So I finally got into a schedule that seemed to work. I could have new blog posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yet here it is, Thursday night and there have yet to be any updates. You can blame that on the topic of the last update. I ended up spending about 15 hours on Sunday and 6 hours on Monday hanging out with the Mario Marathon guys, bringing them food and interacting with the people watching.
I had to miss last year’s marathon because of my sister’s wedding, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect this year. I took Friday off because I felt like it, so I spent a good portion of the day watching the online feed. And then a good portion of Saturday. I can’t explain it, it was just strangely addicting. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was ready to be helpful.
As it turns out, due to some well-timed publicity, Sunday was the busiest day of the marathon. As the designated “tweeter reader” (later re-named “twit face”), I was responsible for watching the Twitter feed and interacting with the people who posted. It was a really weird experience for me. I mean, here I am sitting in my buddy’s living room watching him play video games while I screw off on the Internet, and people are just going nuts every time I mention their name. Weird.
The marathon was successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams though. Because they raised so much money, the guys who were actually playing the games had to 100% Super Mario Sunshine, a task that took them over a day on its own. Finally, after over 96 hours of gaming, the marathon came to a close. Along the way, thousands of people worldwide tuned in, and over 1,000 people contributed to raise over $29,000 for Child’s Play Charity.
There were some great moments along the way, too. One was when someone asked if any of us were romantically involved. Brian went down the row of guys sitting and said “Married. Married. Married. Married. And married. So no, there’s no romance.” Of course, we all started laughing. Our wives who were standing in the next room didn’t find it quite so funny.
In a more touching moment, John (a.k.a. “couch guy”) shared the very first ultrasound picture of his baby with the world. The Internet was very happy for John and Cheryl, as were all of us there.
My friend Sundeep stopped by with some members of his band CircAfrique. They played some music for the viewers and Sundeep enterained everyone with his own unique brand of humor. (He was so popular that the Internets are clamoring for him to do his own show. And oh yeah, they want me on it too.)
And of course, there was the dancing. After the $27,000 mark was reached, John, Brian, and I did a very special dance for the viewers. Very early Tuesday morning, the donation count reached $28,000 and John did an unforgettable solo dance.
So I’d just like to thank everyone who made this possible — specially those people who watched and donated. You guys did a terrific thing, and you should be very proud of yourselves.
–mac guy