It is with my deepest gratitude that I can announce that Saturday January 6th, 2007 was officially the busiest day in our company’s history.
I want to thank everyone who made the journey to TGA this weekend. With your support we were able to realize our dreams and take the final steps to make our kitchen renovation plans a reality. I officially signed the contracts and put the deposit down today to get your new kitchen completed. It’s great news, which I’ll go into later, first the shout outs!
For those of you just joining us, here’s a recap:
We had decided to hold in what was in essence 11 different tournaments in one day. The tournaments were divided into two categories, our DDR / ITG ranking battles and our Fighting Game ranking battles.
Both ranking battles are precursors to two major events happening later this year, Tougeki / SBO Qualifiers and our $1000 DDR Supernova tournament taking place during Bowlmani festival this summer.
Anyone who’s ever been to any tournament knows that handling a fighting game tournament or a DDR tournament alone is a huge task that requires full use of all resources, and no matter what happens it’s a long, complicated, complex task for both players and directors.
TGA’s standard is that anyone who is gracious enough to support us and enter one of our tournaments should be comfortable, should have perfect controls, be in a secure controlled environment and have the undivided attention and support of the tournament directors. This is our standard that we always strive to achieve.
Keeping that in mind, this is what I’ve walked away with from this weekend:
For the first time, in our history, we had decided to run Music and Fighting game tournaments on the same day. We had decided to do so because there were several people who had wanted to attend one event that didn’t have a ride. This was due to the fact that people form each group were only interested in attending one of the tournaments and didn’t want to travel for the other. If we put them both together, people would be able to carpool and travel together and everyone would be able to come to TGA together and make traveling easier.
It turns out our thinking was correct, as people who had waited to come to the new TGA finally got a chance to do so. We saw a lot of old friends again.
The atmosphere was wonderful, we were successfully able to house two different groups of gamers and integrate both tournaments so that they blended together smoothly. It was a fun and electric atmosphere. Our theory is that the more people that are in attendance, the better the gaming. There is more competition, more support, more stress, more pressure to perform and maintain focus in front of a crowd. There are more rewards, more risks, more laughs and great memories.
Unfortunately we do not have the luxury of being located in a large urban area accessible by public transportation, when you come to TGA you make an effort to do so. We understand the long commuting hours, no sleep, little to no food,and significant travel expenses. We understand this. You are all truly amazing, going through all this hassle to support each other is sportsmanship as it’s best.
People cram in cars, take buses, trains, and even WALK FROM BOSTON! (Yes, Joey you are AMAZING!! Walking 14 hours, sitting down and pulling off Shinshoryukens…priceless ). When you come to TGA, we truly appreciate your efforts. The most remarkable part of all this is that, after a long journey, everyone performs and is at the top of their game. Nobody gives excuses, nobody complains. You show up, you give it 110%, no questions asked. Something goes wrong, something unexpected turns up, you adapt and you keep going. Directors cannot ask for anything better, amazing players that help each other out, keep things moving smooth and play hard.
This is why I have a deep, deep respect for all of you, you have heart. You give it your all and get nothing in return. The only thing you want is to support the scene and keep it alive, we share the same passion. I promise we will always give you our best.
My only regret is that I wasn’t able to join the tournaments. It was so crazy that even 1 casual before the tournament was impossible. It’s not so much I didn’t get a chance to have fun, I’m upset that I didn’t get a chance to play with the best. I always walk away from every ranking battle with a new perspective and I learn a lot more, I’m forced to think outside the box and study more frame data. I look forward to the next RB where I can join in.
So with all the good let’s talk about the bad, (which is now good)…
Doing all this came with a price, the service at the front counters was much slower than I would have liked it to be. Chie and I ran the kitchen, the bowling and the other transactions. I had to make a choice between managing three different tasks or pulling resources from the tournaments. Pulling away from the tournaments is never an option, so we did our best to manage the front ourselves. Although it got crazy at times everyone was EXTREMELY patient and supportive, thank you!
Nobody should have to wait for anything. TGA customers deserve quick prompt service. Although nobody complained and understood the tremendous strain we were under, I still would like to apologize if anyone had to wait longer that usual. I respect and appreciate your time, thank you for your patience
For every ranking battle that was held previously, I felt terrible. I hated having to inconvenience people by not having food available. I promised myself that by our January 2007 ranking battle I would be able to provide you with good, quality home made food for a low price. So even though the kitchen was not yet renovated and where we wanted it to be, we went ahead and decided to serve food anyway. I know how hard money is, so I don’t want anyone spending more than they have to, to eat. Chie’s plan is to make everyone eat more vegetables, so you can be healthier and have more energy to make the trip home… lol… no joke.
So, because of your efforts I’m proud to announce…
We have signed contracts today to get your new kitchen equipment installed!! Among the improvements are:
A new double capacity Friallator
A hot holding case for Pizza and other prepared foods to reduce / eliminate waiting time.
A Char broiler to make char broiled beef, chicken and fish to be used in American and Japanese dishes.
A four burner range to expand our menu and enable us to prepare various dishes simultaneously for you.
Renovation of the our current working space to streamline the preparation process.
Anyone who ordered food observed first hand how difficult it is to do ANYTHING in this current kitchen. Most of this equipment dates back to the late 60’s and early 70’s. The equipment that is not completely dead, barely functions.
Before we could purchase the new equipment we had to do our best to raise money using the current equipment. It was so bad that Chie and I got thought we were going to go insane. It took us 6 months to get our food license and the kitchen ready. We just started serving food 2 weeks prior to the Ranbats.
But again, because of you things are moving forward much faster than anticipated. Chie’s only hope was to get the kitchen situated. She was patient and waited while the money for the kitchen went to upgrade kits and cabinets. It was hard for her but she did it. But now because of you, and your support of not only the tournaments but the kitchen, we reached our goal. Thank you for taking this huge burden away from us. We have lost many an hour of sleep over this kitchen, it has truly drained us in ways I for which won’t waste your time with details. The bottom line is that you have enabled us to serve you better. This will all come back to you in the form of more good food for you to enjoy, THANK YOU !! THANK YOU !! THANK YOU!! for taking this huge burden out of our lives, we appreciate it more than words can express. You have truly made her happy and enabled her to realize her dream of serving her family’s home cooked Japanese food for you. (Her family owns restaurants in Japan 
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In closing, it was an amazing time, thanks again for everything, expect to hear TGA Tougeki news by the end of the month (we are waiting on our final orders from Japan).
As always, very truly yours
Andy and the TGA staff !
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