For Dave Samuelson, tasting room manager at Helltown Brewing, the Sega Genesis console represented the apex of his video-game playing days, and one of the games Samuelson remembers playing best is Tecmo Super Bowl.
“It was the first (football) game that had the real players,” said Samuelson, 45. “It had the ability to change plays, it had (actual) teams and it was just the most realistic version at that time, so there’s a lot of nostalgia in it for me.”
When Samuelson was looking for ways to boost business at Helltown’s Murrysville tap room during the slow month of January, he immediately returned to his college days.
“We had a tournament with eight or 10 guys,” he said. “We put money in, and it got pretty intense.”
Samuelson will host a Tecmo Bowl tournament at Helltown’s Murrysville location on Jan. 11. Those who haven’t played the game since its heyday may be surprised to find out who’s on the roster.
Originally released as Tecmo Bowl in 1988, the game featured only nine players per team and did not include any actual NFL players as Tecmo had not secured naming rights from the league.
That was remedied in 1991, and today at TecmoBowl.org, enthusiasts can download a free version of “Tecmo Super Bowl 2020” that includes fully updated teams, rosters and rankings. If you’re an Aaron Donald fan, the version of the game released in September 2019 includes the Penn Hills alum and NFL star.
“I have an original NES cartridge. I actually bought the game from them last year, and this year I got an upgrade of that cartridge with current rosters, which we bought from someone on Etsy,” Samuelson said.
A much more casual Tecmo tournament at Helltown last year drew a dozen participants.
This year’s tournament costs $5 to enter, with a trophy and beer prizes going to the top three finishers.
Samuelson can’t wait.
“Tecmo Super Bowl was always the game I had the fondest memories of,” he said.
For more, see Helltown’s Facebook events page or visit HelltownBrewing.com.
