SCAA/USBC: breaking-ish old news here
April 22, 2006 – 1:35 pmif this blog can’t spin a wee bit of intrigue out of the just-posted usbc competitor rankings, then it shan’t ever more speak the name of “spuma“.
* obvious mystery-heightening story line: if not for the judging error re: ryan dennhardt, then eventual champ matt riddle apparently wouldn’t have made it into the final round. think that might give serial competitor and runner-up billy wilson — who, when the top two spots were announced, had his face buried in his hands — a bit o’ retrospective acid reflux? (blatant flame-avoiding caveat: i’m not saying matt didn’t deserve to win — he did get the highest final score ever. but where seemingly every finalist recognized publicly that, “once you’ve made it this far the smallest tic can cost you,” or something to that effect, you would hate for the judges to have such a profound impact on the ultimate outcome.)
* intrigue layer addendum: someone said billy’s eggwhites make for risky sig-making in general, though it would appear that when he’s on, he’s on. highest score of the competition: billy’s first round jaw-dropper of 835.
* subtle powerhouse recognition: the other two top-flight intelly competitors — amber and ellie — placed in the top five in all three rounds. which, if ellie weren’t retiring, would seem to indicate a good place to put your money in future competitions.
* sundry bits: cigaragay went from sixth in the first round to 20th in the semis?! surely that wasn’t just the spilled milk, eh? and what happened to the murky coffee people? does this have anything to do with murky boss nick cho’s decision to compete himself next year?
* southeastern self pity: ok, forget murky. for all the local participation and regional-seasoned competition, no one in the southeast (maryland/d.c. doesn’t count) ranked any higher than 21st in either round. eight of the bottom 12 competitors from north carolina. now you know why this blog doesn’t go out much.
* kidding! somewhat impressive is the competitive finish of south carolina’s only barista — from a brand new shop with clear beginnings at ground zero! if not for today’s rain, this blog would be sampling more of the muddy waters wares this very afternoon.
13 Responses to “SCAA/USBC: breaking-ish old news here”
Matt’s the champ. Any speculation or behind-the-scenes whispering or grumbling about what could have should have out or not out stuff will only be detrimental to the US’s chances of placing well in this year’s WBC. Told that to Nick last night, and I’ll say it here again.
Why does a Canadian have to point that out
Already, the phone lines and the texting are burning up a bit.
Wanna know why the Scandinavians always do well in world comps? Because once their nationals are over, it’s a national team sport, with everyone pitching in.
Ditto for Sammy (though to a lesser extent - Sammy really just is that good) - after Nationals, Sammy’s competitors and his company’s competition have come together in previous years to help him through judging flights, discussion about the comp, you name it.
By Mark on Apr 22, 2006
mark:
excellent point. and though i’m just bloviating as an outsider, i will attempt a vastly overreaching answer to your (rhetorical) question about why a canadian has to make the point about teamwork.
this country is about individuals. always has been. and i think it becomes a handicap on a global scale, where (as you pointed out) a more communal approach seems to come so much easier.
not to say americans can’t do it in the wbc, but for the culture in general it just doesn’t come naturally. don’t get me started on the examples. (bode miller, anyone?) this is one reason why, someday, i am going to live in europe. (no, none of this means i’m a bush-basher. got nothing to do with it.)
when i came back from france in feb., we did a little exercise in the detroit airport. we simply observed how americans walk in a public place. we observed how they talked, how they ate, how they looked around. and then we compared it to the way the frenchies conduct themselves in similar public places.
very illuminating. you didn’t ask for this, but i would submit that our problems in the wbc are but one tiny example of the individualistic competitiveness of americans in general, and how it tends to isolate. i may have inadvertently contributed to this mindset with my post … but that wasn’t my intent.
By bz on Apr 22, 2006
In response to Mr. Mark Coffeegeek:
- speculation? behind-the-scenes whispering? Some people would call it open discussion. You seem to be advocating ‘circling the wagons.’ Very interesting
- Wanna know why the Scandinavians can have “everyone pitching in?” Denmark: 43,000 sq km, or slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts. Norway: 324,000 sq km, or slightly larger than New Mexico. U.S.A.: 9,631,000 sq km. WBC-knowledgable folks from the Seattle area “pitched in” to help Phuong last year. Riddle has the full-support from WBC-knowledgable folks in the US as well. However, the sad fact is, geography’s a bitch.
- And as far as I know, and with all due respect to folks in Canada, the Canadian Nationals is all about Vancouver, isn’t it?
By Nick on Apr 22, 2006
nice. and also true.
By bz on Apr 22, 2006
Just to cover the “Vancouver” comment.
Yes, it’s true that the CNBC right now is about primarily the PNW region. Just like how, up until a few short years ago, the USBC was primarily about the PNW region. But Nick, while most Canadians who follow these things are very aware of the regionals in the US (and no, not because you’re “the US” but because they find it interesting to follow other national comps), your comment shows a certain ignorance about what’s currently going on in Montreal and Toronto, just to name two places, in Canada.
In fact, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t have at least two or more in the top six at this year’s CNBC from those areas. And maybe the Canadian rep at the 2008 or 2009 AWBC (oops, slip) will be a Montrealer, or (gasp), maybe even a person from Halifax.
By Mark on Apr 22, 2006
“your comment shows a certain ignorance about what’s currently going on in Montreal and Toronto, just to name two places, in Canada.”
I’m only going by what my Canadian friends have said. I wouldn’t make that sort of comment based just on my own ugly-American perspective.
By Nick on Apr 22, 2006
No doubt then, you’ve heard about Cafe Art Java in Montreal… lots of East Coaster Americans have. And that’s just one.
Specialty coffee, the “third wave” it’s a very slow concept taking off outside of the PNW, mainly because of how ingrained Timmy Ho’s and Second Cup is in Eastern Canada. If you think Starbucks saturates the market in the US, you ain’t seen nothing yet until you see how Tim Hortons dominates parts of Canada. But, that too is changing. There’s even cafes in Ottawa now that I can recommend, whereas two years ago, it looked hopeless.
By Mark on Apr 22, 2006
you know, i honestly had no idea about some of these intra-continental tensions. if i had, i would have stoked the fire a lot sooner!
uh, no. i’m not trying to america-bash. but sometimes the difference between our tendency to define things in “rock-star barista” terms and the intellectual humility of a troels or wendelboe is just too stark to escape notice.
By bz on Apr 22, 2006
… which is one reason i really got into billy’s performance this year. from what i’ve heard about past comps, it was the first time he made it about the coffee, poured his heart and soul into it, instead of making it about himself.
By bz on Apr 22, 2006
Not sure if you were being facetious or not on Matt’s 1st round score. He didn’t need one as he had the bye from the great lakes regionals.
Interesting note on the results from the NC competitors… not sure but I think there were a lot of time penalities there. They’ll get better. And murky… many of us think Ryan was a bit under the weather although Nick claimed no. Not Ryan’s A game, which we saw at the MARBC. He’s good.
But hey, let’s talk about the real news… Pittsburgh, #25! W00t. And it looked like all the judges downed her entire fig sig.
By Rich Westerfield on Apr 22, 2006
He didn’t need one as he had the bye from the great lakes regionals.
stupid. i had totally forgotten.
By bz on Apr 22, 2006
hmm, what i find interesting is the fact that this blog did not question the lack of a first round score from Mr. Dennhardt. Is there an anti-Chicago bias here?? but wait! there was also one finalist that this blog did not videotape. and in what state does Mr. Fritzen reside?
Illinois.
By mikep on Apr 22, 2006
now THAT is a dose of cynicism truly worthy of this blog. excellent!
also: reactionary illinois-bashing is the best idea i’ve heard in awhile. chicago — it’s the new seattle!
By bz on Apr 22, 2006