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There is a young woman that many of you may not know – but she is just like you.
At the second stop of Major League Gaming’s 2008 Pro circuit in San Diego, I had the pleasure of meeting a very special person from the MLG community. Her name is Lindsay Gordon and she loves Halo 3. What makes Lindsay so special is not simply that she just graduated high school, but the fact that she is one of the elite group of graduates accepted to the US Military Academy (known as West Point), arguably the most prestigious military college in the world. The academy is known for its challenging academic and physical programs, and Lindsay will be one of a small percentage of females attending. (Although each year that number is growing.) While Lindsay and her family are extremely excited about this opportunity, Lindsay admits she will greatly miss playing Halo 3 over the next couple of months. As part of her initiation to West Point, students are asked to give up their computers, cell phones, TVs, and you guessed it – any gaming consoles. During this time, students go through basic training and have a much more structured schedule. So Lindsay is getting in all the Halo 3 she can before she leaves – including asking her parents for a trip to San Diego as her graduation present to play in her very first MLG event. 
Lindsay playing hard at her very first MLG Event.
So how did Lindsay become such a Halo 3 fan? The story is an interesting one. Lindsay says that growing up, she occasionally played Halo 1 and Halo 2 but she wasn’t any good at either game. When her family got an XBOX 360, she started to play Halo 3 and found it to be so much fun. She also realized that she was much better at the game. She soon was on a team (Team Eclips3) – started dominating online and began playing more and more. Lindsay watched other people play and studied some of the MLG pro’s gameplay on MLGpro.com. When I asked her if students at her high school in Houston knew she played Halo 3 a lot, she smiled and replied confidentially: “Oh Yeah.” And while her parents initially were concerned that her playing may interfere with her grades, Lindsay was able to balance her life – keeping her grades up and playing soccer for her high school team. (She also will be playing on the Division 1 Women's Soccer team for West Point!) Lindsay said her first MLG event was a memorable one. As she walked the halls of the San Diego convention center, she was happy to see all of the Halo 3 pros she had always hoped to see in person. While her favorite team is Final Boss, she really never has had the chance to meet them – although she believes she talked to Strongside online once before. She doesn’t think they know who she is though (that is until now). Lindsay also looks up to Xena – one of the very first female players on the circuit. She thinks Xena is a great role model for all female players out there. So how did Lindsay’s first tournament go? Well, her team lost their first two matches, but Lindsay was happy with the way she played. She stayed until Sunday to watch Str8 Rippin beat Instinct and even got to go to the San Diego Zoo with her family. With only days to go before heading to West Point, Lindsay is getting in some final games on Xbox Live. She plans to get updates about the Pro Circuit through letters from family and friends and can’t wait to play Halo 3 once basic training is over. On behalf of the entire MLG Community and staff- we want to congratulate Lindsay and wish her the best of luck at West Point! 
Lindsay says she had a blast at MLG San Diego and is going to miss Halo 3 while at West Point.
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