Midweek Mention... King of Kong: A Fistful of Dollars
The dads go full retro this week with The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, the 2007 documentary that turns arcade gaming into blood sport — complete with villains, underdogs, mullets, and enough ego to fill an entire arcade.
In one corner: Billy Mitchell, hot-sauce magnate, self-styled all-American hero, and the reigning Donkey Kong world champion since 1982. In the other: Steve Wiebe, a laid-off family man from Seattle with a garage, a Donkey Kong cabinet, and an obsessive drive to finally be the best in the world at something.
What starts as a light-hearted look at competitive gaming quickly spirals into a bizarre battle of pride, politics, and pixels. We dive into:
🎮 The myth and madness of Billy Mitchell — equal parts motivational speaker, Bond villain, and delusional patriot.
🎮 Steve Wiebe’s transformation from anxious everyman to unlikely eSports hero.
🎮 The shady world of “Twin Galaxies,” referees, and rule-bending record-keepers.
🎮 How a man can be publicly humiliated by a videotape of a Donkey Kong run that may or may not be fake.
🎮 Why this documentary still feels weirder and funnier than any scripted comedy.
Along the way we meet the devoted disciples, the guitar-strumming referee, the Qbert granny, and the toxic mix of ambition, nostalgia, and social awkwardness that fuels the arcade elite.
It’s The Office meets Rocky, with barrels instead of punches.
We argue over whether Billy Mitchell is misunderstood or just a world-class arsehole, praise Wiebe’s sheer decency, and agree this is one of the most rewatchable docs ever made.
🎧 Tune in for fierce debates, mullet appreciation, and our collective horror at just how seriously grown men take Donkey Kong.
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Until next time, we remain...
Bad Dads
