By Jessica Kerman
EDGEWOOD — For Julie Crossley, rock paper scissors is more than a child’s game.
“The Bulldog,” as the Edgewood resident is known, was runner-up in the national championship of the Bud Light USA Rock Paper Scissors League in Las Vegas on Sunday.
“The very last throw, I wanted to throw paper, and I didn’t,” she said. “I think I had too much time to think, to doubt myself.”
When 288 nationwide competitors were trimmed down to two, Crossley was defeated by opponent Sean “Wicked Fingers” Sears after she threw scissors to his rock.
Rock paper scissors, also known as Rochambeau, is a hand game, commonly played by children, in which hand signals beat other signals: rock (fist) “breaks” scissors (index and middle finger extended), scissors “cut” paper (flat hand) and paper “covers” rock.
The champion, Sears of Massachusetts, walked away with $50,000 and a ticket to the international championship. People from five regions — the United States, Canada, Guam, Hong Kong and Ireland — will participate in the first International Rock Paper Scissors Federation Championship, which will be in Beijing during the Summer Olympics. Crossley left with $5,000.
In March and April, local qualifying matches in more than 300 markets nationwide identified people to go to the national championship, which was Saturday and Sunday.
Crossley qualified at Shout’s Pub and Eatery in April.
“I went out for my birthday with two girlfriends,” the 27-year-old said. “We were playing pool, and a Bud Light representative was trying to get people to sign up and play. My friend said, ‘Why not?’ and so all of us played. I only had to play five rounds to win. I didn’t think that if I won that, I’d win a trip, but I did.”
Crossley said she has never been a die-hard rock paper scissors competitor. She played the traditional sports like volleyball, softball and track in school.
The Anderson University graduate lives with her husband and two children in Edgewood. In college, she majored in marketing, but she currently is a stay-at-home mother.
Crossley brought a small cheering crowd, including her husband and brother, to the tournament. The audience during the final match was cheering for Crossley.
“They didn’t like (my opponent) very much,” she said. “I don’t know why. He was a nice guy. I felt so bad for him.”
A telecast of the national championship will be aired on Fox Sports Network on Oct. 6.
While the Bud Light USA Rock Paper Scissors League Web site says the history of rock paper scissors dates back to “6.3 million years ago in East Africa when prehistoric men first became bipedal,” the league did not start until 2005. That’s when Matti Leshem and Andrew Golder brought rules and structure to the sport in the United States.
“I’ve been playing the game since I was a child,” Leshem said in a phone interview Wednesday. “About three years ago, I realized there was an opportunity to codify the system.”
Leshem said he approached Bud Light with the idea, and the organization responded well.
“Three years later, thing has just exploded,” he said.
Leshem said Crossley was legendary in the league.
“‘The Bulldog’ Crossley is a very tough, very aggressive competitor,” he said. “She’s the first woman to ever make it to the finals. She did what Hillary Clinton couldn’t do. She broke the glass ceiling.”
Leshem said rock paper scissors was more than a drinking game.
“It’s a sport,” he said. “It a game that is enhanced by Bud Light. Evidence has shown that the game play can be enhanced when you have a couple of Bud Lights.”
Leshem said strategy is the key to the game.
While Crossley did not want to reveal too much of her strategy, she said part of it was instinct.
“There are stereotypes, you know, like males throw rock a lot,” she said. “My opponent said girls throw scissors. I play more defense than aggressive.”
Crossley said she would participate in the tournament again if she could.
“I’d like to,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”
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USA Rock Paper Scissors League Web site
www.usarps.com
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Strategy for the game:
• ”Speed-pumping”: Increasing the velocity of your hand pumping to put your opponent in a momentary panic attack.
• ”Tells” are often used as part of a strategy. These tells can come in the form of hand positioning, posture, eye contact and nervous energy. For example, if a player opens a hand prior to a pump, he is unconsciously preparing to throw paper.
• If your opponent is staring you down, piercing you with his eyes, he will most likely throw the rock, the most aggressive throw.
• If your opponent averts his eyes, the passiveness corresponds with throwing paper.
• Players should look for patterns. For example, some players will always throw paper after rock.
Source: USA Rock Paper Scissors League Web site
