The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6

Back in the late 1990s, I’d heard a rumor about an abandoned farm house deep in the wooded area just down the hill from the legendary Belltower House, another abandoned farmhouse southeast of Auburn. The Belltower’s legend came from its numerous late night ghost stories, surely fueled by excessive teenage consumption of alcohol, but also its architectural magnificence. An old book I found at the State Historical Society identified the Belltower House as one of the finest examples of neo-gothic architecture in the midwest, and that was in the 1950’s. By the 1990’s, the house’s arched windows, sliverishly acute peaks, spiral staircase and lookout tower were that much more amazing, especially considering the condition in which the house stood long after it had been abandoned.

But everyone knew about the Belltower House. It sat maybe 30 feet from the road in plain view. And as spooky as it was, I quickly had my favorite Belltower ghost story not for what it said about the house, but what it said about the surroundings.

Classmates and locals would tell the story of the ghost of a woman who would walk up and down the hill from the Belltower House to the house at the bottom of the hill. I’d ask some variation of “What house at the bottom of the hill?” Nobody really knew or cared, because the important part of the story was the ghost lady. Nobody I knew of really went down the hill, because all that was down there was a thick wooded area and some rickety old bridges.
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First thing — the show last night was a blast. Thanks to everyone who came out. I got to see a lot of friends and meet a lot of people — including some folks who had been following this work for years, which was very flattering. If you didn’t have a chance to make it, the cartoons and other work are still there through April 17. There are about two dozen original cartoons from the Daily Nebraskan, Journal Star and Omaha Reader, a few dozen prints of cartoons from over the years, some comic books of my two 24 Hour Comics, some pages from the Poe story I did last year, and finished versions of six of my favorite rejects.

Secondly — there’s been a snag in the Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Tournament Last Supper! “Who won?” was probably the most commonly asked question last night. My plan was to eat Hardee’s at lunch yesterday and Runza at dinner, but there was so much to get done before the show last night that I didn’t have time to eat dinner at all. So the final round is hanging in limbo until I can get to Runza, which won’t be until Monday as I am out of Runza’s jurisdiction due to Easter family travels.

I thought it would be funny to just say “Oh hey, I couldn’t get to Runza on Good Friday, so the tournament is canceled.” But that would probably be kind of a letdown. So I’m going to make it happen.

Although while typing this, it just occurred to me that Runza’s fish sandwich might be a Lent-only special, in which case it might be gone by Monday. Looks like it’s going to be a race against the clock to get back into town early enough Sunday night to get to a Runza before closing time. I still think it would be kind of funny if this tournament of misery ended with such an anticlimactic thud, but I promise to do my best to give it a proper conclusion.

Today marks the end of the Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament. The Hardee’s Beer Battered Fish Supreme (2-0) takes on the Runza Fish Sandwich (3-0). By this time tomorrow, there will be a champion.

In a comment earlier this week, my friend Neill asked if I was surprised by this matchup. Honestly, yes. Not only did I fully expect McDonald’s and Burger King to be facing off here at the end, Runza and Hardee’s were two of the last fast food places I’d expect to come anywhere near the final. I expected to be grossed out by both sandwiches just based on recent experiences at their respective homes. But both sandwiches have done a great job of doing the traditional things well while also adding their own unique twists, and I can honestly say, if I’m still Catholic by this time next year, I’ll be eating both.

The sequence will keep things interesting. Because my art show is in Lincoln tonight, and Hardee’s doesn’t have any locations there anymore, Hardee’s gets the lunch slot, and Runza will be at dinner. As I’ve mentioned before, the lunch slot has appeared to be a huge advantage, almost always guaranteeing victory. Almost — the Runza fish sandwich has been the only one throughout the entire tournament to break that pattern.

The first heat is only an hour away.