Who is the Sonic Whammy?

Well, now it's time to go on about myself.

Name: Brian Sapinski

Age: 31

From: Saddle Brook, NJ

Occupation: High school math teacher, Belleville High School

Smarts:
I am a Presidential Scholar and a graduate of Fairleigh Dickenson University. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Management Information Systems.
I also hold a certification as a teacher of mathematics in the state of New Jersey.

Current hobbies:
Sonic the Hedgehog, video games (All-time favorites are Street Fighter & Q*Bert.), game shows, art, and Tae Kwon Do (Current rank: 2nd Degree Black Belt as of 10/25/03)

Favorite Colors:
#1 is Purple, #2 is Blue.

Favorite sports team: New York Jets

Favorite TV shows of the past:
Press Your Luck, WHAMMY!: The All New Press Your Luck, WMAC Masters, Mystery Science Theater 3000, WCW, ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling), Win Ben Stein's Money, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Friends, Street Smarts, The O.C., MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, Celebrity Poker Showdown

Favorite current TV shows:
The Amazing Race, Deal or No Deal, WWE, TNA (Total Nonstop Action), Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Desperate Housewives, World Series of Poker, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, American Gladiators

Favorite Songs and Groups:
"Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles, a favorite group
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship
"Club at the End of the Street" by Elton John, a favorite
"Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel, a favorite
Roxette
Smash Mouth
Barenaked Ladies

What can I tell you about me?

I'm a friendly and crazy person. I have a great sense of humor, and I can usually get along with most people, assuming I can get over my occasional shyness enough to speak. You can read it in my expression because I often look like I have a lot on my mind. (But I'm always improving.) Unfortunately, some people can be so cruel, and those people caused me to transfer schools 3 times in my life (1st bad, others good). I'm definitely a smart person, despite a lapse of common sense. Maybe that left me open to ridicule.

As far as my craziness, my interests and my humor lead to that regularly. When I take an interest in something, I'll immerse myself in it, and sometimes try to imitate it. In the past, I've drawn my own Press Your Luck boards, dressed like the Whammy once as a kid at Halloween, mimicked the movements of the Street Fighters, and even turned my basement into a working version of the Assault course from American Gladiators (and we had fun, too :-). I can also get incredibly saddened when some of the things I love are taken away. Withdrawal is really a bummer.

However, today, I could never be happier. I've got a great family: my brother Craig, sister Tracy, parents Peg & Tom, and grandmother Marie Pasciolla are the best people I could ever want to know.

Plus, after forever being a lonely guy, my patience was rewarded as Andrea Vargo, my first and only, walked into my life in 1997. We were married in July of 2001. The happiness was added to even more when in 2006 with the addition of our cute dog Sally, and most recently in January 2009 with birth of our first child, Brianna Nicole. We're all one big happy family.

Unfortunately, no matter how many happy times you have with the ones you love, there come the sad times with them as well. Recently, after a long bout with leukemia, my grandfather Michael Pasciolla passed away. His death came very unexpectedly, and we were all broken-hearted when we lost him. We are always doing our best to move on from the sad times such as this, and we know that he'll be looking down on us in everything that we do.

Even here online, we're never immune from losing a close friend, either. During my honeymoon, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my game show friends, Randy Amasia. A class act who knew just about everything about the business, I was touched when he came to see Andrea and me while we were out in California, and we were equally broken-hearted when we received the sudden word that he died of throat cancer at the age of 44 on December 12, 2001. He was taken from us too soon, and all of us in the game show community will remember him for a long time, just as we know he's watching us.

Fortunately, in the years I've been online, I've had the chance to make a lot of friends who are just close to me as Randy was. From the early days at Sonic HQ, to my current activities, people like Robert Brown, Francis Tolbert, Trevor Lake, Jonathan Gray, Dan Berger, Curt King, Chris Yoder, David Hammond and many others have made being here a worthwhile experience. And as long as I'm still kicking, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

SPECIAL THANKS:


To my family, for helping me through all my best times and my worst times.
To Andrea, for giving me a chance. I will love you forever.
To my family. Hey, what can I say. You know I love you guys.
To my best bud, Tim Lorenzo, for all your years of sports analysis. And take care of Katya, because we want you two to be happy forever.
To Robert Brown & Francis Tolbert, you're great writers & great people. You're always in my prayers.
To Trevor Lake, know that you are never forgotten. You have one of the most creative minds I know, and one day, great things will happen from it. You just wait and see.
To Randy Amasia, I'm glad I got to meet you, and it touches me that my story with Andrea gave you so much happiness. Here's to you, Randy.
To my grandfather, Michael Pasciolla, don't worry. We're taking care of Grandma for you. We know you're looking down on us, and we want you to know that we'll be all right.

That's everything I have to offer from here. Always remember to Stay Way Past Cool! and I'll see you all online.

Sincerely,

Brian Sapinski
The Sonic Whammy

Hit the Back button to return to the main page.

Say hi! Reach me on the Mobius Forum Classic.