I actually took off work to follow along with the Spring Sports Fair on March 21st. (And I had Mike and Scott over to play Doomtown and other stuff, so it wasn't just an AC holiday.) The short of it is, the Sports Fairs are a non-interactive ongoing festival. Beginning at 9am, every two hours a new "event" occurs, and the animals involved simply continue their animating over the course of the two hours. Naturally, the real brass ring to the Spring Sports Fair is the Spring Sports Medal you get from Tortimer for showing up. The Medal has Mario on it, so you know it's good.
9:00am. Aerobics with Copper. This is actually the one event you can participate in, and it's probably the most complex controller scheme you'll ever find in Animal Crossing. The C stick is used to perform various exercises, like touching your toes, jumping jacks, and windmill stretches. The best part is the music and watching any given animal inevitably fall out of pattern and get distressed. If you're good, you can try to accurately match your movements to Copper's routine, but it's difficult and you don't get anything for doing it, so why fight it. Freestyle.
11:00am. Sydney gets a pistol and goes on an Adamsvil rampage, plugging anyone she sees because no one wants to hear her offer suggestions on using your Gyroid to make money.
Actually, 11am is the foot race, your first non-event event of the day. And Sydney had the starter pistol. Two teams of two run around the Wishing Well, sometimes tripping, and after a couple laps one wins. If you want to run with them, you can, but you're considered more of a nuisance than a genuine competitor. For the five minutes I hung around, I saw Boots get his ass kicked consistently by Olivia, and the Cesar/Puck races ran about 50/50.
1:00pm. Ball Toss. This is where you start questioning the game. Why can't you pick up the balls and toss them into the baskets like Derwin? Seems like an easy thing to include. Also, why is no one keeping score. There are clearly two teams, and they are clearly giving their all, but no one is bothering to record points. Tortimer is damn near passed out behind the Well.
Eh. Watching stupid Eunice chuck balls directly up into the air was funny, anyway.
3:00pm. Tug o' War. This event really pales in comparison to the comedy value of the Ball Toss, so it leaves a bad taste in your mouth as the Spring Sports Fair draws to a close. Two teams of two are pulling and straining on a rope, but nobody ever wins. Just back and forth, and lots of sweat. Not even any tripping this time. At least, nothing happened during the brief time I watched. Just lots of groaning and Rio pointlessly waving a red flag.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea that the game holds a Sports Fair twice a year, and it's cool to see the animals doing something other than staring at rocks. It would have been nice to tag in and get a little dirty myself.
