Matt’s #ASongofMadness 2020 Final Thoughts
#ASongofMadness 2020 has ended. What a great and terrible day! As is custom, here are Matt’s end-of-season thoughts (expect Scad’s later!):
First, I hope you will all send messages of appreciation to Scad. He worked tirelessly – like hours and hours AND HOURS – on finding a new format to spice things up this year. It was he that suggested the four groupings and which characters belonged in each group. It was he that wrote all of the matchup descriptions (even when I offered to take a few!). And it is he that truly is the driving force behind A Song of Madness. This head-on, thoughtful nature is his approach to life in general, and I love him for it. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without him.
There are two reasons we do #ASongofMadness only once a year: 1) To preserve its sanctity and the excitement for it; and 2) Honestly, it’s tiring. The good kind of tired, though. Like after a great concert, or finishing that grade-defining essay, or working in the fields all day to support your family (Okay, I’ve never done that last thing, but I hear it’s very rewarding). I’m sure in a couple weeks I’ll be anxiously praying for March 2021 to come quickly, but for now, I’ll happily take the reprieve.
Now, I could recap the tournament, focusing on the 2020 Bot Scandal, “Leaning in” to the criticism of stans, the record-breaking number of votes we received, the new character groupings and their impact on freshening up the tourney, or even all of your fantastic voting criteria. All would be worthy of character count. But frankly, what’s on my mind – where I’m at emotionally at this point in my life – is… Community. Family. Home.
Especially during this time of heightened stress and isolation, community, family, and home is more important than ever. A place where we can feel accepted, appreciated, loved, protected, and supported. One of the primary reasons we do A Song of Madness is to foster that sense of community. To give us all a place to go and be among friends. The “Cheers Bar”, if you will. If you can’t go out with your friends this Saturday night because you are social distancing, for example, you can come see us on Twitter. It doesn’t matter your social status, how you grew up, the number of times you’ve read ASOIAF, or how long it’s been since you last spoke with us. You’ll always have a seat in our living room. We don’t have to think the same, but we all love each other the same.
So, after all this misery, pain, and woe, my final request is that you be that difference for those in our family here. That person that gives a Like, Retweet, or “AWESOME” comment on someone’s art rather than just scrolling on, that responds reasonably rather than snarkily, that accepts rather than rejects, that builds rather than tears down. Humor is a blessing and we all need to laugh at ourselves, but let’s laugh together rather than at each other. This all sounds very much like the end of a Sesame Street episode, but isn’t it what we all need? Community? Family? A Home?
There’s always a place for you in the Davos’ Fingers living room. We will rib you, you will roll your eyes at our 8th grade level humor, and you will be frustrated beyond belief at some of our ASOIAF takes, but you will also be loved, accepted, supported, and protected.
Thank you for playing. Thank you for supporting. Thank you for smiling. Thank you for loving. Thank you for accepting.
Stay Savage, Bloodriders.
