Twice a month, an eclectic group of MSU students, professors, alumni, their significant others and Lansing, Flint and Grand Rapids residents join together at The Avenue Cafe to compete in the Lansing Pinball League.
The league was started fall of 2013 by chemical engineering senior and Lansing Pinball League president Matt Pries.
“The whole thing started because I wanted more pinball machines by where I live,” Pries said. “The first night (of the league) it was just me and my roommate.”
However, the group grew from there.
The average Tuesday night competition draws in 12 people, but there are nights when there are more than 20 people present, Pries said.
He said the number of pinball machines grew from two pinball machines to 18.
“When The Avenue started bringing in machines, I was super hyped,” mathematics professor Russell Schwab said. “Every time they brought more machines in, more people came in.”
While the average skill level in the Lansing Pinball League has increased since its inception, it is open to pinball enthusiasts regardless of skill, league member Heather Kendrick said.
There are people who come just to have fun, and there are people who come who also compete in the International Flipper Pinball Association, Kendrick said.
Media and information senior Derienne Perkins said she came across The Avenue Cafe about a year ago, but Tuesday night was her first time participating in the Lansing Pinball League.
“Whenever I’ve been to a bar that has pinball, there’s been an instant connection,” Perkins said.
Chris Tabaka, former adjunct professor at MSU and the fifth-highest ranked pinball player in Michigan, has won every Lansing Pinball League season, but said he doesn’t come just to compete.
"(I like) the camaraderie, I’ve been in leagues across the state, and this is the most laid back and mellow,” Tabaka said.
Pries said a running joke within the Lansing Pinball League refers to an instance when the owner of the Chinese restaurant next door walked in with a big bowl of egg rolls. He set them down on a machine next to Tabaka as he was playing a head-to-head game against someone ranked 50th in the nation.
“That would never happen in any other league,” Pries said. “There is a line of peripheral vision that is not supposed to be crossed.”
It’s the interactions like that, that bring people to the Lansing Pinball League.
“With this league, it’s all about the people. Where else are you going to find a bunch of PhDs drinking beer and BS-ing?” Tabaka said.
The next Lansing Pinball League meeting is at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29 at The Avenue Cafe.
“It’s a very welcoming community and such a fun league,” Flint resident Mike Stewart said. “I’m taking these long drives (from Flint) just to play pinball and hangout with my friends.”
