The day that I first laid eyes upon a Tecmo brand football game I felt an instant attraction to it's wondrous sparkle. It was 1990 and Tecmo Bowl for NES was the game. I liked to play it and the intense rivalries with my friends would be played out over long nights of staring into the Tecmo screen. I was amazed by the play of the game... then a year later Tecmo Super Bowl for NES and all the teams were represented with the real life players. After being initially upset that my favorite player Randall Cunningham was shown as "QB Eagles", I began to play a season and to my amazement the game kept STATS!!! I had seen the light and the light was good. I decided to play a season with every team on TSB and record all the players stats and then make two pro bowl teams with the best players from all of my seasons.

I must admit that I did not use all of the teams. I ABSOLUTELY HATE Dallas, New York (NFC), Washington, and the Raiders (They beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl and I'm still mad about that.) Right as I finished all of my teams and assembled a Pro Bowl team a version of TSB came out for SNES. About damn time. When it came out I was very poor and could not buy it. However, the summer after it's release (1994), I found it at the mall in a store called "Saturday Matinee" (remember this). It was for $50, a steal for sure, so I bought it. I quickly began my mammoth Pro Bowl task once again... I have since finished it, but depending on how much I play the rosters may change.

That brings us to the year 1995, I met a guy named Bruce while slammin' Blizzards at the local DQ. The boredom brought about by school and the repetition of work led to the "borrowing" of the SNES and TSB from my brother at home. I brought the game to Bruce's and we played a preseason Dallas/Philadelphia game. I won the first match-up and thought I was a Tecmo God never to be beaten. We quickly fired up another game, I could see the glare in his eyes wanting an upset, the urge by me was to beat him even worse. We played again, I was chatting, running my mouth... playing with what I thought was a unbeatable gift from the Tecmo Gods above. It got to the 4th quarter and I was losing... oh, shit I need to concentrate. I did.... unfortunately, it was too late. I was beaten. The moment lasted an eternity, but as Bruce sat and basked in the glory of a Tecmo victory, he unknowingly accepted an everlasting challenge to play tecmo and feel my wrath forever...

This brings us to March of 1996 and my search for Tecmo Super Bowl III:Final Edition. I had no money on the date of the release of TSB3 (surprise), so I figured I would pick it up later. It was not to be. I scoured the Earth looking for it but it was not to be. I went back to the "Saturday Matinee" store hoping for another Tecmo miracle, but to my surprise I found their last copy of Tecmo Super Bowl II:Special Edition. I bought it up fast, because I heard of the scarcity of it. I had rented it once before and loved it, so now I own it... the Tecmo holy grail!! Hopefully the same luck will befall me with TSB3...

In the summer of 1996 my luck with Tecmo continued as my girlfriend found one little ol' copy of TSB3 at the beach while she was on vacation. She bought it for me, but I had to pay her back of course. Now I own all the Tecmo Super Bowl games for the SNES, but now that a version for PlayStation is on the horizon, I see a new quest for Tecmo about to begin.

The Players

Kevin

That be me. In our Tecmo circle, I believe I am the best but I try not to flaunt it because I hate other flaunters. My skill is because I take pride in my game and perfect the slight nuances that are essential for victory. Bruce claims I'm better because I have better teams.. but I think I just play teams better. I can win or make it close with almost any team. It feels weird when you're #1 because everyone is gunning for you and when you are defeated in a crucial game the news spreads like wildfire through our Tecmo Community. Whenever I am beat, the victor proclaims a triumphant victory, but I never feel that way when I win because it comes sooooooo easy (sometimes). Although I have won only 2 of the last 5 Super Bowls, my overall record is head and shoulders above the rest. Also, I command statistical excellence. I record them, I compare them, and I'm constantly trying to improve them.

Bruce

Bruce is an excellent player, he used to only be separated from me in experience, but we have both played so long, our experience is basically identical. The only true separator time and time again has to be playing style ... he plays an aggressive passing type offensive, whereas I am obsessed with defensive prowess, which I truly believe is the key to victory in the long run. He's always experimenting, trying to invent a new way to shock and beat me. Usually his innovation will catch me off guard for a game or two, but I eventually regain my form and he's back to the drawing board. He has become better and can beat me close to half the time, but he can never put away those so-called "easy" games in the regular season. He can't play below average teams worth a crap either. His claim to fame game - and 41-3 thrashing of my Jets with the Colts. Boomer fumbled, threw picks and generally sucked.

Dan

Dan is a rookie, but he learns fast. He has gone from getting whipped by the computer to whipping the computer in his first ever Tecmo season. That was mostly attributed to his discovery of the lurch, but nonetheless, he shall soon be a force to be reckoned with. He has since beaten Bruce and is making eyes for his next would-be victim... ME. He has a new obsession with the Steelers because he loves Woodson (can you blame him), and should be making waves in his first Tecmo 3 season. His claim to fame game - almost pulling the upset with Washington in his first vs. game against Bruce's Colts, only to lose 10-7.

Ethan

Ethan is a relative beginner in Tecmo, but has played before, although not in a league as competitive as ours. He is perhaps the streakiest player in our league. He will totally stun and upset someone one week, but then the next game he can't get anything going on offense. He has beaten everyone in the league now except for Dan, but that should come soon enough. Note: has yet to win with shitty teams in vs. games, thus only winning with relatively good to excellent teams. His claim to fame game - rocking Bruce in their very first Tecmo encounter ever, at a time when Bruce believed he could only be beaten by me.

John

Formerly known as Mr. M, John is a tecmo veteran in his own right, but unfortunately for him most of his experience lies in the old NES version against the computer. He has since learned the skills to be effective in VS. games, but he needs to become familiar with the quirks of SNES versions of Tecmo. In the summer league he played with Bruce he fared quite well regarding his experience. For some reason he always plays me tough, I believe he's the only player I have yet to embarrass. His claim to fame game - his first versus victory against me where he played Reggie White like a pro and took down the undefeated Lions.