(First off, let me just say that I don't know who's who on the boards, so forgive me for using real life names as if you weren't in this conversation if you're here.)
I've played with a few of the top NM players before, I took second place in an (admittedly poorly run and poorly planned) tournament to Nolan, and I regularly play against David at Anime Club meetings.
I think I'm pretty good for a casual player, but after getting thoroughly trounced by the competition at an Anime convention, I've decided to try to step up my game. The only way I can do that is by playing better players than I usually do (most of my games are free-for-alls with less than pro players)
Also, as the newly elected UNM Anime Club vice president, expect to see a Smash Bros tournament run by us sometime this year.