Ranbat 1.3...or Rocky 4.1?

You could see a few more Hondas and Mazdas parallel-parked on the street. Nothing too out of the ordinary. A few more twenty-somethings in jeans and t-shirts milled around outside the house, talking about this and that. It's near a the U. Whatever. But if you had been passing by outside Andy's house on Saturday night, May 9, you would have heard just what the Utah Street Fighter scene is cookin'!

Ranbat 1.3 produced more cheers and celebrations than any other before. 27 people competed but well over 30 showed to watch old and new alike fight it out for first place and over $100 in winnings in Utah's third Ranking Battle, where in a surprising twist on Rocky IV, Drago (Brian) couldn't claw out of the to-him unfamiliar losers bracket to overtake Rocky (Andrew), who has now claimed his first gold medal finish. Andrew stayed undefeated up to the very end, using more aggressive Sagat play to overcome the solid and experienced zoning always exhibited by Brian's Guile.

Kelly and the Bronze Boxer nearly fought his way into the title match, exhibiting the in-your-face results of some serious time in the training room in keeping solid pressure on Brian, but fell just short of the Big Dance. Well, at least in this movie, Apollo doesn't really die; he just comes back in two weeks to try again. Rounding out the top 5 and back from hiatus was the return of Jacob "Bake a Pretty Cake" Bleyl and his monstrous Gief, and an oldie but a goodie, Andy "The Dokta" dispensed overdoses of Chun and Honda to his opponents, securing 5th place.

Every tournament offers something different, and Ranbat 1.3 did not disappoint. 8 people new to the Ranbats competed on Saturday: Eddy, Elvis, Greg, Pancho, Nico, Cesar, Gustavo, and our first female competitor, Katie. Brian, Wade, Thomas, and the Triplets even had extra family and friends on hand to get in on the action. Talk about bang for the buck; the fights lasted longer and at a cheaper entrance fee than Hatton v Pacquiao! The big disappointment would have to be not recording Thomas' Gen-stravaganza, but that's why it's better to be live than LIVE. There's definitely more to post, but in the end, you just had to be there.

To everyone that made it, make it back. Bring more of everything: people, game, good times. To everyone that didn't, what the hell is wrong with you. STEP YO GAME UP.