I wanted to stay out of this discussion, but I decided that when one of the best people in the TF2 community is being defaced, I must at least tell another side of the story.

I like to say I discovered Sigafoo as a caster, but the truth is, he was born for the mic. He started as a color commentator, and I as his play-by- play, and together we casted numerous games for eXtv, UGC, and just some fun ones on the side. He was one of my favorites to cast with, as he was always on time, always professional, fun to work with, and extremely intelligent about all things TF2. Regardless of what you think about his casting, playing career, or highlander in general, you would agree with me that there is not a more genuine, harder working, self-improving guy out there. After every cast, he'd ask me what he could do better. He was always making adjustments and working on his style, which in turn improved our style as a pair. He took this approach to everything he did with TF2, from streaming to mentoring to signing weapons to playing to pubbing to lobbying to interacting with fans and enemies alike. If you need evidence, watch any stream, watch any cast, watch any POV of his. Have a 2 minute conversations with him.

Casting the grand finals of UGC Platinum is a huge deal for Highlander casters. As someone who has put in the time every Monday for months to cast regular season games to then be passed up on the season finals, it hurts. You like to think that the TF2 community is a big, warm, fuzzy family that you don't need to prove yourself in to be accepted. Just give your time and best shot, and you'll be golden. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, and many people are trying to make money off of this. Therefore they make decisions that short-term hurt the casters who've showed up every day, but long-term help the organization. If these decisions are relayed in a timely and professional manner, no harm no fool. It's still sad, and leaves you to cast the Silver Grand Finals on eXtv3 (true story- still enjoyed it, though!), it's a business move, and not personal. If it's conveyed in a less than professional manner, it feels personal. It feels like you've been taken for granted and that all your work is for nothing.

My first Grand Finals, Season 14, was also my last. I was so happy to have landed the gig with Sigafoo, and the cast was one of the ages (mTs' s first win!!!). After the cast, UGC offered to pay me for my time. I told them to give the money to Sigafoo. They said that was unlikely, because Sigafoo had told them to give his share to me. That's Sigafoo in a nut shell (we decided the money would go to eXtv's Patreon campaign).

I'm not going to speak directly about this incident, because I wasn't there. From things I've heard, there have been mis-truths perpetuated in this thread. I won't comment about that, but I will say that anyone who knows Sigafoo will know the truth. And that truth is no one deserves to be taken for granted, cast away, and feeling like all their hard work was for nothing.

P.S. Another "Sigafoo in a nutshell story": he and I (and C0ld) arrive at Windy City Rendez-Vous at the same time and want to go say hi to Lange. Lange is streaming and on camera. I say, "we'll catch him later." Sigafoo says, "Let's both go kiss him on the cheek." Guess which we did.

Jesus christ, people. Missouri has enough issues without Euro trolls making us an arbitrary target.

That said, if Sideshow or anyone wants real advice stuff to do in Missouri/St. Louis, feel free to PM me or add me on Steam.

Also, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) is a required reading to enter this state. You will be stopped at the border and made to read a least a short story before we let you in. Also, Nelly and Jon Hamm are from St. Louis.

So pack multiple undershirts and pairs of undies because it is hot as hell already. They say it's not the heat, it's the humidity, but if you're looking to do outdoor things, I would recommend early morning/evening. Here's a list of my favorite things to do in St. Louis:
- Play video games
- Stay inside

Here's a list of what I tell people to do when they come to St. Louis:
- Missouri Botanical Garden has free live music on Wednesday nights, also other cool events
- City Museum (there's a Ferris Wheel on top of the roof)
- St. Louis Zoo is free and awesome. Go early and you can see the sea lion show.
- As Southpaw mentioned, the Loop and Central West End are good food & bars places. If you're in the Central West End, stop by the Improv Shop and catch a show
- Busch Stadium, if you're a baseball fan. If you're not a baseball fan, you should be.
- As Redd said, definitely skip the Arch. I say skip the casino's too.
- Anheuser Busch tour is good, I hear. I also hear that the water in St. Louis is such good quality because the brewery needs it to make its beer.
- Forest Park is a great area, with our History Museum, Art Museum, the Muny, and some wonderful landscapes. It's where the 1904 World's Fair was and a lot of the buildings were preserved

That said, you were not specific about where in Missouri. Kansas City is a great place too, good places to eat, nice baseball stadium, museums, good culture. Columbia is pretty college town-y, though it might be a little toned down during the summer. Jefferson City (our state capital) is nice if you like your regional Midwestern history, but other than that a little dry. Those are the only cities in Missouri that matter. Please don't go anywhere else.

Quite a good showing for St. Louis! Hopefully the start of something great!

For those of you going, when were you going to get there?

UPDATE: I had a meeting with James from Laclede's LAN (the local group that's organizing this) and he's totally on board to bring more TF2 action to LAN. They're going to set up a TF2 pub server and, if there's enough interest, we can totally do some comp action. He's really interested in building a fun, relaxed atmosphere (in contrast to the CS guys), so I suggested some more "fun" modes, like Dodgeball, Jump Maps, Sniper Tourneys, and UltiDuo. Is there anything else you guys would suggest?

Also, I edited the first post so we can keep track of those confirmed coming. Post here if you are (and if you're registered yet!)

Also incentive- James told me they have enough prizes so roughly 1 in 4 participants will walk away with some real life gear, from mousepads to computer cases to headsets. Also, free pizza!

omg, so many dreams coming true so fast! Yay, I can't wait!

Also, I got into contact with the organizer and I'm gonna help him promote the TF2 event. If we can get enough people, would you guys be interested in a 6s match? probably not enough people for a tourney, but a showmatch could be fun.

Good, see ya there ;)

Whoa whoa whoa... slight possibility?

What? A 120 person Bring-Your-Own-Computer (BYOC) charity gaming event.
Where? Il Monastero Banquet Center of Saint Louis University -- See Location & Hotel
When? January 10-11, 2015
Doors open 9 AM on January 10th
Event ends on Sunday January 11th at 3 PM
Tickets? Tickets are required, starting at $40 for a weekend pass
Under 18?Must be at least 16 years old. Under 18 will need to bring a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.Link

It's got your typical LoL, DotA, Hearthstone, etc. tournaments, but from midnight to 4am there is a "TF2 Challenge" which could be fun. But maybe if the TF2 community around StL shows some interest, we might be able to convince these guys to do other TF2 things.

Anyway, I'll be there. Anyone else going?

Going and Registered:
Kip
Miyari
oPlaid
Mathyou
Odin's Beard

Met him at Chicago LAN, made him play Scout on my team. He did quite well as Scout (despite his protests), and was a great team player. I can account for his niceness and awesomeness.

Great thoughts, thanks! I think what's important to realize is that no one is advocating kicking out white politicians and placing unqualified African Americans in position. I think the argument to get better community representation is to provide resources that would educate, train, and allow blacks to pursue representation in institutions. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an editorial that advocated for better public education.

I agree that anything to do with racism (or perceived racism) and violence is touchy and needs to be handled carefully. I also think that taking into consideration the community's opinions is most important, and if Ferguson residents feel that they, as a black population, are being unfairly targeted by white police officers, that sentiment at least needs to be acknowledged. I don't think another Black Panther Party or similar radical group is the best option for Ferguson residents, as history has shown violence only leads to more violence. But I do think treating Ferguson residents as adults with legitimate concerns rather than children who are complaining is essential.

As for elected representatives who are white and don't represent their constituents, I think the issue lies with how quickly the Ferguson population went from being majority white to majority black. Electoral politics just simply can't operate at that speed, as politicians are individuals who usually must present community and financial backing along with years of experience to be elected. Members who do represent the local community just simply haven't had the time to develop that sort of political experience. This is not blaming anyone- this is just explaining the situation.

I'm using "race" here as a historical term, something that has been socialized into our everyday vernacular. I'm not sure what your critique here is.

As a lifelong St. Louisan and a PhD student currently writing a dissertation on radicalism and race relations in the Midwest, I thought I'd offer my services (also looking for any way to procrastinate) on understanding the situation in Ferguson. This seems relevant especially now that riots/protests have continued for more than a week, a curfew is in place, the National Guard was called in, and Amnesty International has sent representatives to observe the protests (an unprecedented move). For those of you who are not familiar with the situation, I honestly don't know where to start. I guess, simply put, a week ago, an 18-year old man named Michael Brown was shot to death in Ferguson by a white police officer. Circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation (I don't want to go into that here, we need to wait for more information from a federal investigation). Protests, lootings, break-ins, and general public displays of dissatisfaction have been continuing for the past week, receiving international attention.

Now, for someone not familiar with St. Louis or the U.S., these events out of context might seem very confusing. I am here (and invite any others to join in) to answer questions about St. Louis, Ferguson, protests, radicalism, African Americans in St. Louis, and Midwestern history. I am by no means an expert, but I hope to help.

For starters, Ferguson is not in St. Louis City. Ferguson is in St. Louis County, in the North. The city and county are separated, since 1876 when the blooming city decided it didn't want to support the still mostly rural county. White flight, restrictive housing practices, and economic depression left St. Louis City depopulated with a mostly black population by the mid-20th century. Many urban blacks moved to the county suburbs, like Ferguson, to escape urban poverty and crime, in turn, pushing most whites further out of the county. From a NY Times article (written by former Missouri politician who was convicted of election fraud, but that's not too important):

"Ferguson’s demographics have shifted rapidly: in 1990, it was 74 percent white and 25 percent black; in 2000, 52 percent black and 45 percent white; by 2010, 67 percent black and 29 percent white."

So formerly white suburbs of the county were increasingly growing in black populations However, as the article mentions, the elected representatives, the police force, and city elites, in general, are still white. Yes, there are many issues that led to this, concerning elections and trouble with minority recruitment on the force. But, many blacks in Ferguson do not perceive these officials are representatives of the community.

As a historian of radicalism, I am in general not surprised as this response. This reminds me of Malcolm X's activism in the early 1960s. Malcolm X recognized that many black communities did not have black representation, and therefore argued for a self-segregation, which sought to empower local black business, politicians, and community leaders. Later, in the late 1960s, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale witnessed similar lack of community representation in Oakland, California, where they started the Black Panther Party and community patrols (groups that would follow local white police officers to discourage police violence). I can talk more about the successes/failures of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, if you want, but, I just want to show that the ideas of a police force and city that doesn't represent the actual city population is not a new phenomenon in American history.

Hope this helps in understanding a very complicated situation. I really don't want this to turn into a cluster of misinformation, links to Huffington Post articles, or "I heard that..." posts. This is a mostly academic and historical conversation, and I encourage respectful discussion and debate (that I know this community is capable of).

edit: holy run-on sentences

edit 2: For a humorous, but poignant take, here's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver".

Congrats to mTs! And a tearful farewell, but thanks for all the great seasons! And here's to many more with ET!

I would don't bother with these two- all of my Twitch VODs of substance are uploaded to my Youtube (and the rest would be best erased from history). And most of eXtv's stuff goes up on Youtube as well.