Ex-King of Kong: The Demise of Billy Mitchell

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I woke up today expecting to go about my everyday routine. Go to class, run some errands, look for some jobs in anticipation of graduating in a few weeks, etc.

But all of that seems unimportant and insignificant in light of today’s new that Video Game Player of the Century, Billy Mitchell has been stripped of his records in both Pac-Man AND Donkey Kong.

Billy is of course one of the main characters in what some (by which I mean me) would call the greatest movie ever made, King of Kong. The film documents the epic rivalry between Billy Mitchell and fellow Donkey Kong savant Steve Wiebe.

Some people may say, “they’re just video games” which is true, but have you ever played Donkey Kong? It’s goddamn impossible! I play it in a bar once and could barely make it to the second set of ladders before Jumpman (who we now know as a Mario) got smashed in the face with an Ape-propelled Barrel.

If I had to sum up my reaction to the news in one word it would be distraught. To know that one of your heroes has fallen from grace is a tough pill to swallow. I feel like that kid who was bummed out about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series in Eight Men Out.


Say it ain’t so, Billy. Say it ain’t so.

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