Where:  Madison, Wisconsin - Monona Bay

I got a call Friday morning from Paul Stokes, which is the Paul Stokes from Stokes Sports in Madison, telling me the weeds are pretty bad in Monona Bay and they weren’t sure if Bob Mahnke could get the course set up in time. A couple of hours later, Bob gave the all clear and the tourney is on. And let me just say Bob and his crew did a great job getting the course clear. So my next question of course, is where and when is the Friday night party in Madison for the skiers! With the wonderful directions of Stokes telling me to head towards the capital and turn left when I get close, I was only a half hour late. The Comeback Inn had a good turnout of Mad City Skiers, CVZ, Rob Christensen, Luke Bruckner, and surprisingly a couple Freeman Funk footers from Indiana. Now the key to showing up at a tourney with no place to stay is to try and pick the right house to crash at. The only problem is you have a 10% chance of staying at a house where everyone goes to sleep at right away. Unfortunately I picked the wrong house, thanks Bugsy, but so did CVZ and the Indiana boys Mike and Mark. They chose Bruckner’s. Wrong Move. Now I’m not saying the morning came quick, but when they woke up, the mac and cheese still wasn’t done.

Now it’s a beautiful Saturday morning, I was the first one at the site ( Ha-ha CVZ) and skiers started pouring in from IL, MN, Iowa, and even the St Louis boys showed up to have some fun. 80’s, no wind, and the 8 was pretty much still clear of weeds from the work Bob and his crew did the day before.

The water was absolute glass calm. The question on everybody’s mind was will the weeds be a factor (no they weren’t)?  Will CVZ be able to foot after putting a hole in his foot from Zebra Muscles two days before the tourney? Is anybody in endurance footing shape yet?  How big of a toll will it have taken on the skiers that stayed at Bruckner’s?  Who the hell was sleeping in the middle of the park all day?  A lot of these questions will be answered in the video?

After a quick skiers meeting, it was time to start the Mad City Dual. It started with a little bit of rain, but nothing that would slow down the tourney. But remember what I said about the water, glass calm. A lot of footers were not hoping to see that. One and a half 8’s was about the average and let me just say that Footstocks best are not in shape yet.

CVZ has to do 2 ½ figure 8’s off the bat against Tim Hydro, on very little sleep. He wins, but comes back to shore and “says who the hell is Tim Hydro?  I think I’m going to die.”  Aaron saying “this is going to be a long day.” Stokes yelling “this is only the second time I’ve skied this year.”  The Indiana boys trying to remember what state they are in. And Rob C still recovering from one of the worst holes I have ever seen in a foot saying “this is gonna hurt!”

The tourney ran all day without a glitch. Bob, Paul, and the Mad City crew did a great job organizing and running the tourney. The question was, with all the big guns so out of shape, who would rise to the top. Who didn’t go out the night before, and for the love of God , who was asleep on the grass in the middle of the park?

Some footers that came on real strong this weekend were Beau Urban and Matt Hoeft. Beau of course as ecstatic after taking out Paul Stokes. That’s Paul Stokes of Stokes Sports in Madison. Stop by and visit, and Paul will give you a discount if you say “Didn’t Beau Kick your ass at the Mad City Dual?” Another young gun that is making his name known quick this year is 17 year old Matt Hoeft from the Ghetto Footers in Rochester. He was the only one to beat Mike Netzer this weekend and CVZ in Stout. Problem is he doesn’t have the muscle in grip or forearms to hang on so as you will see in the video, some foot stockers gave him some solid training tips. Also an important note to footers that drive long distances to get here, if you both do well, you will probably end up facing each other at some point (Marc and Mike) which can make for a long ride home if you beat your buddy who has the keys to the car.

Now on to the best of the best. Let me start by saying that if 50 is the new 30. Then 30 is the new 50. Bob “The Mule” Mahnke and Mike Netzer, need I say more. Two legends at Footstock and all figure 8’s for a long time. Both known more for the rough water skiing, but proving this weekend that they can still go the distance against the top ranked footers. You would be hard pressed trying to find two more footers that have their kind of heart, desire, and work ethic in figure 8 barefooting. I just wish Dan Cardinal was there for third (or higher). I have been to more figure 8’s than almost anyone, except Bob, and I can tell you this, I never thought that I would see the day that two footers over the age of 50, would take one and two when going up against CVZ, Schoelzel, Stokes, Rob, and Bruckner. But maybe that is because most tourneys have a senior division in which seniors have to foot twice as much, Hmmm, makes you wonder how the last 10 years would have played out? Now I know for a fact that there are footers all over the US talking about how hard they are going to train for Footstock this year. And I ‘m here to tell you, these guys over 40 and 50 are not ready to even consider they can’t win Footstock. At Footstock, age doesn’t matter, but size still does. The size of your heart.

Bob Mahnke takes 2nd at age 50

Netzer being congratulated for 1st place at age 50

As Mahnke and Netzer went through the field doing 8 after 8 after 8. Talk of how many 8’s Netzer was putting out their started sounding like Footstock talk in 06. The incredible footing being done by all footers, but especially Mike Netzer, driving thru the loser bracket. And every win well deserved. No missed step offs or short runs. All 8’s, 8 ½, two 8’s, 2 ½ 8’s every run. Bob sitting there waiting as the only one left undefeated, hoping the losers bracket would wear these guys out. And it did wear out most skiers, except one Mike Netzer. Bob wanted to end it quick. Mike is known for just saying I’m ready to go after each run and Bob wanted to use that to his advantage. But what happened, on their first run Bob made a mistake and the run was over quick, as you’ll see in the video. This was not Bob’s game plan. It gave Mike more time to rest and that is never a good thing. The run for the title went 2 ½ 8’s until Bob lost his grip and Mike Netzer raises his arms in victory. But wait, Mike wasn’t the happiest person there; you could hear Kathy screaming “YES YES YES” over and over.
Mike you lucky dog.

So what did we learn at the Mad City Dual? The Madison crew hosts a great tourney. Glass calm water takes its toll on three hours sleep for a footer. Age doesn’t matter. Teri Bell is now the leader in reruns this year. Even Bob can make a mistake on a run. Stokes Sports is in Madison. Mike Netzer is like the Energizer Bunny and Kathy can back that up. Yet one question not answered.  Who the hell was sleeping in the park?

Saturday night the party was done early. The footers were all spent and they had to wake up the next morning for the barefoot race. I of course slept thru this part because I was stuck on an elevator all night. Long story. I did hear that everybody had a great time, it was a tight race, and Stokes’ team ended up winning.

Thanks to Bob, Paul, the Urbans, the Mad City skiers, Milla for video, and Wedge for the sound equipment. You guys worked your asses off and put on a great tourney. Also, thanks to Bugsy, John, and the St Louis team for giving me a place to crash. So far we are two for two on great tourneys.  In conclusion, footers should start backing tournaments more especially when you realize how hard it is to run a good figure eight, and if anything can be learned by the Mad City Dual, it’s not your name, it’s not your age, it’s not your muscle that wins a tournament, it’s your love of the sport. So pony up boys, the legends are coming for you!

Dave Mueller
The Reinstated Footstock Announcer
 

More Pictures for Mad City
WARNING:  Get too close to Dave and he'll kiss you	Who has the bigger BUTT, Aaron and Chris
Dave announcing	Mike congratulates Bob on a good run