FEATURE FRIDAY: HISTORY OF MY WORLDS, PART 1

My adventures at Worlds 2004 were too numerous to include in a single report, so I've split it up. Fear not, you don't have to wait until next Friday. I'll have Part 2 up early next week.

TUESDAY

I left mid-morning from Norfolk for the long flight into San Francisco. There were no wacky events in the airports, although because I get motion sick quite easily, the taxi ride through the streets of SF was an adventure. The pictures you see on TV are no exaggeration. There are hills there that Edmund Hillary wouldn't have dared. I was just about at my stomach's limit when we got to the hotel. I immediately ran into fellow Level 4's Gis Hoogendijk and Jaap Brouwer, and Federico Calò, a Level 2 from Italy with whom I'd worked once before. After unpacking, I hoofed it over to the site to see if I could help setup or anything, knowing that there'd be a free BBQ at some point.

I ran into R&D's Mark Rosewater, Henry Stern, and Aaron Forsythe in the lobby, and shared with them the pleasant stroll in the afternoon sun--or at least what I expected to be a pleasant stroll. The distance between hotel and venue was not far, unless you count the major hill in between. The 15 minute walk left me gasping for breath and reminded that I've gotten a bit out of shape. Mental notes to start an exercise program upon returning home filed, we hit the Fort Mason Center, plopped firmly out in 'Frisco Bay with a nice view of Alcatraz, just in time to help crinkling the fake $1000 bills that we put in the two-story high column (there's a picture of it in the coverage). I helped out with a few more odd jobs and mingled through the BBQ. At one point, I was approached by none other than Jon Finkel, who just wanted to say"hello," although I think it was more my proximity to the Anchor Steam Ale than my sparkling personality. I met up later at the hotel bar for a cocktail or three with Scott Larabee, Chris Galvin, and a bunch of other staffers and judges before getting to bed at a decent hour so I could be well-rested for Day One.

WEDNESDAY

For Day One, I was assigned as a Team Leader. This is generally the way of larger events. The senior folks are assigned as Team Leaders on the first day to give the rest of the crew an idea of how things are run, or to give a brief refresher for those who have already done it. Other judges get their leadership opporunties during the rest of the event. I was assigned to the Results Slips team with Riccardo Tessitori (Level 3, Italy), Paul Thompson (Level 2, USA), Gabor Hegyi (Level 2, Hungary), and JC Stefani (Level 2, France). Other than operation of the paper-cutter, the job of handing out the slips isn't particularly demanding. We took the opportunity to help other teams cover their area of the floor and lend a hand where needed.

It was a relatively quiet day. The format was Standard, and most of the decks and rules have long been covered. The players were--as they tend to be these days--on their best behavior.

That evening, I attended the High Level Judge dinner with Gis, Collin, Jaap, Scott L., and Andy, at a restaurant called Harris. The work details of the dinner are moderately boring, though the meal was anything but. Unlike many high-end steakhouses, where the steak is great but everything else is so-so, Harris did everything right from top to bottom. Collin Jackson, not one given to hyperbole, declared it"the best meal ever." The wine, which I picked up at a nice little shop right next to the hotel called Gourmet Market and Wine Cellar was equally spectacular. The Justin Isoceles 2001 was still a bit young (I'd say drink it around 2008), but the Gustavo Thrace Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 was in the perfect drinking window. It's a remarkable wine currently at its peak. It was so good that I went back to the shop later in the weekend and tried to clean them out of what they had left, but calling getting the last two bottles"cleaning them out" is a bit of a stretch.

THURSDAY

Thursday was my day off. This is a new idea (and well-received) idea for Worlds (which is, after all, a five-day event) from Andy Heckt, who continues to exceed in his job of head of the judge program. After a morning meeting with the other Level 4s and Andy, I headed downtown with Collin and Seamus Campbell (Level 2, USA) for lunch at a sushi restaurant Seamus recommended. Unfortunately, it took us more than an hour and a half to get just a few miles--we took public transportation (an idea that I'll never let Seamus live down). Fortunately, the trip was full of adventure.

During the bus ride, we discussed much Magic stuff, plus Collin's rather odd question"If you were a State-Based Effect, which one would you be?" The entertainment, however, came during the ride on the light rail (the Muni). I asked"If you were a character that Tom Cruise has played in a movie, which would you be?" If you want to send me your personal answers (juggernt@charter.net), I'll compile them and report it back in a few weeks (my answer, Jack in"Legend," is completely based on Mia Sara). The discussion had turned into a harangue on the many flaws of"Minority Report," when two guys sitting across from us chimed into the discussion (two guys, who were, in fact, not traveling together). The five-way chat was going along until a toothless old woman from Finland (we know because she told us so) also inserted herself into the conversation, but she decided to add Shakespeare to the mix (I'm sure that Tom Cruise and Shakespeare have never before been mentioned together). I never really got what she was talking about, but she was at least lucid enough to point out when I agreed with one of the two guys. It's unfortunate that a sound recorder wasn't there; her cackle would have been perfect for any cartoon hag about to devour a child or children.

The sushi was pretty good and we decided to take a taxi back. Even though it took us half an hour to get one, it still took us less time to get back to the site than on public transportation. The ride cost just over $7, or less than the ride from the hotel. I think Seamus was just trying to confuse and disorient us so that he could lead us off to be kidnapped and brainwashed by some sort of cult.

We returned just in time to get into the 3pm Mirrodin Block Sealed deck. My deck was kind of weak, but I think I could have built it better. I knew the environment was fast, but I didn't know how fast. If something costs 7 and isn't named Platinum Angel, it's not worth playing. I dropped after going 1-2 (my one win against Mr. Bye) so that I could do some trading. I traded for 80 of the foils I need to complete collections.* I found out two nice things afterward. The first was that Seamus won the event and Collin finished third. The second was that we had a split that I wasn't previously aware of. Many thanks to my two colleagues for taking some of the sting out of the event.

For the evening, Seamus and I went out with my dear friend Ted Knutson (you may know him--he sometimes covers the Pro Tour for another webs site), his lovely wife Alena, Alena's SMOKIN' friend Hannah, Hannah's husband Adam, and fellow Judges Steve Port and Suzy Life. We went to a mediocre Italian restaurant in North Beach, and then to the Rogue brewpub to sample some local culture. I headed off to bed at a reasonable hour so I could be at the top of my game on Thursday.

FRIDAY

Not assigned to a team on Friday so that I could be free for interviews and other tasks, I sat in with Riccardo's team for a while. It was Block Constructed day, and I had one interesting situation. I was actually functioning as Head Judge while Gis was off doing something else when Jeff Vondruska (Level 2, USA) came to me with an appeal. Apparently, a player had played Sundering Titan, then picked up an Island and a Forest of his own, then wanted to destroy and Island and Forest of his opponent's. Jeff had originally ruled that the player had to keep his own land in the graveyard. Of course, there was a language issue. The player clearly stated that he had intended to destroy his opponent's lands (they were both playing blue/green). I assumed that he was indicating, because of the communication problem, that he wanted to destroy his opponent's lands, but was just using his own to identify which ones. Then, during the interview, the other player requested a translator because he just wasn't getting his point across to me. We engaged Gustavo Montangie (Level 3, Argentina, and ICP fan, complete with the facial hair) to assist, and everything became clear. The player had indeed pointed with both of his lands--and then put his own in the graveyard. After further interrogation, the Sundering Titan player admitted that he had never played the deck before, and had no idea how the card worked. He thought he had to destroy both his own and his opponent's. I upheld Jeff''s original ruling, explaining that it was his responsibility to know how to play his own cards. His intention to destroy his own lands was clear (despite the fact that he also wanted to destroy his opponent's), so we held him to that.

I sat in briefly on the interview of Finland's Johanna Knuutinen, who passed for Level 3 (congrats, flame-!) and then returned to the floor for the rest of a quiet day. The evening was anything but uneventful.

Along with 15 other folks from the staff, I took a trip to SBC Park to watch the Giants play a home game, making it my 8th Major League ballpark (Baltimore Memorial Stadium, Fenway Park, Texas Stadium, the new Arlington stadium, Camden Yards, Busch Stadium, and Veteran Stadium). It was a game to remember. In addition to Barry Bonds hitting #697 (a ball that left the yard in a hurry), the Giants put 18 runs on the board, scoring no fewer than 4 runs in any inning in which they scored. It was a nice setup, because we had many open seats around us. Instead of being stuck in one seat, we could move around and talk to different people. It's a beautiful yard, although the giant Coke bottle is a little much. I'll also pass props to the stadium for serving wine (although kinda cheap stuff), microbrews, and Gilroy's Garlic Fries (!!!). I spent a good deal of time explaining the game to both our Dutch and French friends (although Gis and David Vogin already know a good deal about it already). It was an outstanding evening.

In Part 2, I'll tell you all about the rest of the weekend, to include the results of the Elder Dragon Highlander Challenge. See you then.

* If you're coming to an event that I'm going to be attending, bring your foils! I'll make made trades with you--after I'm done working.