I started listening to this and had to stop.
First and foremost, to all my friends involved in this, I tell you the truth because I RESPECT you enough to do so rather than be a scumbag and lie to you.
First, I have to address what I believe is a completely irresponsible way of "reporting" this, and yes, this is directly aimed at the broadcasters of the podcast. If you wanted to treat this fairly, why was Big E himself not made aware of this podcast, your intention to report on it (in what you knew would be a negative tone), or given an opportunity to come on and have an open discussion as opposed to what seems to be out and out mud raking?
Next, why is it that NOBODY has talked to Big E directly regarding these problems? I hear about the problems and people posting and talking about the problems, but let me say that in all the time I have been involved in Big E events, all I had to do was discuss something I was unhappy with him DIRECTLY and he did his best to resolve it.
Why did nobody go to him directly? Why did nobody have the balls to stand in his face and say, "Eric, I was completely dissatisfied with your tournament and here is why..." Why instead did you decide to go on a podcast to voice your opinion BEHIND ERIC'S BACK and not say it DIRECTLY to the SOLE person with the power to change it? I'm confused as to why it was handled this way instead of with a direct and open dialogue with Eric himself.
Why would anyone talk about someone's business like this? Generally when you're unhappy with a product, you go directly back to the store/manufacturer, etc. and you speak with the manager/owner to discuss your displeasure, the options available to you to resolve this and how future products can be improved. Speaking with Me or other TO's means you're saying it to SOMEONE, but in the end, unless you've said it directly to ERIC then you haven't said it to the right person.
Am I defending a bad tournament? No. If NEC was sub-standard (I wasn't there) compared to the rest of Eric's tournaments, then by all means, Eric should be addressed (by the people who are unsatisfied) in an attempt to rectify the situation. But the only way you're going to get the answers you're looking for is if you talk to the RIGHT person.
I wish this had been more well thought out before presenting this situation to the public this way. This is a clear cut case of creating drama that could hurt someone's FINANCES and BUSINESS, and that simply isn't right, especially when you left him out of the loop.
