|
The Great 2005 St. Patricks Day Backgammon Tournament And Irish Feast 03/19/05 |
This event was supposed to have happened last weekend, but we ended up with a major Nor'easter winter storm that dumped over a foot of snow on us over Friday and Saturday.Here is the notice that I posted for this event. It tells it all! However, because a few folks had mentioned that starting at 2:30 wouldn't work for them, I just basically made it an open house and threw out the schedual. Turned out fine and I think that's the way I'll do it in the future.
The Great 2005 St. Patricks Day Backgammon Tournament And Irish Feast
By popular demand, I'm hosting another backgammon tournament! This time, we are in celebration of St. Patrick's Day and we'll have an Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage and Killian's Irish Red! Is this great or what! Saturday March 12th from 3:00pm (or 2:30 for early birds…) until it's done - whenever that ends up being.
Doors open at 2:30pm for pre tournament bad talk and kibitzing of the chef during the optional "Great Chopping of the Vegetables Passion". You must wear something green or Betty won't let you in the door. See past pictures on the website to understand who Betty is. And remember to please only park in spots marked "Visitor" or in some other out of the way spot - condo folks get really cranked when you park in their "spot"...
For newer players, there will be some pre tournament lessons and games from 2:30 to 4:00 to get you up to speed. What's nice about backgammon is that even a new player does stand a chance in hell of winning a game or two against a more experienced player. So come on over and have fun! This all starts at 3pm with "The Great Ceremony of The Cutting of The Beef" at 3:30. You do not want to miss this!
Tournament registration and game paring will begin at 3:30pm so try to be there by then if at all possible so we can get organized properly! But if you need to wander in "fashionably late" that's ok too; we'll still love you.
Other highlights and benefits of arriving on time:
We will play as we did last time using the doubling cube and based on 3 points needed to win a match. First round losers will go into the consolation eliminations so everyone is guaranteed to play at least two full matches. The championship match will be played by the winners of the first flight and the elimination rounds and will be 5 points to win. Chess in the library for anyone who prefers that and movies running in the upstairs guest bedroom for sore losers - floor seating only, though.
- Watch Chef Rose of La Trattoria Rose and Beauty's Chinese Pagoda shift gears from Italian cuisine and Chinese stir fry to an Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage extravaganza in his new O'Rose's Just Around The Corner Irish Pub!
- Gasp in amazement as Chef Rose offers Killian's Irish Red beer in place of his beloved Coors Lite! No wine to be served this time - unless you bring it in yourself! Well, that's not entirely true as I always have a Shiraz and Pinot Grigio going but it will be soooo out of character….
- Sigh with delight as Chef Rose continues his banter of bad talk and sorry assed stories of dancing on the bar for 8 straight rolls at the last tournament.
The schedule that we'll try to keep to (unless we're just having too much fun - you just never know) will be as follows:
I'll have Killian's Irish Red beer, chips and dip, cheese and crackers, and soda to start things off. And then The Great Corned Beef And Cabbage Irish Dinner Extravaganza! And for those who aren't into this Irish food thing, I'll have a couple of pizzas we can throw in the oven.
- 2:30 - 3:00: The optional "Great Chopping of the Vegetables Passion" takes place. A deeply significant and critical event in the party's success, you are invited to participate in this activity if you would like.
- 3:00 - 3:30: Get this party started! New player warm up games begin.
- 3:30 - 4:00: "The Great Ceremony of The Cutting of The Beef", registration and player paring, bad talk positioning, and continuing new player warm up games.
- 4:00 - 6:00: Tournament eliminations and semi finals.
- 6:00 - 7:00: Dinner and bad talk of what "could have been".
- 7:00 - 8:00: Championship 5 point Death Match.
- 8:00 - 10:00 or 11 or 12 or, well… whenever: Movie of the night (TBD) and once again: I call rights to the couch regardless of if I'm in the Championship Death Match or not! C'mon you guys…
Please bring your board with you if you have one!
Since I live here - I'll be partying regardless of the weather, but if it's nasty out and you don't want to risk it - just give me a call and let me know so I don't get worried and send the dogs out looking for you!
So, email me back as soon as possible if you are coming and how many will be with you so I can plan properly. Thanks!
Mark it down: Saturday March 12th starting at 3:00pm or 2:30pm if you want to participate in the "Great Chopping of the Vegetables Passion". No charge.
Colin and Marissa are ready to get the party started!
Ooops! Hey, guys! Save some of the stuff for the guests! Of course if no one shows up...
One of Nancy's dogs, Abbie, gets a lift...
Colin, Scott Williams, David Shaw, and David Houdek take a break from the competition to pose for this shot. They weren't smiling a couple of minutes ago, though... there was some fierce trash talk going on!
Nancy McLane, Marissa, Linda Williams, and Mike Houdek caught telling lies between games. Back to the boards, guys!
Somebody has to cook! Here is chef Rose in the early stages of meal preparation. Note the Killian's Irish Red bottle at the close reach! There was some concern as to my adding bay leaves and Dijon mustard to the mix, but they were all glad I did when the meal finally came out - and on time, I might add!
Galen Downs at the ready with his 7-Up - he didn't need any Killian's to trash talk. He's learning real good all on his own.
Marissa, Galen Downs, and David Houdek entertain Nancy's dogs Abbie and Molly. They were the hit of the evening and loved every minute of it!
Rick Downs, Mike Houdek, and David Shaw heading back into the playing area for another round of action.
Nancy McLane trying to disrupt the chef. She just learned how to play backgammon tonight so we sorta took it easy on her. She knows that's the end of that though...
Mike Houdek, Rick Downs, and Galen Downs take a breath from the action. Don't they look happy? That calm exterior changed back to focused multiconversational trash talk as soon as I snapped this picture.
Nancy and I watch as Colin and David Shaw battle it out. I don't know how many games they ended up playing, but it was quite a few. The claw marks aren't visible in this picture...
Mike Houdek watches as Rick Downs finishes up a game with his brother Galen. Marissa taught Rick to talk bad and Rick is teaching Galen. But would someone move please! Throw the dice and move. Pick the dice up and talk bad. That's all you have to do!
Nancy provided some nice logs for this fire which we all enjoyed through the evening's play as well as during the movie of the night: Friday Night Lights.
David Shaw finds a friend in Nancy's dog Abbie.