Just to be sentimental for a moment, you all know I've been doing this for a long time and I wanted to talk about a long defunct Smash fanbase tradition. In the Brawl days, when a new character was revealed, people usually chose a song they felt was meaningful for the reveal. Back then, a lot of people posted things like "We Are the Champions" from Queen or simply the character's theme of they had one. For awhile now I've been thinking about my own theme that I feel summarizes my experience with supporting Geno all these years. Thought a long time about it and decided on this one:
It's Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. It's a classic American folk rock song that's come to mean a lot of things to a lot of people. A few years ago Stevie Nicks came out and cleared up a number of misconceptions about the song. She talked about that it is a love song but not towards a person, but towards music. She said when she wrote it in 1975 it was near the beginning of her musical career. She was traveling with a few people and putting on small shows but they were running out of money and motivation. They eventually found themselves in a small town in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. They were broke as a joke, looking up at the mountains, she debated whether she should go back to school or continue playing music despite all the hardships and setbacks. This song was her ultimatum to herself.
The song sings about how it all seems futile but music means so much to her. As she laments, quitting music would crush her but her current career path was threatening to do that too. It's about holding onto things that are important to you, even things since childhood, and how it's rarely easy. "But time makes you bolder but even children get older and I'm getting older too" is such a gut punch of a lyric because I feel everybody has been in this situation before: you want to continue doing something you love but it's impractical or costly or somedays it feels pointless.
"And I'm getting older too..." And I certainly have. 15 years since starting actively supporting Geno for Smash and 24 years since Geno became my favorite video game character. A lot has changed in that time. I'm no longer a kid. I'm no longer a teen. Hell, I don't even qualify as a young adult anymore. But this is still important to me... Why?
My life's mostly great. Married, no debt, multiple degrees, physically fit and healthy, fully medicated, heavily involved in my community, confident to the point of annoyance in some, straight teeth, full head of hair, etc. Why is this important to me? Because it was important to me when I didn't have these things. It was important when I was a kid who would literally cry if left alone in the dark. It was important to me when I was an aloof teenager who could count his friends on one hand. It was important to me when I was a young college student and felt so directionless that I literally wanted to die. It was important to the grad student who was juggling multiple jobs, was in his first serious relationship in a decade, and was trying to avoid becoming an alcoholic like his uncles. In a way, Geno's been in the background of my personal story most of my life.
I know all those younger versions of me wanted to give up on one thing or another. I quit art and I quit music, two things I still often regret. I didn't want to quit on this though and I think a lot of it has to do with it being something I've literally carried since childhood. Nothing world changing: just to see my favorite video game character return at least one more time in a meaningful way. The adult side of me often asks why I bother but I keep trying to remind myself that it's important to hold onto what's important to you, no matter how seemingly trivial and that's why I'm here tonight because each time I've asked myself if I wanted to walk away, I've said no, and I'm happy for that.
So, this all said, we all come here on possibly the night before the big reveal and you all have your stories and personal journeys to this point. I'm happy to be here and to have met Geno fans from literally around the world. It means a lot to me that you all didn't give up and, because of you all, it's likely a big reason I didn't give up either. So, whatever tomorrow brings, let's have fun with it. If it's not the big day, let's keep pressing on until it is. Thank you all for your support over the years. Let's hope tomorrow is the day Geno comes home.