EVO Roadtrip Day 1 - Philadelphia, PA

"Welcome to University City" reads an overhang, as the first stop on my roadtrip draws near. It occurs to me that I have only the vaguest memories of Philadelphia, as the last time I visited I was on a day trip with my elementary school. What I definitely didn't remember was it being so CLEAN. Some older Philly residents might be quick to correct my use of the word "clean" and opt for "sterile" or "Pennified" due to the urban renewal initiatives led by the University of Pennsylvania, which calls the neighborhood home. But as an outsider, my shoulder is chip-free. From where I stand, University City looks like the best parts of Brooklyn: diverse and urban enough to have verve, but clean and quiet enough to seem sophisticated, at least at 3 in the afternoon when I showed up.

I park my Jeep on Pine Street and start walking towards South 40th. The architecture on Pine really jumps out at me for some reason. The buildings have a sort of classical charm to them that I didn't expect to find in this part of town. But I didn't come to University City for the atmosphere. Shortly after I round the corner of Spruce and South 40th, I see exactly what I came to see: the three mischievious yellow smiley faces outside the University Pinball Family Fun Center, home to some of Philly's finest Street Fighter and Marvel players.


I step inside to a familiar sight: a barred off counter, behind which a man sits, surrounded by the kinds of stuffed animals and knick knacks that seem very desirable to the 7 year old in all of us. It looks like a jail cell for escaped refugees from the Island of Misfit Toys. These furry felons are doing back to back life sentences, and the only thing that can free them is your Skee-Ball tickets. Sadly, I have neither the skills for, nor inclination towards ticket games. Sorry "big blue bat thingy", you're staying stuck in the slammer.

What I do have the inclination for, however, is some fighting games and University Pinball does not disappoint here. While UP has a great selection of fun arcadey distractions (including a row of beautifully kept up pinball tables and gun games), the highlight for many will be the fighting game quarter. There you can find, among other things, a homemade Marvel vs. Capcom 3 sit down cabinet, an old Marvel vs. Capcom 2 cab and UP's crown jewel: a row of 4 genuine, linked Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition sit down cabs.

"What do you mean 'You don't play Skee-Ball'?"

I take a seat at the only open AE cabinet. My competition consists of two young men who seem to be old hat at fighting games, and a little 8 year old girl messing around in beginner mode to keep from getting matched up with the big boys. Humorously, every now and again she would opt for arcade mode and end up in a match against one of them. There was actually something sweet about watching two hardened veterans go from being locked in a tense struggle to awkwardly trying to play in such a way that the little girl could at least have fun. That's the kind of inclusiveness that will keep the FGC strong year after year and it was nice to see it in a place where one could easily imagine (and possibly understand) the veterans getting pissy about casual players interfering with their session.

I put a stack of quarters (yes quarters) on the cabinet surface and plopped 2 in the machine. I felt my stomach tighten. This was the first time I had had this feeling since my teen years (read: forever ago). I've competed in tournaments and on line, and of course, against friends but none of that is the same. When you come in off the street into an arcade you have never been to, you are on someone's turf. And no one, especially not the proud warriors at University Pinball, wants to lose on their turf.

The games had begun. I run Dudley, usually with Ultra 1. Both of my opponents were running shotos, one Ken, one Ryu. I don't care what the tier lists say, I love fighting shotos with Dudley. Stuff those tatsus with stand or crouch fierce, bait out DP's after knockdowns for free combos, Ultra 1 fireballs or blocked sweeps on reaction...I love it. I took my first 3 or 4 matches against them, but then things got serious when the Ken player pulled an Inigo Montoya on me.

Him: I admit it, you are better than I am.
Me: Then why are you smiling?
Him: Because I know something you don't know.
Me: And what is that?
Him: I...am not a Ken player.

And out comes his Akuma.

This is a match I feel very comfy in as well, since I have a friend back home who mains Akuma. But I wasn't quite ready for THIS Akuma. I managed a round here and there but it was pretty one sided. Our third match came down to the last round with both of us at 1/3 life, ultras loaded. I was spacing and stalking for a fireball to U1 but he was wise to my game. He threw out a fireball and FADC'd backwards. I let the Rolling Thunder rip as soon as I saw the purple of the fireball. His backdash put him just out of reach for me. Then he demon'd and that was it. One second I was smiling because I thought I caught him, next second I'm looking at a screen full of Akuma's back.

"That only works if your opponent has not studied option select techs.....which I have!"

We both smiled and acknowledged one another. Then he got up, patted me on the back and left me to simmer in my defeat. Now it was just me and the little girl. I have to give her credit, she never stopped trying. After a couple of matches I felt bad though and decided it was time to hit the road. I left the remainder of my quarters on her cabinet. "Thank you, thank you!!" she squealed, as her grandmother in the corner smiled at me.

Before I left I had a chat with the warden of the plushy prison. He seemed to do it all: maintenance, janitor, ticket redemption. I asked him about business and he said things have been going well, thanks in large part to the community of players who come through to do tournaments like Eric and WorstPlayer from the Shoryuken.com boards. The other major factor, he said, was that the owner of University Pinball owns the building as opposed to leasing it from someone. As he said that I couldn't help but think of the loss of Arcade Infinity and Chinatown Fair earlier this year due to lease disputes. It's a real comfort to know University Pinball won't be suffering the same grisly fate any time soon.

After finally leaving UP I took a short 15 minute drive to Philly's famous cheesesteak corner on South 9th. Like the tourist I was, I got a cheesesteak with onions and cheesewiz from both Geno's and Pat's. Every bit as good as the hype I must say. As I climbed back in my Jeep with a stomach full of South Philly's finest meat, I thought about the spirited 8 year old girl at UP and whether she knows how lucky she is.

I hope she knows to cherish her time at a place as special as University Pinball, because like many children who grew up in arcades during the 80's and 90's she may drive by it one day to see that it's doors have shut. It's a sad thought, but one I can't help but have after seeing my local haunt in Rockland County, NY get unceremoniously replaced by a mattress store. But having now visited University Pinball myself, I have hope. With luck, it will survive long enough for that 8 year old girl to come back one day as an 80 year old woman, with grandchildren of her own to come fight the good fight, play skee-ball and help some of those stuffed critters get out from behind bars once and for all, to get a sweet taste of freedom.

EVO Roadtrip: Crossing the Land of the Free in Search of Good Fights and Good Food

It has been a long week. At the time of this writing, I sit in a nicely air conditioned hotel room in Las Vegas, NV. Eight days ago, I was pulling out of the driveway of a beautiful house in the suburb of South Salem, NY, my parents already looking tiny in my rearview mirror as they waved goodbye to me from the bottom of the hill. They do not know when they are going to see me again, and neither do I.

I am moving, you see. The Lake Merced area of San Francisco, CA is going to be where I lay my head. But as a rabid fighting game fan since the days of Yie Ar Kung Fu, this nearly 3,000 mile sojourn holds a promise of something equally exciting to me, if not more so, than a fresh start at life on a different coast: the opportunity to attend my very first EVO World Championship. Spectating and playing in the grand daddy of all fighting game tournaments, against the highest echelon of players from across the country, and the globe, has long been a dream of mine and in just 3 more days, that dream will become a reality.

The road has been very long, but equally fruitful. In the last 8 days I have stopped in 12 different cities in almost as many states in search of arcades, independant game stores, gamer meet-ups and great local eateries. I can honestly say that I found at least one reason to come back to each and every city I visited. Our country, I have discovered, is full of beauty and is not lacking for good people, good food or good gaming scenes. I ate well, laughed often, bodied some people, got bodied by even more people and even managed to make some new friends along the way. Now I am going to share all of it with you fine folks, day by glorious day.

It HAS been a long week. But it's been a righteously kick ass one too. I hope you all will enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed living it! Check back daily for more!

Next up: Day 1 - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh