Rust Belt 2008 Winners were...
Not a full recap or anything, but it needs to be posted:
I don't have the scores, but the Rust Belt Finals rankings ended up being:
1st place - Columbus - Writers' Block
2nd place (TIE) - Chicago, Cleveland
4th place - Columbus - Black Pearl
and
Indie Winners (TIE) - Dave Nichols (Cols. BP) and Dee (Detroit)
A fierce battle was waged, and I'm so, so proud of my team and this event. 120+ in attendance for Finals!
I read (yes, I performed! Organizing don't stop me, son!):
- 1st round - "La Vida Loca"
- 2nd round - "Bob Ross, Give Me Strength"
- Team Finals - "The Gospel According to the Matrix"
TOTALLY not stuff I'd do at Nats, but there it is. Just had a feeling.
Backstage Pass Stuff:
- I was next in line for Indie Finals. Just missed the cut!
- I wrote a poem during Finals that almost got read as soon as I wrote it. Donielle thought that was too much to ask of the poetry gods, and I defered to her judgment.
- I did something different with "La Vida Loca's" performance that I hadn't done before. No, I didn't give that any forethought. Just seemed like the tact to take.
- Columbus used all 4 of our poets: Donielle, Gina, me and Dave Noble.
- Apparently Dave Noble has been practicing in front of the mirror a lot, because word on the street is that his performance had cats tearing up. Dude got a 29.5. Zang! He read in place of Donielle in the second round. Yes, Columbus STILL has poets you don't know about that can get 29+, son!
- Donielle read off paper in Finals. She doesn't like to do it, but she wanted to do the poem that she was feeling most, and that's always my first question as a coach because that's usually the poem you'll do best with.
When I think about the poets in the audience who WEREN'T on our team that are historically incredible slammers with NPS and Rust Belt track records - Vernell, Kim and Jason Brazwell, Rose Smith, Joanna, etc. - a win like this really says a lot about the depth we've been developing over the last couple of years. I'm telling you: the Writers' Block night is gene-splicing great poets!
I am going to do NOTHING today. Oh yeah, and by the way:
3) Put on the Rust Belt regional.
Done.