundedness comprised of, among other things, a very strong writing background.
Describe your involvement in the gaming community:
In 2005, I started getting into competitive gaming, with Halo 2 in particular, leading me to MLG. My first foray into the community at large was an attempt at running a large-scale FFA tournament online, which got me some respect and notoriety in the MLG community, although in all honesty the forum moderators didn’t appreciate how I went about advertising it (kids will be kids.) I kept playing Halo 2, and got in with a pretty decent crowd. I was friends with a lot of top players (and I don’t just mean on their friends list.) In the “Predict a Breakout Amateur for 2006” thread, my name got dropped alongside Ghostayame and Strongside. Sadly, gaming took a backseat to my wrestling career, and when I quit, my team was myself, Donut5Six1, TuSick, and TuLegit, who would eventually explode onto the scene upon dropping the “Tu” from his name.
--
Fast forward 2 years. I was out of competitive gaming for a while, but I loved Super Smash Bros., and the new iteration was making its way onto shelves. I decided to pick it up, having been a Melee fan. I’m naturally competitive, so when I noticed that MLG was running a Gamebattles ladder for Brawl, I couldn’t resist. The rest is Brawl history. I made a huge name for myself online as the best player, and it carried through into tournaments. I was, from Winter 2008 to Summer 2009, considered the best Olimar player in the world by most American players, definitely the best on the East Coast. I won tournaments up and down PA and NJ, teaming with players like Mew2King (then considered the undisputed world’s best at Melee and Brawl) and winning doubles, generally losing in singles only to Mew2King. I placed 17th at the first national Brawl major, Clash of the Titans IV, although I lost only to the 2nd and 3rd place players, Ally and teh_spamerer. I assisted in the development of Brawl+, and ended up winning the first major Brawl+ tournament. Unfortunately, these tournament results are for the most part simply too old and the Olimar Tournament Results thread of my era has been closed, so I cannot provide the full list of my tournament winnings. The closest I can get is my AllisBrawl medal case:
http://allisbrawl.com/medals.aspx?id=9693
That is an incomplete listing of tournaments I’ve attended and my placings, and includes some online tournaments.
I am not as active in the Brawl community as I used to be, but I still play online from time to time to stay sharp, and to keep my connections with all the players strong. I still post help, primarily for Olimar players, on the forums, and contributed the majority of the guide to playing my character there.
Highlight any skills you possess that are relevant to this position:
- I have a solid connection to the entire Brawl community, from starting players to the very top professionals. I have respect from all and a powerful friendship with most, particularly the top Brawl players from the East Coast. I also made a great in-person connection with the South (Texas, Louisiana) at CoT4 and have known Midwest players (Ohio, primarily) for a long time, including MLG’s own AlphaZealot. I can get the inside scoop from any player, on a rivalry, a matchup, personal life, or what have you, no questions asked.
- I command a strong understanding of the game. Having been a professional player for over a year, I know how Brawl works. I can analyze the situations and the matchups as well as anybody, especially because of my propensity for playing characters other than my main in tournament. Moving away from the game mechanics and the characters, I can spot immediately what a player’s strengths and weaknesses are, which oftentimes determine the outcome of a match.
- As a computer science/math major, HTML, PHP, SQL, and whatever else I might have to use for this position is second nature at this point.
- I love Smash and will probably never stop following it and being a part of it, so I will be 100% dedicated to this job, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do at this point than write for MLG.
------------------------------------------------------
WRITING SAMPLE
Attach a one page editorial piece on the topic listed below for all games you are applying for. You should write this piece as if it was going to appear on the MLG homepage. Please attach any files in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Three Players to Watch for in Orlando
Who are the three best players are coming into Orlando? Give us a bit of their competitive background and tell me which character(s) they play as. What makes them so effective?
(haven't written it yet)
Just gimme a shout or something here if you think it's a good idea. If you think I'm a big stupid idiot face, you can let me know that, too.
I'm applying for a staff writer position at MLG to detail Brawl, and try to represent the Smash community in the best light that I can.
The application asks for references, and on top of my connections in MLG (who are currently at the tournament, unable to be reached) the best connection I can think of is the Smash community itself. I'd love to be able to show them a thread just to prove that everybody's got my back.
Here's my app so far, if you're interested:
MLGpro.com Username: Rocann
Name: Anderson A Garron Jr.
DOB: 9/16/90
AIM Username: Andy Is Neat
Place of Residence: Collegeville, PA
College/Major (if applicable): Ursinus College/Double Major, Math & Computer Science
Current Job/Position (if applicable): Ursinus College Tech Support
References from MLG:
- I have a substantial amount of references in both the MLG Staff and Pro Player circles. However, I have only tonight (4/15) heard about this job offering, and for professionalism’s sake, would like to be able to speak with them and get their blessings before listing them here. Unfortunately, all of my MLG Staff, Smash pro player, and Halo pro player references are currently at the Orlando event, so I can’t talk to them. However, the sample question has to be answered before the tournament’s finale for obvious reasons. I will send in my references ASAP.
MLG/EA Tournament Experience: MLG Philadelphia, 2005, Halo 2. Lackluster performance. Not sure if Gamebattles counts, but:
- 2nd place, Spring 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 3rd place, Summer 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 7th place, Fall 2008 Brawl Ladder
- 220th place, Winter 2009 Brawl Ladder
Summary of Writing Experience: In college, I’ve taken two intermediate level college Philosophy/Writing courses. Honors courses throughout high school requiring solid writing skills, and in college, as Ursinus is a liberal arts school and a prerequisite for graduation is a certain well-roundedness comprised of, among other things, a very strong writing background.
Describe your involvement in the gaming community:
In 2005, I started getting into competitive gaming, with Halo 2 in particular, leading me to MLG. My first foray into the community at large was an attempt at running a large-scale FFA tournament online, which got me some respect and notoriety in the MLG community, although in all honesty the forum moderators didn’t appreciate how I went about advertising it (kids will be kids.) I kept playing Halo 2, and got in with a pretty decent crowd. I was friends with a lot of top players (and I don’t just mean on their friends list.) In the “Predict a Breakout Amateur for 2006” thread, my name got dropped alongside Ghostayame and Strongside. Sadly, gaming took a backseat to my wrestling career, and when I quit, my team was myself, Donut5Six1, TuSick, and TuLegit, who would eventually explode onto the scene upon dropping the “Tu” from his name.
--
Fast forward 2 years. I was out of competitive gaming for a while, but I loved Super Smash Bros., and the new iteration was making its way onto shelves. I decided to pick it up, having been a Melee fan. I’m naturally competitive, so when I noticed that MLG was running a Gamebattles ladder for Brawl, I couldn’t resist. The rest is Brawl history. I made a huge name for myself online as the best player, and it carried through into tournaments. I was, from Winter 2008 to Summer 2009, considered the best Olimar player in the world by most American players, definitely the best on the East Coast. I won tournaments up and down PA and NJ, teaming with players like Mew2King (then considered the undisputed world’s best at Melee and Brawl) and winning doubles, generally losing in singles only to Mew2King. I placed 17th at the first national Brawl major, Clash of the Titans IV, although I lost only to the 2nd and 3rd place players, Ally and teh_spamerer. I assisted in the development of Brawl+, and ended up winning the first major Brawl+ tournament. Unfortunately, these tournament results are for the most part simply too old and the Olimar Tournament Results thread of my era has been closed, so I cannot provide the full list of my tournament winnings. The closest I can get is my AllisBrawl medal case:
http://allisbrawl.com/medals.aspx?id=9693
That is an incomplete listing of tournaments I’ve attended and my placings, and includes some online tournaments.
I am not as active in the Brawl community as I used to be, but I still play online from time to time to stay sharp, and to keep my connections with all the players strong. I still post help, primarily for Olimar players, on the forums, and contributed the majority of the guide to playing my character there.
Highlight any skills you possess that are relevant to this position:
- I have a solid connection to the entire Brawl community, from starting players to the very top professionals. I have respect from all and a powerful friendship with most, particularly the top Brawl players from the East Coast. I also made a great in-person connection with the South (Texas, Louisiana) at CoT4 and have known Midwest players (Ohio, primarily) for a long time, including MLG’s own AlphaZealot. I can get the inside scoop from any player, on a rivalry, a matchup, personal life, or what have you, no questions asked.
- I command a strong understanding of the game. Having been a professional player for over a year, I know how Brawl works. I can analyze the situations and the matchups as well as anybody, especially because of my propensity for playing characters other than my main in tournament. Moving away from the game mechanics and the characters, I can spot immediately what a player’s strengths and weaknesses are, which oftentimes determine the outcome of a match.
- As a computer science/math major, HTML, PHP, SQL, and whatever else I might have to use for this position is second nature at this point.
- I love Smash and will probably never stop following it and being a part of it, so I will be 100% dedicated to this job, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do at this point than write for MLG.
------------------------------------------------------
WRITING SAMPLE
Attach a one page editorial piece on the topic listed below for all games you are applying for. You should write this piece as if it was going to appear on the MLG homepage. Please attach any files in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Three Players to Watch for in Orlando
Who are the three best players are coming into Orlando? Give us a bit of their competitive background and tell me which character(s) they play as. What makes them so effective?
(haven't written it yet)
Just gimme a shout or something here if you think it's a good idea. If you think I'm a big stupid idiot face, you can let me know that, too.
