“Nah, I can’t win this way!” He declared. I replied with, “Excuse me?” Completely
caught off guard with what had just happened, I was stopped dead in my tracks. My
opponent Adam had just soundly beaten me 57 to 51, so I was a bit confused. I then
asked him what he was talking about. He then stated, “You didn’t enter in your ten
points for hobby… you beat me, 61-57!” WHAT?!!!
Article by: Lou Rollins
I am sure the look of surprise, then momentary befuddlement, followed by a smile was a
kodak moment. Who was this guy? Adam Machamer, Space Wolves enthusiast, and
currently serving our country in the Air Force. All around nice guy and genuinely smart.
We were scrapping for ground and points the entire game—and it was a blast!
But the crown jewel of the whole game was finding a guy that cared more about integrity
and playing an honest game than getting a win under false pretense. I was so very
impressed, and then felt very humbled to find such a champion of this hobby!
Yes, that was round five of the Las Vegas Open last year! This past season I kept telling
myself that I should write an article about this experience, but for one reason (or
another) I kept putting it off, and just didn’t do it.
Well folks, with the LVO just around the corner, and with a few competitions left, I
thought I would share some thoughts about: Victory, Champions, and Winning in this
hobby and game of Warhammer 40k.
Victory can be defined in a variety of different ways, but often is seen as the one who
wins at something. In the case of Warhammer 40k it often is equated to winning a
tournament, getting Best in Faction, or walking away with that fat check that Richard
Siegler has now won… twice! Amazing! But what if we expanded our vision to see
other facets of the same jewel?
In my introduction, I shared an experience that (at least to me) was a huge personal
victory for Adam. He could have let things go. I likely wouldn’t have remembered. But
he didn’t. He overcame himself—and won!
This reminds of a quote attributed to Buddhism, “It is better to conquer yourself than to
win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by
angels or by demons, not by heaven or hell.”
Additionally, I gained a new friend. Another Victory! Because of Adam’s example, I
was reminded how good it feels to see someone just being good and doing good.
Because he chose to have integrity for himself, I was edified as well—another victory!
Winning accolades and money can be nice to be sure, I mean… who doesn’t appreciate
a few thousand dollars? But don’t overlook the little victories that can be had along the
way while playing this game.
Being a Champion is also an interesting thing; certainly, there are those that we all
know in the game that have earned “Champion” status because they have, by all
accounts, championed armies on the battlefield and have been ranked very, very high.
While I think that the money that comes with winning the International Tournament
Circuit (ITC) either as “Best General” or “Best Hobbyist” is awesome, one can be a
“Champion” of many different things.
This causes me to think of my friend, Stephen Box. Stephen has unquestionably
become the “Gentleman Gamer” and “40k Fitness Advocate.” He is the founder,
president and owner of Vanguard Tactics and is recognized internationally as a highly
capable and competitive 40k player that anyone would want to play! More importantly,
he is very serious about the hobby of 40k and how much it can help with mental
wellness and is a huge advocate for bringing other players into the game and helping
them to also become competent players.
I still remember watching him win the Renaissance (now “Paragon”) award at LVO last
year. When he was announced, I looked around the room to people standing up,
clapping their hands, and nodding “Yes, you’ve earned it mate!” What a stellar example
of a “Champion” for this incredible hobby! Stephen, I want to be like you when I grow
up!
I love, and sometimes hate, how this game is constantly in a state of flux. Because of
that, it demands: study, execution, knowledge, tenacity, practice, sportsmanship, and so
many other virtues that there is scant space to write them all down. Perhaps, that is
why I keep playing—the demands placed upon one’s self to “git gewd!” Look, I think its
safe to say that we all want to “win” at some level and be recognized as “winners” (why
else would we engage in such competitions) but “winning” is an interesting word and
can have a multiplicity of meanings.
Here is another perspective on winning; one of my favorite moments of this game was
attending the Bay Area Open a couple of years ago and going to the Rogue Trader
Tournament the day before the event. I think there were twelve of us. I needed to
prime the pump, so I attended. So glad I did! John Lennon, Richard Siegler and Jim
Vesal were all in attendance comprising 25% of the player pool. Jim was leading the
ITC in both the “Best General” category as well as “Hobby Track”! I remember bumping
into Reece “the Old Grey Beard” Robbins (legendary Champion of this Community and
Hobby!) and saying to him, “Wouldn’t it be cool if Jim was to win the double crown?!!”
Reece smiled, nodded, and said “It would be cool! I hope he does… but there is still a
lot of season left!”
What fun it was to hear Jim say to me as I was admiring his amazing looking army, “I
am a hobbyist first, and a comp player second!” Man, kindred spirit right there! What a
winner Jim was in my eyes at that moment; win or lose the season (in either category)
Jim was a winner because he decided for himself how he was going to: a) define his
40k experience, b) chase it, and then c) celebrate on his own terms what happened at
the end of the season. Jim did end up winning Hobbytrack, and Richard won Best
General.
We have all gotten tilted. Being a veteran, former Marine infantry platoon Sergeant
myself, and born of Latin decent on my mother’s side, I have certainly had my moments
like anybody else. But, with so many ways to look at what it means to find victory, be a
champion and win, perhaps we can all do a little more self-reflection and consider what
we want to leave for the next generation?
I won’t always be able to attend events at the competitive level. Val Heffelfinger and
Peter, the Falcon have referred to me (and my team-mates) as a bunch of “Old
Grognards” and that is likely an appropriate characterization. I hope that when I choose
to exit this hobby and am probably flipping the canasta and bingo tables in the
retirement home to play some 40k, that I’ll look back on my time in this amazing hobby
and smile. I’ll smile fondly because of the many amazing people met and friends made.
I’ll smile because of the thousands of miniatures painted that brought some
assemblance of sanity to me. I’ll smile because I tried to leave the 40k community a
little bit better than I found it. And if I am at all honest… that’s a Victor’s crown to me!
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