Post by thebra on Jun 28, 2012 5:58:29 GMT -5
After watching some ANW4 and unsure if some past veterans who may have been to Sasuke before competed or not due to the fantastic editing G4/NBC has done, I took it upon myself to do a few quick google searches.
Colin Bell, who was the winner of the very first ANC, and competed at Sasuke 19, has since joined the Marines and also competed on the show "One Man Army" and won the episode that he was on.
www.dvidshub.net/news/76975/marine-takes-title-one-man-army#.T-wuIbWn_wk
Maybe this has already been posted as this article was written in 2011 but I thought it was cool nonetheless.
There's a few other's that I'm curious about whether they've kept up with ANW or have fallen off the map. I can totally understand if people get fed up with all the hoops that they have to jump through just to tryout and of course now not having a Japan trip tied to the comp. probably makes it harder to justify for some to make it to the competition.
I know Marc Witmer was injured prior to his attempt in Sasuke 21 but I thought he had tons of potential. Seems like he has vanished off the NW/Sasuke map.
Joop Katana who competed in 23 got shafted when he didn't even get accepted for the trials at ANW3. I don't know if he tried out this year but I can only imagine how I would have felt if I made it to Japan only not to be invited back for the trials.
Once again thanks to the editing I have no idea if Adam Laplante tried out this year.
Anyway, I guess with all of these people that are going through trials, it's going to be harder and harder to keep up with who's competed when/how they did and all that, I'm guessing I just miss the days when it was just like 2 or 3 people who were sent off to Japan to compete with everybody else at the tournament and that's all it was.
None of this editing to make it look like a separate tournament. It just had a really epic feel when it was obvious that the few Americans who had a chance to run the course were competing at a distinctly Japanese tournament. I thought those episodes that G4 did that showed Levi and Brett as they went around Japan meeting Nagano and other competitors were amazing in showing the spirit of Sasuke.
These fluff pieces that NBC/G4 are doing for ANW4 just feel really forced, I'm really finding it difficult to connect with any of the stories unless I've actually met the person before at the trials.
Anyway sorry for the tangent, but just some random thoughts I've had about ANW/Sasuke. Don't get me wrong, I think ANW is great for us competitors, but I frankly can't see it having even close to the longevity of Sasuke unless they really start changing the way it's presented. Bring some of the Sasuke All-Stars over, accept foreign applications, just get some diversity in there that doesn't rely on death, disease, or depression. Show more runs, not every competitor needs a full profile. Make it a point to show that competitors (most anyway) are supportive of one another.
I have more thoughts about this but I think I've ranted more than enough.
Colin Bell, who was the winner of the very first ANC, and competed at Sasuke 19, has since joined the Marines and also competed on the show "One Man Army" and won the episode that he was on.
www.dvidshub.net/news/76975/marine-takes-title-one-man-army#.T-wuIbWn_wk
Maybe this has already been posted as this article was written in 2011 but I thought it was cool nonetheless.
There's a few other's that I'm curious about whether they've kept up with ANW or have fallen off the map. I can totally understand if people get fed up with all the hoops that they have to jump through just to tryout and of course now not having a Japan trip tied to the comp. probably makes it harder to justify for some to make it to the competition.
I know Marc Witmer was injured prior to his attempt in Sasuke 21 but I thought he had tons of potential. Seems like he has vanished off the NW/Sasuke map.
Joop Katana who competed in 23 got shafted when he didn't even get accepted for the trials at ANW3. I don't know if he tried out this year but I can only imagine how I would have felt if I made it to Japan only not to be invited back for the trials.
Once again thanks to the editing I have no idea if Adam Laplante tried out this year.
Anyway, I guess with all of these people that are going through trials, it's going to be harder and harder to keep up with who's competed when/how they did and all that, I'm guessing I just miss the days when it was just like 2 or 3 people who were sent off to Japan to compete with everybody else at the tournament and that's all it was.
None of this editing to make it look like a separate tournament. It just had a really epic feel when it was obvious that the few Americans who had a chance to run the course were competing at a distinctly Japanese tournament. I thought those episodes that G4 did that showed Levi and Brett as they went around Japan meeting Nagano and other competitors were amazing in showing the spirit of Sasuke.
These fluff pieces that NBC/G4 are doing for ANW4 just feel really forced, I'm really finding it difficult to connect with any of the stories unless I've actually met the person before at the trials.
Anyway sorry for the tangent, but just some random thoughts I've had about ANW/Sasuke. Don't get me wrong, I think ANW is great for us competitors, but I frankly can't see it having even close to the longevity of Sasuke unless they really start changing the way it's presented. Bring some of the Sasuke All-Stars over, accept foreign applications, just get some diversity in there that doesn't rely on death, disease, or depression. Show more runs, not every competitor needs a full profile. Make it a point to show that competitors (most anyway) are supportive of one another.
I have more thoughts about this but I think I've ranted more than enough.
