[sanddrag]

One bad experience (I wouldn't say the worst) was at the 2004 Phoenix regional when we broke our pneumatic relief valve. Not one team in the arena had a spare relief valve. Spare parts did not have one spare relief valve. We even offered to trade team members for the relief valve. There was not one spare relief valve anywhere in that arena. We lost probably 2 or 3 matches just due to that.

Anyway, a sort of scary experience was when we had to go to the Six Points Hardware store to get a new one. This guy told us it was about a block away. It's great he told us about it, otherwise we would have been out for the regional. Anyway, luckily an arena staff employee gave us a ride on the golf cart out to the street. But from then on, it got a little scary. We go out in the street and there are a bunch of "questionable figures" lingering about the sidewalk. I really wanted to go back behind that gate of the arena parking lot but I knew we needed that valve. Luckily I had my friend (this really big guy) with me but even still I kept my hand in my pocket on my leatherman tool knife for the whole way there. By now you can probably tell this wasn't the best part of town. Run down buildings, grafiti, etc. Anyway, looking for the hardware store (which was supposed to be a block away), we got a little lost because it was more like 5 blocks away and Phoenix has big blocks. On the way there, we encountered a new "Adult" store opening just a couple doors down. The payoff of this adventure was when we got to the hardware store. This was like the absolute greatest hardware store I have ever been to. And they had our valve. Once we got the valve, we went back the way we came. Very soon, we encountered a very deranged man yelling "Five Dolla Bubble! Five Dolla Bubble!" And he had a bubble gun and was running through traffic spraying bubbles everywhere. When he saw us, he started coming toward us trying to sell us some bubbles. We went the other way, and then so did he. Finally we just picked up the pace and dodged down an alley. That wasn't the greatest idea. There was this homelss guy coming down the alley with a shopping cart full of who knows what. When we tried to stay on the side to avoid him, he moved over. Luckily he passed us without incident, but that is because he was too busy cleaning his crack pipe! We eventually got back to the arena parking lot to where we walked in the driveway. There was a car coming out and for some reason my friend stands in the middle of the driveway with his hand out like he's a policeman or someting (my friend gets stupid ideas like he's a cop sometimes). My friend then steps aside and the car takes off with the guy screaming profanity and making obscene gestures. Anyway, the guy in this car obviously not with FIRST. Then we got back inside, installed the valve, and it has worked like a charm ever since.

Some story huh?

EDIT: I forgot to ad that on our way to the hardare store, on every telephone pole there was a wanted add for this guy for homicide. Then on a couple poles there were a couple different wanted ads too. Scary huh?