Zigsta
Disney Film Director
Link to original post: [drupal=4906]Dear Texas[/drupal]
It's seriously hard to believe it's been 3 and a half years already. I just wanted to take the time to thank you guys for being such a big part of my life.
My younger brother played AAU basketball for 5 years. I envied how he and his team got to travel all over the nation, crash at a hotel together, and play against the best players around. I was never in shape enough to be an athlete--my growth spurt came late, and by the time I was tall enough and lean enough to compete, I had just been completely passed in terms of skills learned over many years of practice. I remember growing up wishing I could have my own memories of being on a team, filled with completely different kinds of people who all worked towards a similar goal.
I had been lurking Smashboards ever since Melee, but I never even thought about making an account. I watched all the best players play, most notably Gimpyfish, who was my idol back when I played Melee. But as much as I wanted to improve, I was afraid to ask for help, worried that I would just get called a noob or a scrub. I got to be one of the best at Melee with my group of friends who played every other week, but I never went to a big-time tournament because I knew I'd get totally styled on. When Brawl was announced, I was so excited to start on the same page as everyone else.
Ironically, Brawl brought me almost nothing but frustration. I was easily one of the worst if not the single worst player out of all my friends. I would constantly SD and run into stupid, mindless attacks. It really, really frustrated me, but I kept at it because I wanted to improve.
When my first semester at college was almost done, I heard about how big HOBOs were, and I was completely shocked to hear they drew 80 people to a single tournament. I browsed along on Smashboards and found The Austin Brawl Thread, run by Hylian at the time, who I had seen play Melee. I had no idea Austin had a scene, let alone such a well-known and well-respected player! So I made a post and learned there was going to be a fest off campus.
Well, if you know me, you know I'm total GARBAGE with directions. So I'm walking off campus for the first time EVER with a giant fold-up chair slung over my shoulder for a solid HOUR until I finally find the place. There I met Hylian, Jadedlink, ADMJP, and PhantomX. They all played so fast. I knew I was in over my head. But I wanted to spit some fiyah, so I totally namedropped the fact that my friend was teaming with 3GOD at a tournament this weekend fully knowing PhantomX played Wario. PX instantly says "Oh, your friend knows 3GOD?" And BOOM, in my eyes I wasn't a total scrub.
PhantomX would go on to become my biggest Brawl mentor and one of my closest friends in Austin. Next year he would come over every Monday around lunchtime to play Brawl for an hour or two. He almost always went Ganon, but man oh man, he was soooo good at punishing my mistakes. It's thanks to PX that I hardly EVER spotdodge (that and the fact that I use Bowser now, haha). He would ALWAYS call my spotdodges and punish me for them. He's the first person to make me really think about playing smart and not just following a standard formula every match. On top of that, we would talk about completely random stuff, and I felt that he was one of my few new friends who I could approach about anything.
After PX and Hylian left, it was a massive blow to the Austin community. I was upset I couldn't make Austin's Last Smash (I was interning in Hollywood at the time and was a week too late coming back), but I was also mad at the name itself. I refused for this to be the end of the Austin scene.
That's when I took up the leadership mantle in Austin. I started hosting Zigfests every week at my apartment, became the primary driver, and began running tournaments. I knew my time was limited, and I didn't want Austin to run completely dry.
Anyways, I'm rambling a bit. Things have been crazy busy for me the past two weeks or so, and I've had this blog idea in my mind for a while now, but I really haven't had as much time to dedicate to it as I would have liked. So I'm closing the history textbooks and getting to the good part!
Fellas, WHOBO 2 and GENESIS 2 were what I had dreamed about so many years ago. I was finally crashing in a hotel with a team. My greatest memories of Brawl aren't singles games or tournaments but just chilling in those hotel rooms being with friends and teammates. After graduating college, I've been reflecting a lot lately on the past 3 and half years, and the little moments are always what come out on top.
I love the atmosphere of Texas tournaments. Everyone's talking, cracking jokes, and just enjoying each other's company while super serious matches are being played simultaneously. These are memories no one can ever take from me, and they're memories not many people get to have. As a writer, I feel so tremendously blessed to have been able to share those memories with you.
They weren't all good. I'll never forget Infinity getting his car broken into, DMG and Dphat doing unspeakable acts, Redshadow about to destroy all mankind with his controller, and above all, me injuring my forearms. But they're still all unique memories that I'll never forget.
You guys have also helped shape this once scared silly scrub into an intelligent player. And let me tell you: It always, always humbled me to no end every time one of you complimented my Bowser. At the Lone Star Circuit Championships, Cake told me I'm one of the best players at conserving my jumps. As someone who plays a character with limited recovery options, that single compliment just meant the world to me. I fully realize the Brawl Back Room isn't held in universal high esteem anymore, but it still blows my mind every time I read posts back there that I'm even back there to begin with, and even moreso that I get to represent Bowser, a character I truly love playing. There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be recognized as a top Bowser player without playing you guys. You helped make me the Koopa King, and I'm forever grateful.
And a note to my Austin buddies: I know we didn't really talk about this much directly, and I can't blame you: I absolutely hate goodbyes. I know things will be weird without me for a while. Things felt weird to me when PX left. Even on the worst of days, a fest with him always made me end my day on a high note. But in the relatively short time I've had the privilege of knowing you guys, you've all improved both as players and as people. I've seen the more quieter players step out of their shells and become leaders. Hell, I've seen Polt become nearly immune to my trolling! I'll really miss you guys and our weekly 12 hours get-togethers. I'll miss Amy's and Kerby Lane and Five Guys and any other restaurant we walked to (or drove to if you mofos were feeling lazy). As a collective whole, we may not have the best players in the state of Texas, but I like to think we're the closest group in the whole state. Always have fun, continue to improvement, and live each day as an adventure. You guys will always have a special place in my heart.
To everyone else: I can go on forever and a day with individual thanks and memories, but I'll leave it at this: Thank you so, so much for being such a fun part of my life AND a supportive and diverse group of friends. My dreams will be tough to reach, but with great friends like you, there's absolutely nothing I can't do. I hope that I made you laugh, made you smile, and made you rage like a little baby when I Koopacided you, and I hope that when you look at Bowser, you always remember me because I'll never forget you.
Your friend,
CHRIS "ZIGSTA" HEWITT
P.S. Debra Romer is moving to Los Angeles in January, too.
It's seriously hard to believe it's been 3 and a half years already. I just wanted to take the time to thank you guys for being such a big part of my life.
My younger brother played AAU basketball for 5 years. I envied how he and his team got to travel all over the nation, crash at a hotel together, and play against the best players around. I was never in shape enough to be an athlete--my growth spurt came late, and by the time I was tall enough and lean enough to compete, I had just been completely passed in terms of skills learned over many years of practice. I remember growing up wishing I could have my own memories of being on a team, filled with completely different kinds of people who all worked towards a similar goal.
I had been lurking Smashboards ever since Melee, but I never even thought about making an account. I watched all the best players play, most notably Gimpyfish, who was my idol back when I played Melee. But as much as I wanted to improve, I was afraid to ask for help, worried that I would just get called a noob or a scrub. I got to be one of the best at Melee with my group of friends who played every other week, but I never went to a big-time tournament because I knew I'd get totally styled on. When Brawl was announced, I was so excited to start on the same page as everyone else.
Ironically, Brawl brought me almost nothing but frustration. I was easily one of the worst if not the single worst player out of all my friends. I would constantly SD and run into stupid, mindless attacks. It really, really frustrated me, but I kept at it because I wanted to improve.
When my first semester at college was almost done, I heard about how big HOBOs were, and I was completely shocked to hear they drew 80 people to a single tournament. I browsed along on Smashboards and found The Austin Brawl Thread, run by Hylian at the time, who I had seen play Melee. I had no idea Austin had a scene, let alone such a well-known and well-respected player! So I made a post and learned there was going to be a fest off campus.
Well, if you know me, you know I'm total GARBAGE with directions. So I'm walking off campus for the first time EVER with a giant fold-up chair slung over my shoulder for a solid HOUR until I finally find the place. There I met Hylian, Jadedlink, ADMJP, and PhantomX. They all played so fast. I knew I was in over my head. But I wanted to spit some fiyah, so I totally namedropped the fact that my friend was teaming with 3GOD at a tournament this weekend fully knowing PhantomX played Wario. PX instantly says "Oh, your friend knows 3GOD?" And BOOM, in my eyes I wasn't a total scrub.
PhantomX would go on to become my biggest Brawl mentor and one of my closest friends in Austin. Next year he would come over every Monday around lunchtime to play Brawl for an hour or two. He almost always went Ganon, but man oh man, he was soooo good at punishing my mistakes. It's thanks to PX that I hardly EVER spotdodge (that and the fact that I use Bowser now, haha). He would ALWAYS call my spotdodges and punish me for them. He's the first person to make me really think about playing smart and not just following a standard formula every match. On top of that, we would talk about completely random stuff, and I felt that he was one of my few new friends who I could approach about anything.
After PX and Hylian left, it was a massive blow to the Austin community. I was upset I couldn't make Austin's Last Smash (I was interning in Hollywood at the time and was a week too late coming back), but I was also mad at the name itself. I refused for this to be the end of the Austin scene.
That's when I took up the leadership mantle in Austin. I started hosting Zigfests every week at my apartment, became the primary driver, and began running tournaments. I knew my time was limited, and I didn't want Austin to run completely dry.
Anyways, I'm rambling a bit. Things have been crazy busy for me the past two weeks or so, and I've had this blog idea in my mind for a while now, but I really haven't had as much time to dedicate to it as I would have liked. So I'm closing the history textbooks and getting to the good part!
Fellas, WHOBO 2 and GENESIS 2 were what I had dreamed about so many years ago. I was finally crashing in a hotel with a team. My greatest memories of Brawl aren't singles games or tournaments but just chilling in those hotel rooms being with friends and teammates. After graduating college, I've been reflecting a lot lately on the past 3 and half years, and the little moments are always what come out on top.
I love the atmosphere of Texas tournaments. Everyone's talking, cracking jokes, and just enjoying each other's company while super serious matches are being played simultaneously. These are memories no one can ever take from me, and they're memories not many people get to have. As a writer, I feel so tremendously blessed to have been able to share those memories with you.
They weren't all good. I'll never forget Infinity getting his car broken into, DMG and Dphat doing unspeakable acts, Redshadow about to destroy all mankind with his controller, and above all, me injuring my forearms. But they're still all unique memories that I'll never forget.
You guys have also helped shape this once scared silly scrub into an intelligent player. And let me tell you: It always, always humbled me to no end every time one of you complimented my Bowser. At the Lone Star Circuit Championships, Cake told me I'm one of the best players at conserving my jumps. As someone who plays a character with limited recovery options, that single compliment just meant the world to me. I fully realize the Brawl Back Room isn't held in universal high esteem anymore, but it still blows my mind every time I read posts back there that I'm even back there to begin with, and even moreso that I get to represent Bowser, a character I truly love playing. There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be recognized as a top Bowser player without playing you guys. You helped make me the Koopa King, and I'm forever grateful.
And a note to my Austin buddies: I know we didn't really talk about this much directly, and I can't blame you: I absolutely hate goodbyes. I know things will be weird without me for a while. Things felt weird to me when PX left. Even on the worst of days, a fest with him always made me end my day on a high note. But in the relatively short time I've had the privilege of knowing you guys, you've all improved both as players and as people. I've seen the more quieter players step out of their shells and become leaders. Hell, I've seen Polt become nearly immune to my trolling! I'll really miss you guys and our weekly 12 hours get-togethers. I'll miss Amy's and Kerby Lane and Five Guys and any other restaurant we walked to (or drove to if you mofos were feeling lazy). As a collective whole, we may not have the best players in the state of Texas, but I like to think we're the closest group in the whole state. Always have fun, continue to improvement, and live each day as an adventure. You guys will always have a special place in my heart.
To everyone else: I can go on forever and a day with individual thanks and memories, but I'll leave it at this: Thank you so, so much for being such a fun part of my life AND a supportive and diverse group of friends. My dreams will be tough to reach, but with great friends like you, there's absolutely nothing I can't do. I hope that I made you laugh, made you smile, and made you rage like a little baby when I Koopacided you, and I hope that when you look at Bowser, you always remember me because I'll never forget you.
Your friend,
CHRIS "ZIGSTA" HEWITT
P.S. Debra Romer is moving to Los Angeles in January, too.
It was a pleasure meeting you and hanging out with you this past year. Go on to do big things. And we'll work hard to keep the Austin scene afloat.
