W.O.N. F.P.S."Tom Lehman"PGAGolf 96'-98'

Online Golf Simulators, ahh the memories.

Alans comments about the Brits reminds me. Its a good time of year to remember things which bring pleasure, and this was definitely one of them.

Its late 1996 (August-Sept) My fiance had recently left, after having pulled a few stunts, and Eventually, after I told her "this is the last time we are going to do this". she bailed for good, leaving me with the baby & 99% of all the responsibility and costs involved in raising our son of roughly 7 months age. What followed has been the biggest roller coaster anyone could ever imagine, but there were a few things GOD did to keep me sane.


anyway, I was alone, raising an infant baby son. .

The Game:

One little thing was:

I happened to get this "Golf Simulator Game" Cd disc, from a friend of mine who owned a computer store. He gave it to me almost as an after thought....... What a trip.. Thinking of it now, Funny how the littlest things can end up meaning so much more than we think.

I took the thing home and installed in into my system and began playing around with it. It was fun, and funny, I pressed the "online play" selection just to see what would happen, and viola,,,,,,,, "please register a name and password to play". Then, it was "Logging into the "WORLD OPPONENT NETWORK"............

I was stunned.

I have always appreciated many things about the British. They are truly the type of people, that no matter how anyone can say "they are dry" as in sense of humor (not everyone can FULLY appreciate MONTY PYTHON's FLYING CIRCUS!, but my friends and I used to be sitting, ready at the tv when it came on.) Anyway; They truly are the very salt of the earth- "make lemonade from lifes lemons" kinda people.

One of my coolest friends for the past ten years or so has been this crazy Tea Drinking Crumpet eating Brit I met while playing "WON"'s (World Opponent Network)F.P.S.(Front Page Sports) "PGA 96'-98'Then Big Bad "EA Sports" bought them out and kinda ruined the cameraderie while "improving" the actual game. It's now known as "Tiger Woods PGA GOLF", but I was there with THE GANG from all over the world in the very beginning.

There was Scott, the one with the "Star Wars" nick name "Corellian"" or "Core"" one of the resident tech wiz's of the game., in Portland or Wash somewhere.

Swebbie (Steve Webb my much loved limey cue ball, tosser-bastard adopted brother to this day, and Angie "do NOT call me a tart" Harvey (JOE BLOGGS!!) who I love dearly but loves to bounce herself off of concrete curbs for some strange reason....(thats another story Vodka Orange and Redbullthankyou................................., and their kids, the "British Brady Bunch"! Hello you brats!), Dallise in Australia, Sandra (a multiple personality we havent figured out to this day but love), CittyCat (Debra Jo) in Tejas, Catdaddy, Tom Dooley up in Virginia, Tommy Girl (Renae) in Minnesota, ahh man Im trying not to forget anyone but there were SO many more I cant remember now since its been 8 years since EA Sports trashed us..

Then theres some of the master players (charters) that I eventually ended up being able to match, once I learned how to "Chart" (which involved the time consuming practice of precisely charting every single shot, club, wind condition and course in the whole universe of PGA Golf. which was pretty damn cool. We used to shoot like in the 20's UNDER par for 18 holes.. I must admit, it was pretty cool to be the absolute best in the world at something besides changing diapers.

It was a very rough time, as I said. Fighting for custody of my son, struggling to make ends meet and pay astronomical attorney's fees (But, its my son, and thank GOD I won the right to stay his parent. The judge said to my son's mommy, "Nope, you abandoned the household, so"no indian giving" & "Take backs" You left, so you deal with it.... .... ) . Anyway, back to the golf.... All the time I was about to go out of my mind, I could come home to my friends in WON....and play golf! There were triumphs, marriages, divorces, tragedies. We had deaths in out families. It seemed after awhile, when something was happening to one of us, all of us were worried and pulling for each other, even the major ass wipes. We even began meeting when we could, and playing real golf together etc. (I owe Tom Dooley a whipping, since he got me last time).

CHARTING:

It was a whole nother galaxy of play. Regular play was just as fun though, I miss it, especially since, the group of hundreds of people had become SUCH a group of friends, even the enemies came to miss each-other.

I may add; what a strange emotion to actually MISS, a computer game? Well, its the people.

These friends and foes definitely helped me get through a VERY lonely, shitty and difficult time in my life as a struggling single parent with no "night" life. My son is 12 now. It seems like a hundered years ago, when I would send boxes of twinkies to my good British friends in Hatfeild, and he would send all kinds of really cool curious "british" things here for our amusement.

MANY of my Golf friends I ended up meeting and are STILL very dear friends of mine to this day. Cittycat, Tom Dooley, Ive met and hung out with (Love you DEB!) Never met but still very close to and speak with Tommy Girl, Dallise, Up until a few years ago, even SANDRA!

But the best of them all, has to be the cueball I call Swebbie and his (then) fiance..... Damn what was her nick name OH YES..... JOE BLOGG??? LOL we can finally reveal the secret identity of JOE BLOGG.... roflmaopimp!

Anyway

He and his now wife live in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. I guess they call it; "Hertz". Steve Webb and Angie Harvey, I love you guys! And I miss the game. I miss the closeness of our friendships and how when something happened to one person, it hapened to everyone!

IT IS A SHAME that EA sports just shit canned us when we were done hekping them test bed whatevcer the hell they were doing. The new EA Sports games are great, but the "LOBBY's are so lame and impersonal..... I loved the ability for open chat and fellowship. I guess things change, but I WAS SOOOOO happy and SO lucky to "be there" and have experienced "World Opponent Network"'s "Front Page Sports, PGA Golf 96' through 98'.


You know, it feels really good to finally find a place to pay some kind of homage to something that had such a positive effect on my life for a few years back then near the "beginning" of the internet. (which for me was 1992)

Thanks for humoring me by reading this.

-Juan Iota

A.K.A. "Thomas_Scott" #1 in the world in "World Opponent Network" several times & for nine weeks straight in 1999 Until that damn SWEBBIE knocked me off the top. What a blast.

Ill never forget you guys.