Well, I only started playing in '88, but it was Fraternity play on old school tables, Hurricane and TS, at RPI in Troy, NY. I was good, but I never knew that there were serious tournaments until much later. I wasn't even introduced to Tornado until about 10 years ago. After moving back to Florida for a few years, I went to grad school at UNC('95-'01) and got introduced to Bonzini. I played in a few state tourneys and did alright. I met some players who have been the bomb on Bonzini for a long time, Bruce Nardoci, Jimmy Little, Jimmy Paris, among others, and have been dedicated to becoming better ever since. That was 13 yrs ago and I'm still just semi-pro if that. One thing I've learned that is most important is I have to develop a great 5-man. The 5-man is key and will open up everything else in your game. I'm finally buying a professional foosball table(Fireball). Couldn't afford a Bonzini and not really big on Tornado. I think Fireball will be a good blend, and an excellent table for me to develop a 5-man, experiment with the pulls and rollovers, but also continue to develop my backpins and even my less professional banks for fun. I'm playing in a lot more tourneys now, and just had my first Tourney win, even though I was playing goalie. I'd rather win up front. Even if I don't though, I've really enjoyed the journey over the last 3 years especially. I've met some more great players, like Alan Cribbs, Pat Ryan, great guys, and Fuji Alberts, who even though he's a bit arrogant sometimes, I've learned a lot from. I've met a great young player in Robert Yates, who's playing everywhere he can and will be there someday. I'm starting to play Tornado now, so I think my games going to jump another level after another year. It's all about getting better. When I learned to enjoy that part of the game I became a ten times better player than I was before.
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