Noone seemed to mind that I am also guilty of these three accusations levelled against MAQT. To wit: 1) My house team played the top team in the tournament, CWRU A, THREE TIMES on packets I wrote myself. Oddly enough, this had no effect on the outcome -- UWO lost by an average of 150 points on those packets. Somehow all of those subliminial effects didn't help. When questions are so readily spread around the continent, distance is no object in learning peoples' styles. I imagine the vast majority of players at the Terrapin were familiar with Michigan's style (especially considering Chicago has already played against Michigan this year, they should be familiar with the style) 2) I picked my house team to do the best they could do. As it was their first tournament and I wanted them to have a good time, it was a good idea not to treat them as doormats for all the other teams to wipe their feet on. Part of the reason for running a tournament is to allow your own players a chance to play -- the idea behind a tournament is for people to PLAY the game. That applies just as much for experienced players form Maryland as it does for rookies from UWO. Best team or worst team, it really doesn't matter. Every team can set their own policy on how to field a house team. Duke would have no house team, and noone should complain about that. I had nine different people play for my house team, noone complained about that. As long as they are blind to the questions, there shouldn't be a problem. Knowing the packet writers is not grounds for disqualification. This is hardly the first example of a house team winning the tournament. Other teams that have done it recently include (off the top of my head) Queen's, Harvard, and Illinois, and noone bitches about them. 3) Not only did I stack the canon in my team's favour, I told everyone months in advance I was stacking the canon. The American teams knew damn well they was going to be Canadiana, just like teams going to Terrapin knew damn well it was going to be hardcore ACF. GW knew this and decided not to go. It's their prerogative and they can't be faulted for it. If Maryland had the power to change the canon against the wishes of all other teams, the only possible explanation is that they worked a helluva lot harder than everyone else, and for that they should be commended. A good house team should not be treated as proof that the TDs have conspired to rig the tournament. It seems as though some players have issues with MAQT that have nothing to do with the results of the Terrapin. As for the general meanness of this discussion, I have one piece of advice: save your spite for when you're playing the game. It might actually come in handy then. Dave
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