We're talking baseball. Klusiewski, Campanella, talking baseball. It's time now for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teols. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us, pinballprofile, at gmail.com. And please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. You've heard her poetic words before. Definitely a lot of times on the Slam Tilt podcast. The Pinball Princess Player 31915. and she joins us now on Pinball Profile, Stephanie Gaida. Hi, Stephanie. How are you? Hey, I'm doing well. How are you? Fantastic, and I'm so glad to be talking to you because you posted something not too long ago on Facebook that we're going to be talking about a little bit that really caught my interest and a lot of other people too. You have a lot of fans out there, so we'll get to that in a second. I recently saw you at the Stomp West event at the Silver Ball Saloon. That was a lot of fun. Yeah, it was great. Love that place. That might be my favorite arcade, and if you haven't been, It's in East Rochester, New York, run by Bruce Nightingale. So many great games. What's your favorite there? Oh, my gosh. Probably Stargazer. I kind of like Old Sterns. I almost said Funnel Cake Fries, though, because they have those, and they are delicious. I had the best burger I think I've had in years at Silver Ball Saloon. So to Kat and Bruce and the entire staff there, it's a great place. I highly recommend you check it out. There's a lot of Stern Army action there going on, and I'm sure we'll see a few more tournaments there. Well, the reason you caught my attention, I've been listening to you for years. You are so eloquent with your words and you've even written into Pinball Profile, which was very, very nice when Bruce was on, actually. In fact, that was funny. But you posted on Facebook. Correct me if I'm wrong. There are only three women doing Pinball Podcast. Now, this was a month ago and you talked about Kayla doing Skillshare and Jessica on Pinball Podcast and Zoe when she does it on Tilt Through. And since then, there's actually been another one, too. And we'll get to that in a little bit. You kind of put it out there that maybe you might be getting into podcasting. And every single person, myself included, said, do it, Steph. Do it. Do it. So is this going to be a possibility? It's a definite possibility. I mean, there was a huge amount of support when I didn't even say I'm going to do a pinball podcast. I said, hey, we need more podcasts with women in them in pinball. And people were like, hey, you could do a podcast. and after the initial thought of, no, I couldn't, I went, wait, maybe I could. So I'm not entirely sure what kind of format I would do. I definitely want to put a focus on women in pinball and interview some women in the community because they deserve a space. I mean, there are so many great women playing pinball, hosting podcasts, teching, and I feel like we definitely need to have their voices shine in the community. Hear, hear. I absolutely agree with you. And I think it's just really about exposure. I've said this many, many times. Just knowing that it exists, just knowing that there are women's events, that there are events, that it is open to anyone, men, women, children. And we're seeing more and more people like you described running tournaments, teching, and you've even helped out too. And it's one of my favorite pictures of all time, and I'll post it on our Facebook group. You kind of helped out at the Stomp West tournament, but I think they were taking advantage of your, what skill set would I call that? Able to get in small spaces? Is that a fair way of saying that? Yeah, I guess that's one way to put Fitz easily under a pinball machine and has no problem crawling under an entire row, scaring the crap out of regular patrons and setting up Ron's streaming rig. What aspect of pinball interests you the most? Is it playing? Is it collecting? Is it being a tech? Tournaments? What is it for you that really got you into pinball? Well, I got into pinball because my dad was into pinball. And, you know, my dad would go to the arcade. He has a kid. He brings kid along. Kid also plays pinball. And so I spent most of my childhood following my dad to various locations around the area. And then we had the great pinball drought of the early noughts, you know, where you could not find a pinball machine unless you drove for two hours. so we would have a lot of daddy-daughter road trips to random locations that happened to have maybe a working pinball machine or two. Well, there were some locations that had a lot of good pins, but then there were some where it was like, there is one, but one is greater than none, so let's play it for like an hour. And you were hooked that quickly. I mean, it was kind of like that for myself too, but just the uniqueness of pinball versus a video game really caught my eye, and it obviously worked for you too. And I guess you look up to your father and see that he's enjoying it and having some success too. Wasn't there a story about him doing well in New Jersey? Yeah, my dad actually has some clout in the 90s pinball scene. Well, he had, I believe, a couple of second place finishes in the Broadway Pinball Arcade League. And I believe he also played in the Garden State Pinball Association, which was down in Paramus, New Jersey at Sports World. that's actually like some of my earlier memories is going to sports world i mean when i was like five i would want to play mini golf because it was like black light mini golf and that is the coolest thing but that was some of my early exposure to pinball because you know my dad was playing in it and playing fairly well and so it kind of rubbed off on me more than i had anticipated it to i thought it was just like this thing and then i realized wow i really do like this. And then you got into competitive pinball. In fact, it's been now three years. I think your anniversary was just in February of your third year of playing competitive pinball. But you've had some success, especially lately, too, including some big, big wins, including at Levy's place, his Stars tournament. Here are the people you beat, all right? Levy Naiman, Tim Sexton, Howard Levine, all looking up to one Stephanie Guida, who was the big winner of the Stars tournament. That was awesome. Yeah, I still don't know how I managed to pull that off. Honestly, at the end of the day, it's probably because it was on Stars, and Stars is kind to no one. It just happened to be a little meaner to Levy at the very end. It actually, the concept of the tournament was that there were two Stars machines Left Stars and Right Stars One of the Stars used to be owned by Steve Keeler the owner of the world famous Rock Fantasy in Middletown New York where I most frequently play pinball And I think it was on that stars, I had somehow qualified for the finals, I thought I was out, didn't realize that we were playing both stars to advance the next round. And that and Keeler stars was being exceptionally nice to me like, hey, I know you and let me advance. And then somehow it was me and Levy. And I just remember watching the ball hop the flipper, hop the inline guides. It was just not letting him get a second of play. And it gave me a few seconds of play. And I now have a pretty starry trophy in my room. That's amazing, too. And you talked about playing at Rock Fantasy in Middletown where you are. What is the deal there? And I've always wanted to go there. What's the deal with Hulkhead, for those who don't know? Okay, so Keeler has a lot of memorabilia and paraphernalia for various things, including a lot of comic book stuff. This includes posters. And one of the things is a Hulk, I guess it's a Halloween basket, and it's in the shape of the Hulk's head. And typically at the beginning of a tournament or league night, we put our money into the Hulk head and whoever gets first that night or wins the tournament gets to hold the Hulk head and it's become a tradition. That's a big deal. That's like a real badge of honor, isn't it? Oh yeah, there are people who really strive to hold the Hulk head. I remember several people, you know, I think Ron was, Ron from Slam Tilt was overjoyed when he finally got to hold the whole cat. I believe he's done that a couple times now. You also had some recent success too at the Sweet Talkers Women event. And this was done by our good friend Chuck Webster, who has done some amazing things. The Trash Talker, which also you've been a part of too, but you came in second and coming second to Zoe with all those great names there. That's another great nod to you. Yeah. Oh my gosh. The Sweet Talker, it is such a great experience because women's tournaments have this feeling that is unlike anything else. Like the sense of community is kind of ubiquitous across all of pinball. You know, the idea of at the end of the day, we're just a bunch of dorks hanging out, nerding out for pinball, having fun. But there's like this friendliness, this camaraderie that you get at a women's tournament that you it's unique to the situation I really struggle to explain it but it makes them feel like nothing else and being able to play against so many talented and skilled women was just so much fun um it brought in a lot of new faces to uh the Wicked Piss at Pinball Pit and Chuck's games are amazing and it's a great experience and I feel fortunate to have placed as highly as I did. It was just such a great time. You talked about great stern games of old that you like in Stars 2. You got your first game just recently in Sea Witch. That's a fun game and a tough one too. Oh yeah. I mean, I'm sure anyone who follows the Slam Tilt podcast sort of knows the story. Actually, somebody in the OCPC in our local pinball club posted a message on our page like, hey, Steph, look at this. I guess I must have expressed my love of Sea Witch because there is another one in the club. And I looked at it and I went, oh, no, I kind of want this. And something told me because it was in Lancaster, New York, which is out by Buffalo, I think. So my brain went, who do I know who's near Buffalo? Hey, Bruce, does this look like a good deal to you? And it turned into, hmm, I'll take a look at it. And then the next thing I know, he's sending me a picture, you know, one of his classic Bruce selfies with a pin in the back, and it's Sea Witch. And long story short, I bought it. And yeah, I have a Sea Witch. And it's such a great game. And I'm really, really slowly learning how to work on it. And it's just so great. I don't know too many people that can go upper loop more than twice in a row. It's very, very difficult to do. Have you had any luck on that? Upper loop twice. Let me think about that. I feel like twice is my limit too. I actually don't get to play it as much as I'd like. Truth be told, my sea witch is currently being babysat while I look for my own place. But have I been able to get the upper loop more than twice? Not sure, but I would definitely have to make a note if I ever did. I know that if the game is set up in a particular way, you can make the loop from the lower flippers. And I think that actually is indicative of a slight lean to the right if you can make it, because otherwise it won't go at all. That loop usually rejects. I mean, I know I'm being very vague. I don't have the specifics to how that setup works, but that just seems to be my observations as a sea witch aficionado. There we go. I love old sterns, but that game does beat me up for whatever reason. That nine ball I've had some difficulties on, but still love the games. I don't let a game that beats me up discourage my fondness for it, but it really kind of makes you want to go back and try it again. But every time I see it in a tournament, I'm like, oh, this is not going to be good. Yeah, it can be dicey to play any old stern in a tournament. I mean, even with my own sea witch, I've gotten beaten up in like league night play, but it's one of those, that's stern. It's old sterns hop the flipper. They kill you more than they let you get away with anything, but that's kind of why you love them. So Stephanie, we've been talking for over 10 minutes now and it's very natural. It's very easy. So as we said earlier, when we talked about female podcasters, look at how easy this is. You've got to do it. Okay. Yeah I definitely going to try it of Slam Tilt Podcast I am too And you helped them with many comments and some great feedback on the mail ball bag but they influenced a lot of other people too The Head to Head Pinball Podcast really got started because of Slam Tilt Podcast. And now you're interested. I think you should do it. And my advice to you is don't put a constraint of time on your podcast. Don't say, I got to do it every week because then it's work and not fun. And sometimes meeting those deadlines, Life happens and you can't necessarily do it. I know other podcasters will probably admit the same thing that, boy, if I say I'm going to do it every Monday or every Thursday, sometimes it's tough to do it because, again, things happen and you just don't always have those opportunities. But if you just kind of put it out there when it's convenient for you, it'll be a lot easier to do that. It also, for a guy like me, is a built-in excuse when you're lazy. So the Nate Shivers approach is the way to go. Well, if you can do anything close to coast to coast, you're going to have the greatest podcast ever because Nate certainly set the bar and has always done great things. But I think, Nate, it's a little more difficult for him to do the frequency he once did, but it's always a great treat when he puts it out there. So we also talked about Mrs. Pin, the new podcast, and that's kind of unique, and it's always neat to see new ones come into the game. What do you think of Mrs. Pin? Well, I just listened to the first two episodes, which is technically four audio files because whatever medium she's using uploads in 15-minute increments, like maximum. There's a cutoff for some reason. So I think it's the trade-off for it being a free site if I was hearing her correctly. So Mrs. Pin looks to be a podcast from a pinball spouse perspective, from one of the many pinball wives, quote unquote. And she was like, hey, I know there are women in pinball. I'm a woman in pinball because, you know, she's, you know, married to someone who's into pinball. And it sounds like she's quite into it herself, talking about how she got to learn how to solder. And they're talking about going to Allentown. She's talking while watching Jack Danger's stream in the first episode at Texas. And it's really fascinating because she's offering basically a casual player's perspective. You know, George Gomez comes onto the stream and she's like, oh, George Gomez. And she and her husband talk a little bit about who he is. And so it's kind of like from the perspective of someone who's getting into the hobby and who wants to get deeper into the hobby. And I think that's awesome. I hope she keeps it up because women in pinball podcasting is something I can definitely get behind. So check out Sarah Lyons' Miss Pinball podcast. It's something new. And I'm hoping we hear one from Stephanie Gaida. I'm sure it'll happen too. The pinball princess has got to have one. You've been on enough of these. You're a pro. It'll be nice to hear from a woman's perspective as well. I want to talk to you about another passion you and I have. And the timing of this pinball profile is done on purpose because we're about to get ready for another Major League Baseball season. You and I both love baseball. Yes. Yes. I love baseball. It's probably my favorite sport other than pinball, which I know some people say pinball is not a sport. It's as much of a sport as e-sports are. But in terms of traditional sports, it's baseball. So because you're in Middleton, New York, does that mean I'm talking to a Yankees fan? Yes, I am definitely a Yankees fan, although I have a healthy respect for the Mets because my mother is actually a hardcore Mets fan. So I was raised on the mythos of the Maze and Mets and the magic of the 1986 World Series, which as a Yankees fan, sorry, can't complain about that. 1986 was one of the first World Series where I watched it pitch for pitch. I remember being impressed by the Mets lineup with Dwight Gooden and, of course, Daryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight and Gary Carter, the kid who broke my heart when he left Montreal to go to New York. But that Mets championship team was great. And then you've got Boston, on the other hand. It was a good World Series to watch. So the Yankees this year, everyone's saying the Yankees are going to be fantastic because they got Stanton and they're just going to hit so many home runs. And you're probably right. Yeah, I think that Judge and Stanton are going to be the dynamic duo that they're talking about. But at the same time, the fact that people are treating it like, oh, gosh, Judge Stanton, it's all over. No, it's not over. A baseball team is more than two people. You have to account for pitching. You have to account for the rest of the lineup. You have to account. I don't even want to say this. I'm going to knock on wood as I say this. You have to account for the possibility of injuries. I mean, Aaron Judge had shoulder surgery right after last season, did he not? I mean, it doesn't seem to have affected him that badly, but how do we know how that's going to work out long term? There's just so many variables, and it ain't over till it's over. Got to quote Yogi Berra on that. My favorite Yogi Berra quote is, if John Youssi a fork in the middle of the road, pick it up. Ah, Yogi-isms. They're great. Much better than Starling Calls. In Dave Winfield's book, he once talked about going to get pizza with Yogi Berra. And they went to a pizza store and said, Yogi, how do you want me to slice this up? Six or eight slices. It's the same pizza. He said, just six. I'm not that hungry. It's the same pizza. Oh, Yogi, we love you. Now, let me just say something, Miss Yankees fan, and I know I've got a lot of New York listeners who love the Yankees, Kevin Manny. I think that hat's permanently on his head too, by the way. They are a great team. They were a playoff team last year. They have an incredible bullpen. Nobody wants to pitch to them. Starting pitching, they were good last year. Can they do it another year, another year older? We'll see. I'm not worried about any of those things, actually, when it comes to the Yankees. So why wouldn't they be great? I'll tell you why. They've got a new manager that has never, ever coached before. To me, that's not going to win you any games, and maybe it can only lose games. So that being said, I do think the Yankees are going to be great, probably going to be a wildcard team. I still think Boston's going to be great. They have a new manager, too, but it's a guy who was a bench coach for the World Series champion, Houston Astros, and they pretty much have the same team in tactics last year. So I think Boston's going to come out ahead this year. Yeah, it's going to be interesting seeing how things shake out. I mean, I love following the Yanks, obviously. I like paying attention to how Boston does as well because well for one thing one of my closest sports friends whom I get to talk sports with is a Red Sox fan And so the rivalry is always alive in some healthy friendly banter and in seeing how each team does And there's only 28 other teams to account for, too. So I'm so excited to see how this how this goes. I know even the West Coast fans of Pinball Profile, when they're thinking about baseball, they know about the rivalry between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. They even get it. It's kind of like the San Francisco Giants and the Dodgers, too. But for our Australian listeners that might not know much about baseball, that is one of the all-time greatest rivalries. How would you explain in your poetic words how amazing this rivalry is in all of sports? The rivalry between New York and Boston is kind of like a squabble between brothers in that New York and Boston are, you know, pretty close on the map relatively. You know, we're both weathering the same freaking Nor'easters that keep coming by. But at the same time, you know, as close as you are, that just intensifies your desire to one up the other guy. And so when I went to Yankee Stadium as a kid, you know, you'd hear people cheer 1918 at the Red Sox because that was until we until 2004 happened. That was the last time that the Red Sox had won the World Series. And it's been 14 years. And I don't know if Jeff is going to keep this in, but there was a catch in my voice when I had to acknowledge 2004 because that comeback stung. that Mo had one pitch and that was all it took one pitch that could have been a strike that wasn't and just Ed Boon just that once in a lifetime one you know first time in history comeback completely humiliated us yeah it was oh that I didn't even watch the world series after that ALCS I was so bummed because it was it was one of those things where it was like with the power that you saw, you already knew they were going to win. And it was like the pain of defeat. And look, the Red Sox absolutely deserve that win. I'll be the first to say that. But there's just that visceral feeling of no, must win. And I've, I mean, I've lost some bets on that. There was one time I went up to Boston for an anime convention. And earlier in the season, my friend and I had made a bet because the Yankees and the Sox were playing a series like really close to opening day and it was like okay if the Yankees lose you have to wear a Red Sox cap in Boston. Well it was 2011 the Yankees didn't do so well that year if I recall and long story short this Yankees fan has had to wear a Red Sox cap in Boston and I've destroyed all photographic evidence of that day. That is the ultimate shame for sure. It's one of the great things about baseball. So we'll see as the season unfolds. Well, Stephanie, you've seen how easy this is just to talk on a microphone about pinball and other things and just a nice friendly voice for those to listen to podcasts. And you're a natural at so I hope to see a podcast from you very, very soon with a perspective on women in pinball. I think that is much needed. And I know, Unlike the rivalry of the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, everybody will be with open arms to assist you with anything. The Slam Tilt guys definitely helped me get this on air. There's no question about that. Probably helped the head-to-head guys, too. And a lot of people want to hear from you, Stephanie. So I hope that happens in the near future. All right. Well, I hope to join the ranks of the pinball podcasters then. And if you do it before Pinberg, by the way, we talked about Chuck Webster. He is going to be doing a podcaster's tournament at Pinberg. Yeah, I heard about that. And Chuck hosts the Trash Talkers, so he knows something about hosting tournaments for a bunch of loudmouths. So, I mean, podcasters talk, Trash Talkers talk. It's a natural fit. Can't wait to see how that goes. And he's got to be a Red Sox fan, too, so you've got to represent the Yanks. Oh, look, I arrived to the Trash Talker tournament in an Aaron Judge shirt and with two hats. My Pokemon hat, which was my disguise. And then when I walked in the door, I whipped that off to reveal my Yankees cap. The rivalry is alive and well with me. Then, of course, the winner of the Trash Talker, Augustus, promptly brought up 2004, as you do. Tit for tat. It makes sense. Yeah, it does. It was great. I will say this. I don't know if there's a ballpark I love more than Fenway Park. I think that is just the history there. It's the green monster, everything about it. I just love that it's in that neighborhood. I can enjoy going to a game there all the time. Now, that being said, Yankee Stadium, the old Yankee Stadium, that was a lot of fun. I'm not a fan of the new Yankee Stadium as much. It's too corporate, too stuffy. I really like the old ballparks, too, the old Wrigley and the old Tiger Stadium. My goodness, those are the things I really, really enjoy. But we were talking about what you wore at Chucks. Now, the only shirt I ever bought at the Yankee Stadium game, the old Yankee Stadium, they had all those great stores outside, and it was a Red Sox-looking shirt. So a picture of a dark blue shirt with the Red Sox font in red lettering. And it looked like it was going to say Red Sox across the front. I bought this at Yankee Stadium, but it didn't say Red Sox. It said Papple Bum. Oh, wow. I thought you were going to say it was the one that said Red Sucks because I've seen that around too. There's a lot of those, but I bought the Papple Bum one and I felt good about it. The trash talking will be great. Stephanie, talking will be great for you and we hope to hear you on a podcast soon. I appreciate you coming on Pinball Profile. Thank you for having me. We will talk soon. Yes, indeed. maybe even record on my terms. All right. I like that. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com and please subscribe on iTunes. And let's hope Stephanie Guida gets a podcast up soon. I want to hear it. I'm Jeff Teolas. Oh, put me in code I'm ready to play today Put me in code I'm ready to play Today, look at me, I can be Santa Fe