Subject: Re: Dave Underwood: Coolest Player in Magic
Date: 28 Jul 1998 18:54:56 GMT
From: unamuzd1@aol.com (UnAmuzd1)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc

Thank you, David Wintheiser, for saying publicly what those of us who know Dave
Underwood  have been saying amongst ourselves for quite a while.  I've known
him  for over two years, and he's one of the people who make me really glad I
started playing the game.  I'm not going to start listing off reasons why --
they're too numerous, to be quite honest.  But I would like to point out two of
Dave's traits that set him aside from so many other magic playes.

1.  Respect.

When you finish playing Dave, you are never going to see him gloat if he wins.
In fact, it's hard to tell sometimes if Dave won or lost after a round, because
if you ask him how he did the first thing he'll do is praise his opponent.  He
makes people feel good even when they LOSE by treating them with respect and
pointing out the things they did well.  How many players can make you feel good
about losing?  Dave also loses gracefully, never a bit of complaining.  He was
pretty put-out by his loss in the open, but he also knew that you were a good
player, since you wouldn't have been sitting across from him at that point
otherwise.  He doesn't *like* losing (who does?), but it's part of the game.
Which leads me to my second point.

2.  Perspective

A lot of us say that this is "just a game."  But when we sit down and start
playing, it becomes a question of doing whatever we can to win.  I had
breakfast with Dave and some others after he was knocked out of the open, and
someone asked him about the first game "scoop."  Dave made it pretty clear that
yeah, he could have gotten a win that way -- but he didn't want it.  Not that
way.  There are more important things to Dave than winning, and one of those is
DESERVING to win.  Taking a win when he didn't deserve it isn't his way, nor is
taking any advantage he doesn't deserve during the game.  At the end of the
day, he's got a family to go home to, and kids to raise  -- and that's what's
really important to him. He's got the perspective I wish a lot of Magic players
had, and knows what's  important in life.

In my long winded way, then, I'd like to second the nomination of Dave
Underwood for coolest player in Magic.  He's a great player and a solid
deck-builder (yes, Dojo-ites, this is the man of "Underwood White Weenie"
fame), but more importantly, he's a damned good human being.  Magic could use a
lot more like him.

Morrie Mullins
random guy who's lucky enough to know Dave :)