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I did it again: the story of the 2009 Evansville Tecmo Bowl Tournment

By Greg Eberhart

The 14^th annual Tecmo Super Bowl Tournament took place on Saturday, January 24^th 2009.  As is usually the case a crew of some of the fastest “thumbers” filled the Eberhart Compound at around 2 pm.  The “Tecmo heads” came to compete for the most prized possession any of these lads will ever have……..the heralded Tecmo Super Bowl Trophy.  

One of the major storylines coming into this tourney was whether a once respected fixture to the Tecmo circuit would make his return after serving a one year ban (losing a bet).  Curt Cummings did in fact make his return, although he was much more subdued than in previous years.  Maybe it was a renewed determination, maybe it was nerves, what ever the case, this was not the “Squirt” of old.  Other “gamers” in attendance included Leeds, who is starting to develop “thumbs”.  Dassel, the 2006 champion, determined to win his first game in three years.  Next up Flener, a pesky competitor, who is getting better at “thumbing” every year.  Cameron wearing the same Nintendo controller shirt he has worn the last 7 years (never been washed).  Staley, who now has made two tourney’s in a row and looking for his first victory.  Pounder, who is third in total tournament wins.  Bruce focused as ever, looking to climb back to the top of the Tecmo world.  Patton, if he can stay sober long enough, might upset some people.  Kirwer just needs to stay away from the Crown Royal.  Eberhart is going for back-to-back titles and 5 overall championships.

After Cameron’s yearly request to use his “special” controller was denied (for the 5^th year in a row) the drawing began.  First round byes went to Patton, Wagler, Dassel, Kirwer, & Bruce.  It didn’t take long for the first upset to happen when Staley knocked off Cameron in a first round matchup.  Staley rushed Thurman Thomas for 148 yards and passed for 140 in route to his 31-21 victory against Cameron and the Oilers.  Cameron passed for 319 yards and threw 1 INT and a last play hail Mary TD to make the score look respectable.  Apparently Staley’s one week blitz of playing every day with Bruce for hours paid off.  Meanwhile, Cameron has now lost his first round matchup the past two tournaments.  Last year he was still able to advance to the championship game, this year……well……..stay tuned.

Other first round action included Cummings, using the Falcons, battled back from a 10 point deficit to beat Flener and the Oilers 31-10.  Andre Rison had 91 yds. receiving.  Eberhart used the Oilers and shutout Leeds and the 49ers.  Eberhart held Leeds to 72 total yards & only 19 yards passing!  Yes…..Leeds had the 49ers!!!

In the second round Pounder & the 49ers easily defeated Patton using the G-Men by a score of 28-7.  Pounder learned his lesson from last year and chose a top rate team to play with his first game.  Patton just couldn’t find an offensive rhythm and got away from his game plan.  Eberhart also advances by beating Dassel with the Eagles.  Dassel didn’t score until the 4^th quarter and only managed to rush for 82 yards using the Raiders.  Final score was 23-14.  Meaning, Dassel still hasn’t won a game since 2006!  On the flip side, Eberhart has yet to lose a game since 2007.  Kirwer beats Staley using the 49ers 17-10.  Looking at the box score this was a tight game both teams had almost identical total yards, came down to turnovers.  The last player to advance was Bruce who soundly defeated Cummings by a score of 24-10.  Bruce used the aerial assault of the 49ers & Cummings played with the Giants.  Joe and “the boys” just had too much fire power for LT to overcome. 

Moving to the loser’s bracket we see that Cummings sends Leeds home by rushing for 287 yards with the Raiders.  Final score was 21-7.  Cameron beats Patton 28-10 with the help of 198 rushing yards from Thurman Thomas, causing another early exit for Patton.  Honestly, I don’t think Patton cares, he’s all about the fellowship, Crown, & throwing down side bets.  In a great game, Dassel finally wins by beating Flener in overtime 34-28.  Dassel relied on everybody’s “boy”, Jerry Rice, to advance. 

Staley gets bounced from the tournament by Cummings, losing 34-10.  QB Bills passed for 225 and a 100% completion, while Thurman chipped in with 110 yards on the ground.  Apparently, during Curt’s one year ban he spent the majority of his time doing thumb exercises and “tapping the Kodiak”.  Cameron barely gets by Dassel in a last second thriller.  Dassel has the ball with one final pass into the end zone, a la the 2006 championship game, but this time it is in and out of Andre Reed’s hands.  Dassel probably should have won this game, since he was up 14-3, but he still refuses to punt or kick field goals. 

Pounder knocks off the defending champ Eberhart in overtime, 34-28.  Pounder threw for 411 yards, of which 170 went to Andre Reed.  Was Eberhart’s reign as Tecmo champ over?  Let’s just say he was not a happy Tecmoer.  Bruce defeats Kirwer 21-13, setting the stage for a Pounder vs. Bruce matchup.  The winner will advance to the championship game.   Will we see the first championship since 2003 in which neither Eberhart nor Cameron will be a part of???

Eberhart must now face Cummings if he is to continue in his quest for back-to-back titles.  Rumor has it that Cummings was calling this a “revenge” game.  For some odd reason he holds a grudge over all past champions that didn’t allow him the chance to play in 2008 (although he is the one who lost the bet).  Anyway, Cummings wastes no time taking the opening kickoff 60 yards.  He then scores and goes up 7-0.  Eberhart counters and ties the score at 7-7.  The game continues to go back and forth and Eberhart makes his first mistake and throws an interception.  Cummings now has the ball with a 14-13 lead in the 4^th quarter and just needs to milk the clock.  He does, drives the ball with a few passes, runs.  Eberhart still poised is playing aggressive defense, knowing that at any moment something big could happen.  And then, the Tecmo Gods shined their light on the “golden child” and Roger Craig fumbles the ball on the Bills 15 yard line with 2:30 min to go in the game.  All Eberhart has to do is drive into field goal range and win the game.  He does but instead of risking the field goal he continues to drive and eventually scores a TD with a little over 1 min. to play.  Enough time for Cummings to have a shot at victory.  Finally, on the last play of the game Eberhart picks Cummings play and this time Jerry Rice doesn’t come down with the catch.  Eberhart advances Cummings goes home, literally, he left, went home just like last year.

Cameron throttles Kirwer 42-10 with a balanced attack of 170 rushing & 129 passing.  This set the stage for a rematch of last year’s championship game:  Eberhart vs. Cameron.  Things started off badly for Cameron when he threw a pick in his first series of the game.  From there it was all down hill, Eberhart and the G-Men continued to pummel this past champion forcing 4 turnovers and scoring 21 points in the 4^th quarter.  Final score was 42-17.  This means that for the first time in 5 years Cameron would NOT be a part of the final game.  Bruce told Cameron quite candidly, “Maybe you should retire your Nintendo belt buckle”. 

Bruce and the Chiefs were too much for Wagler and the Giants.  Bruce forced threw INT’s and threw all over the Giants D.  Stephone Paige was the man, yes, Stephone Paige!  The final score was 28-7.  Bruce advances to the finals for the first time in 10 years, when he won it all in 1999.

Pounder must now face a determined Eberhart for the chance to play Bruce for the title.  Eberhart and the Chiefs dominated this game from the beginning and never looked back.  It wasn’t until the 4^th quarter when Pounder’s Eagles finally scored.  QB Eagles threw two INT’s and as a team only managed 22 rushing yards.  There was nothing outstanding offensively for the Chiefs, just the defense that played lights out.  27 – 7 was the final score. 

The championship game was set, Bruce vs. Eberhart  Bruce was going off at an early 3 point favorite due to the remaining teams he still had left to use (2 of the top 4 teams).  Eberhart must beat Bruce twice to win the trophy, but if anyone could do it, Eberhart had the best shot.  Eberhart went with the best team remaining from his list:  the Raiders.  Bruce chose the Oilers.  Eberhart dominated from the gun, running all over the Oilers to the tune of 241 yards rushing, only passed for 11 yards.  The Raiders created 3 INT’s of Warren Moon, held him to 23% passing completion, and 164 total yard of offense.  Eberhart didn’t let up wanting to make a statement to those still in attendance that he is a Tecmo machine.  At the final whistle the score was 31- 0, the first shutout in championship history and the largest margin of victory.  Now, it all comes down to one game, winner take all.

Eberhart deliberated and eventually chose the Bengals; meanwhile Bruce saved his best team for last, the Giants.  This game started off just like the first, Eberhart dominating and not looking back.  Bruce decided to challenge Fulcher one too many times and threw two INT’s.  Eberhart took full advantage and scored every time he had the ball, rushing for 268 yards and passing for 117 yards at an 80% completion rate.  At halftime Bruce had yet to score and Eberhart was leading 21- 0.  The first mistake Eberhart made was throwing an INT in the end zone.  Bruce made the most of this and drove the ball and scored, making the score 21-7.  Eberhart took his next series and scored again, almost nailing the coffin shut.  As the final seconds ticked off the clock Dassel said, “Congrats Ebbz you finally proved what we all knew.  You’re the BEST thumber around”.  The final score was Eberhart 35, Bruce 7.  The Bengals held the Giants to 0 yards rushing and 186 yards passing.  In his final three games, Eberhart outscored his opponents 93 – 14 and ended the day winning 7 games and losing only once.

So, you’re probably thinking this is where the story ends?  No, after the pictures were taken Eberhart asks for everybody’s attention.  As he’s gazing at his left thumb, which is calloused from the 8 games he had to play, he begins to quiver as he delivers a most memorable speech.  He said, “Guys, I think as of this moment I am going to step aside, I’m going to retire from the game I dedicated over half my life to.  It’s time.  It’s just time.”