Some admissions are less painful than you expected.

Sam is the best Magic the Gathering Player in Fort Wayne.

Most of you know i Play Magic, even though i rarely mention it for all the usual reasons.  For Most of the last fifteen years or so, i have been the de facto leader of all Magic players in the greater Fort Wayne area. 

Mike was the first person to use the Nobility paradigm to analyze status in the local Magic-playing community.  Upon arriving in Auburn to play at Great Scott's (the best gaming store to ever exist), Mike would observe and later remark to me, "You and Ben were like nobility."  Later Mike and i would become fast friends and we continued to employ the Nobility paradigm, among others, to discuss the game and its players. 

Later more Nobles would become apparent, Mike chief among them.  I was acknowledged as the leader of this group; their King, if you will, to extend the analogy.  I was the king for a number of reasons.  I was older, as a rule, than the other players.  I was better than nearly everyone else.  New players would arrive in my store, seek to test their mettle, and leave vanquished. (Ask me later about the Pseudofish/Counter-phoenix match up, or better yet, as Mike.)  Most importantly, i had great resources at my disposal that i could use to reward or punish other players.

If i was the King then i had a court which bears remarking upon.  Ben was the first member, as his noble status together with my own is what made Mike recognize this model in the first place.  Scott was the other original member of the Nobles.  Scott was the owner of the eponymous Great Scott's, and he is truly a great guy.  Mike would become the first new admittant and, once more to extend the analogy, the King's Champion as he was the best player in Fort Wayne. 

Over the years others would be added to our group.  We called ourselves Team Fort Wayne as Magic Players like to organize themselves into teams to prepare for larger tournaments.  The members of Team Fort Wayne were the nobility of the Fort Wayne players.  They were better equipped, had more esteem in the eyes of the other players, and were nearly always better players.  This is not to say we were loved, for we frequently we not.  Team Fort Wayne members tended to vocal in their opinions, especially of their superior status, and this often led others to resent us.  But all the players, especially those that hated us, wished to be admitted to our group.

One of our later admittants was Sam.  At first he was quite justly hated by the members of Team Fort Wayne.  He was an obnoxious little kid, annoying in a way that only children can be, primarily because they know that you as an adult cannot strike them no matter how much they might deserve it.  Sam would even rat out beloved Team Fort Wayne member Jarad for technical violations of the terms of his employment. 

Sam was required to pay a heavy penance for his treacherous act against Jarad.  He was mocked or shunned by the various members of Team Fort Wayne for a long time.  Some would argue that his act was unforgivable.  Others would state that Sam could never fit in with us.  This was relevant because Sam desperately  wanted to be admitted to our group.  After much discussion Sam was finally granted his admittance and became a member of Team Fort Wayne.

Sam has always been ambitious and very much wanted to upset our status quo.  Team Fort Wayne was not well understood by outsiders.  Its governance was largely subject to speculation by those on the outside.  But it was clear that Mike and i were the primary leaders and best players.  Sam wished to be counted among or number, or better yet, displace us as the dominant player in Fort Wayne.  Toward this end Sam would wage a campaign to have himself declared a better player than me.

Sam's campaign was waged in the late 2005 to early 2007 time period.  He employed a number of schemes in this endeavor.  Each of his plots failed and Sam was defeated.  He returned to our fold and my status was secure.  But i did set forth the conditions under which i would confess that he was a better player than i.

Sam has fulfilled his conditions.  He is a better player than i.  If i am the King, Sam is  knight errant who has succeeded in his quest and is now the King's champion.  He is the best player in Fort Wayne and it will fall to him to uphold the honor of Team Fort Wayne.

The Nobility paradigm is not the only paradigm under which our community functions.  There is also the Master/Disciple paradigm.  Under this paradigm Sam is my disciple and here he still has much to learn and i to teach.  But today is Sam's day and he has earned it.

Congratulations on qualifying for Nationals, Sam.  You deserve it. 

Later

Bob

And, once more, Samis a better Magic the Gather Player than I.