November 18th, 2012.
Based on the actions of that night, the entire scope of Melee, and well, Smash, was changed. I’ll spare you guys the full historical breakdown, but because of that night, myself, Scar and Cactuar decided that we needed to invest in the Melee scene or watch it fade away. If you love something, you fight for it, tooth and nail, and we were fighting for a game to many on the outside; to me, I was fighting for more tournaments…no, these tournaments to me since my early days have been family reunions. The team quickly grew, the podcast had its first episode, and quickly, Melee It On Me became the banner carriers for Melee, and to some, somehow, by proxy, Smash.
The entire Smash scene came together for the drive for EVO in 2013, but the Melee It On Me team led the charge and carried the standard. 8 months after the team formed, we were on the main stage of Vegas. 6 years after the last time Melee was at EVO, 5 years after the last time Smash graced the main stage. Melee It On Me’s Mango added a trophy to the case; 3 months later, the whirlwind of the documentary ignited a passion in thousands of Smashers around the world, and the scene is still seeing the growth and dividends from that. Ask your local TO what numbers were like in 2012. Ask your sponsored players what teams were looking at Smash then.
2014 rolled around, and had its highs and lows. Melee returned to MLG, broke our records again at EVO, and for our top players, names like Team Liquid, Cloud 9, Evil Geniuses, Team Curse became as entrenched in the scene as Clash Tournaments, VideoGameBootCamp, MeleeItOnMe and SmashStudios. But to me, the issues I’d been having with my colon since 2012 were worse than ever; I was young(ish), I didn’t pay attention to my body, and I was paying for it. As a side note, if something is wrong, don’t wait, listen to yourself and don’t exacerbate things. That said, I said I’d wrap it up at EVO, and a few minutes after crying after what I expected to be my last time at the commentator’s desk for a while, I added a Cannon Award to the laurels of Melee It On Me.
Today is August 24th, 2015. Looking it up, on this day 10 years ago, I saw a flyer for Super Smash Brothers tournament on Temple University’s campus, a couple of hours later I got 4th place with Ness and lost to the Sheik main that won it all. The Sheik main moved like I’d never seen before, I asked him about it afterwards, and in a couple of sentences that included words like “Deadly Alliance,” “PC Chris,” “Wes,” and “wavedash,” I started a journey that has taken me to places I didn’t expect. And I don’t just mean switching from Ness to Doc to Falco to Fox to Falco to Falcon.
I never thought that my journey in this game would go from that free-for-all tournament to stages like EVO and MLG. I never thought that me falling in love with Bob$’s Overdose would lead to me learning how to edit and working in television for 3 years. I never thought that the lessons I’d learn in college radio would be ones I’d use in front of a live audience for Nintendo at E3. I never thought that the first time I went to Drexel’s campus and played Cactuar and Pakman would lead to me forming friendships, and familial bonds with people across continents. I never thought that the people I’d play in tournament matches would be the people that would help me become open and accepting of myself, even when my flesh and blood wasn’t.
But the thing about journeys is that the path can be plotted out until every inkling is covered but that something else will happen that you have to answer to.
Today, after 1009 days with Melee It On Me, I’m leaving the team. One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is that I tend to fill holes where I see they are needed in the scene. I was a player at one point, but I became more concerned with preserving a history in the scene. These were more than just matches to me, this was a story of a community, of players in it and how they grow and advance over time. Then as streaming became more and more popular and the YouTube era ended, I swapped to solely focusing on commentary, making the scene more open and inviting people in. And now, although I won’t be a part of the MeleeItOnMe collective, I will continue to serve the scene in my next role, with Last Stock Legends and far more than that. I said last year that I didn’t want to be known as a commentator or a caster, I wanted to be known as a storyteller, and I know with projects like Last Stock Legends, I’ll be able to do just that and far more.
I can honestly say that I’ve worked with the best team in the business. We have stellar TOs like Juggleguy and Dr. Z who make sure that people go to their events and go home eagerly awaiting their next tournament experience. As someone who remembers their first “real” tournament experience very fondly (except M2K lying to me and bodying me in Doc dittos), I know the importance of that, and in an era where many people throw their hat in the ring to do an event, these two haven’t forgotten that tenet. I love being able to chat with Dr. Z about King Crimson at any point, or argue with Juggleguy about events, knowing that his heart is in it all at every moment of every day.
Toph and Scar are phenomenal commentators and paragons who make the game so inviting and friendly that it reminds me of sitting on my couch just chatting with them. I’ve known Scar since we were both in college, and although we don’t talk as much as we used to, I hope he knows that he’s still someone I admire and look up to. As for Toph, I think the first time we got to know each other was at Impulse in 2013, and since then, I wished I got to know him sooner; always there with a smile, and although we may not see each other for months at a time, he’s always there, and I love him for that.
We have probably the most underrated pair of people in the community: MattDotZeb, a guy who on his own with the Melee Games is doing things that multimillion dollar companies haven’t been able to do, and he sits with that on his shoulders like Atlas as well as New England on his back; Tafokints, the MVP of the scene in my opinion for 2014 and 2015, someone who as the scene grows in the esports realm understands the importance of numbers and how to apply them. I’ve known MDZ for years, not sure if we ever played in tournament, but he always cares about each person he gets in touch with, and that’s something that I cherish. As for Tafokints, I don’t even know what I could say about the guy. I’ve had a few health episodes at tournaments, he, Wife, DarkDragoon come to mind as people who’ve really taken the time to make sure I was doing well, and in some of my darkest days, it was a bit of light hearing from him, knowing that he cared about my well-being. Eternally grateful to him, and the others who did that.
Of course, I can’t forget about the best pair of show producers and two close friends I’ve made over the years with them, DarkDragoon and Cosmonaught who bend over backwards constantly for what we need in terms of the show and graphics and far beyond. I met DarkDragoon on a GameFAQs offshoot board years ago, we met at a tournament in New Jersey, rarely got to interact in person, but I was at his wedding having the time of my life because of the type of person he is. And as for CosmoNaught, he was just someone that we brought on to do the show, but we’ve gotten to know him, to watch him grow, and he’s someone that will continue to be an asset to the scene for years to come. I hope the entire team remembers this family we’ve built over the past two years.
Today, I’m joining the ranks of alumni like SFAT, PewPewU, Cactuar, and of course, the kid, Mango. It isn’t for my health, I’m pretty happy to say that over the past month or so, my passion for Smash is back to 2013 levels. Hell, you might see me commentating Monday nights on TourneyLocator. Healthwise, after EVO weekend, I’ve been taking an even larger stake and placing even more importance on it, and I haven’t felt this good since 2011. Mentally and physically, because as some of my closest friends in the scene know, this year started out as one of the lowest periods in my life.
Journeys can be plotted out but other things happen that I have to answer to. I’m glad to say it’s good news, and of course, all will be revealed in time. To my teammates, just because although I won’t be under the MIOM umbrella…eh, let me put it plainly. You guys are my family, I adore each and every one of you. You’ve been there for some of the best and worst moments of my life, and I’m happy that you guys have been there for me for both ends of the spectrum and every step in between, and I hope that I can return the favor.
To the Melee scene and to Smash…I’ll see you all soon.
[thank you]
I think I speak for a lot of smashers when I say that this game and its community is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I quit smash in 2012 although I had a few short streaks of being active here and there. EVO and the documentary really made me come back though and I realized I had been so stupid, the most amazing game of all time had been there the entire time. This might have never happened if it wasn’t for your tremendous efforts with the MIOM-team.
Thank you, Prog.
Prog, thanks so much for your hard work with MIOM. Seeing such dedication from you (and the other great team members) over the last couple years is what made me want to work on When’s Melee. I feel like I found what I can do to help people, thanks to inspiration from people like you. Good luck with LSL, I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store.
Thank you Prog, for all your hard work. As much as the players get recognized, it’s really the people behind the scenes like you that make magic happen. Melee changed me as a person and I have nobody else to thank other than the amazing community and people like you. Thank you.
As a Long Islander, I just want to thank you so much for paving the way. This summer I began “Just the Tipper,” a weekly Melee tournament on LI that’s seen consistent 40-50+ entrants, with some of the old school guys even coming out of nowhere to rejoin the scene. One week we had Animal, Codi, Lefty, Honeybadger, and tons more come out, and I just can’t help thinking of what you did to lead the community here, especially those guys in particular, before moving on to supporting Smash on a national and global scale. I know that you were extremely supportive and accessible to my younger brother “JKJ” when he was entering the scene, and considering that he’s the primary reason I got into the game, you, by extension, are a huge part of why Melee and Smash is now such a wonderful part of my life. I wish you the best of luck Prog, and thank you for everything.