First Stop Awesome Town

That's the only way I can describe my first LAN experience.

Let's just start off with I had never ever, ever, ever been to a LAN party or anything of the sort. The closest I had ever come to a LAN was gaming in my fraternity playing Unreal Tournament with my next door neighbor. Yes we did drink and scream obscenities, but I was not prepared for the level of Awesomeness that I was about to experience when I arrived at the Wyndham O'Hare (The Dungeon).

I knew a bunch of people from the site (from playing with them online and sitechat ) and it looked like a hell of a lot of fun. I missed on the first LAN at the Holiday Inn, or whereeverthehellitwas, b/c I didn't know about it until super last minute. I saw all the fun they had the year before, and I wasn't going to miss the chance to kick doodi in the nuts. I had also had a bit to do with securing schwag for the raffle so I figured I had to show up or look like a douche, or show up and still look like one, either way I was going.

I hoped in my car on Saturday morning with my wife calling behind me telling me how much of a dork I was with nothing in hand except for a few games. I was only going to be there over night and I figured I didn't need to bring all my extra shit for one day, in hindsight I should have (sorry for jacking your xbox Sparhawk).

After a 3 hour drive up from central Indiana to the west side of Chicago I arrived. I was a little scared at first because I didn't know anyone by face only by voice, and voices change when you here them over live versus on the phone, or in person. I walked in the room around 10am on Saturday and I saw a bunch of hungover people setting up their gear that they had taken back to their rooms from the night before. I didn't recognize anyone at all, so I just stood there and watched for a minute.

After a few minutes I heard a familiar voice, the biggest douchbag of them all, DSmooth. I walked up to D and put my hand out to introduce myself, he looked at me a little funny at first, but after I told him who I was he began showing me around the room and procured a nametag (which I immediately threw away).

I still really didn't have anywhere to set up b/c I didn't bring any gear so I stood around for a few more minutes until D saw me lurking and asked if I had a roommate. I told him I did, and that I was rooming with Rau and TMX. Little did I know that they were standing two feet in front of me playing Guitar Hero, and they had been the whole time I was assessing the situation. D introduced me to the two of them and Rau immediately handed me a beer, and that's when the drinking started.

The rest fo the day was filled with gaming fun, drinking, shoe tossing, and lots of obscenities being tossed around the room. I got my ass kicked by TDrag on more than one occasion in GOW, and was team killed incessantly by Rau, I couldn't have had more fun.

As day turned into night and I met more and more people Boogie, Doodi, Wytex, Taxi, Ebola, Phreak, Jolly, Stacey, and their daughter Megan I got more and more comfortable with the people and the surroundings. I had never spent a day with anyone of the these individuals in my life and without a second thought they were all treating me like family. It was then and there that I knew what 2old2play.com was all about. We were all looking for the same thing, a group of people who enjoyed gaming and a sense of community, and we found it in this mod squad of sorts.

We had the raffle at the end of the night on Saturday to great success. Soup won everything except the Atari gaming system that I won with my 1 golden ticket. Everyone laughed at Ken when he won the giant black cock, and then we all went back to gaming.

Towards the end of the night everyone was really drunk and taking a break from gaming. A group of about 20 of us or so congregated in "lobby" of the LAN and began what is now called the 2old2play state of the u n i o n debate. You had to be there to experience it, or understand what it was all about, but it was probably the mos fun I had during my time in Chicago. Nothing beats having serious drunken conversations that everyone forgets about the next day.

At about 4 in the morning the party broke up and we all headed to our rooms, and that ended my first 2old2play LAN.

I went back last year and it was bigger and better than the first. I'm so glad I made the first trip and got to know everyone on a more personal level, b/c it made my time on the site that much more enjoyable. I wouldn't miss another one for the world.

If you are on the fence like I was on my first venture take that leap of faith and come on out you won't be disappointed.

See you in Chicago.