By: Michael “Elvis” Greene
March 2, 2009
March 2, 2009Philadelphia PA. Coast to Coast the clocks have stopped as the first
ever West Coast Master’s tournament results in a shattering victory
for Adam Meyer who brings the West Coast Trophy and the green
jacket…to the eastern seaboard. This, ladies and gentlemen, is
history.
For 11 years the West Coast Masters Tournament has been full of angst,
anticipation, excitement, and controversy, and last year resulted in the
first time a West Coast Master moved the trophy East (Perry Day).
Meyer, a Western Division Master who lives in NJ, made sure the trophy
wouldn't go too far. Things, as they say, will never be the same. For the
2nd year in a row, the trophy resides out of the state of California.
However, this is the first time that someone has flown into town to win
the title!
A quick recap of the crazy events that led up to the fateful night:
(get a snack…this is gonna’ be good!):
What started out as a political bickering match between the Masters
regarding various rule changes turned into arguments and resignations.
All hell was breaking loose. Name calling, claims of poor pig
passing, even rumors of bribed voting! Several new Masters were being
considered and there was a tremendous amount of discussion regarding
acceptance of New Masters. But through it all, with every vote that was cast, a new controversy erupted.
For a while, none of the West Coast Masters who now live on the East Coast (for various reasons) were going to be able to attend the event, which would’ve left the Masters a little bit short of players to have a successful event. So the controversy of who shall play and sit out continued until Gary Williams cast a last minute vote that changed everything. With Gary’s vote, two new Masters were voted in including the first ever Western Brothers duo “The Derangos” featuring the new player Luke Derango as well as two other new masters Rich Washofsky and Matt Jannsen. (incidentally, Williams vote also helped to cement a new player for the North Western Division of Chicago in the deal. Excellent vote manipulation by Williams)
Soon after…Williams, the former last place contestant, booked the hotel Le Parc Suites in West Hollywood. (this was his second hotel booked as Bill Vergos did the math and realized that Gary’s first choice was the size of a bathtub…the correction was made to a larger room…thanks Bill). All was set for the big dance…and then…WHAM…Adam Meyer throws a monkey wrench into the mix and as a last minute invite decides to join the fray. Apparently Meyer just couldn’t miss out on the action and, being a Western Master as well as a former Pig Madness winner, his Masters Slot was never questioned, so Meyer flew out and played.
The party started the night before as the Derangos, Rago and Coscia rolled the pigs on the bar at Cabo Cantina which resulted in Johnny’s puking all over the place later that night. Always a great way to start a pig tourney. And the game followed the next morning with everyone showing up late and Williams throwing a few 4 letters words around because of it. No one likes a tardy Pig Passer. Needless to say, the games got under way. After the “regular season”, which is a sort of first round in a masters event, Meyer led the pack with a 19-11 record, followed by Bill Vergos and Mark Rago who showed strong 18-12 records. Perry Day and John Coscia tied was close behind with a proud 17-13 records while Autograph Mike squeaked by with a decent 15-15 showing.
Those who didn’t make it past regular season? Johnny Derango and
Rich Washofsky came in short with 14-16 games. Matt Jansen and
Luke Derango tied with a 12-18 record while Gary Williams put
a sad 9-21 showing on the board. This marks Williams 3rd Masters
event in a row at the bottom of the pack and it also marks the first
event that a rookie didn’t make the playoffs. The playoffs were brutal
and the players were beaten back quickly by Adam Meyer and
Autograph Mike who made it to the final round. Perry, Mark, Bill and
John had to sit out and watch as the two remaining players made their
way to the ring. The 11th Annual Pig Masters Tournament would be
Meyer vs. Autograph. Tension was high and nerves were shaky.
Both men believed they could best the other in this final round of brutal
pig passing. However it would be Meyer to wear the coveted green jacket
as he beat Autograph 4 – 1. Adam Meyer now becomes the only player
in the history of the National Pig Passing League to win a Pig Madness
AND a Masters event. And, reviewing his performance for the night, his
victory was never in doubt. Adam posted quality scores all night and
strong wins which makes him the 2009 undisputed Western Division
Champion.
So was it fate that changed Adam’s plans to a last minute entry or was
it a smooth psychological move that kept him out of the bickering and
let him sneak in unnoticed?
Either way, Meyer has had enough of the bologna as he whips out his
own brand of pigs…and he spells it M-E-Y-E-R.
MY BOLOGNA HAS A LAST NAME…IT'S MEYER!
