I am perhaps the only human being in America who has never seen an episode of “Seinfeld.” (I had other things to do.)
So this blog posting from Kotaku.com (don’t ask) makes absolutely no sense to me.
But it involves an apparently astonishing feat, a Westporter, and pop culture. So do what I didn’t do, and enjoy the story:
The one shining achievement in the life of Seinfeld’s George Costanza is no more, as a Connecticut man shatters the fictional Frogger record previously thought unattainable by real people.
In the 1998 Seinfeld episode “The Frogger,” George Costanza tries desperately to save the Frogger machine that holds his greatest achievement – the fictional world record score of 860,630 points. The episode ends with a battery-rigged arcade machine getting smashed in traffic in homage to the classic game, the record of the achievement lost forever.
Not that it matters now, as George now holds the second-highest Frogger score of all time. Pat Laffaye of Westport, CT racked up an enormously impressive 896,980 points, beating the fictional character soundly. The score was verified by referee Eric Akeson of arcade record-keepers Twin Galaxies and announced at the stroke of midnight on January 1st.
“Even though it was imagined by television writers, Pat has broken one of the most famous scores in pop culture,” Twin Galaxies Division Manager Patrick Scott Patterson said. “Pat’s amazing score will now forever be attached to not only Twin Galaxies history, but pop culture trivia as well.”
Pat also holds the world record score for Paperboy and apparently has far too much time on his hands.
Believe it or not — perhaps I have too much time on my hands too — I googled Pat Laffaye. Here’s what I found, in a Q-and-A he did on something called “Arcade WR News“:
I was born and raised in Connecticut and still live in the same town I went to grade school in. I spent many years working for IBM in Information Technology focusing on end-user support and customer services, and later started my own business in the hospitality industry. Currently, I manage rental properties and also get a kick out of fixing them up.
I’m married to a wonderful wife who puts up with me playing video games and attending the increasing number of tournaments and events. I have twin boys that are 9 years old and they keep me busy, so unlike most dads I am fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time with them. In my spare time, I volunteer as a senior referee and editor at MARP and travel around quite a bit (sometimes on motorcycle). I also enjoy sports, movies and music all live or in HD.
Hey, the tagline of “06880” says: “Where Westport meets the world.”
I rest my case.
