An Age Old Dilemma

Posted by: crunchtime

Written by Adam "crunchtime" Minx

Sitting on a plane to Austin during the month of March, my mind began to race as I highly anticipated my first real taste of professional gaming. Season two of The CGS was almost in full effect and the 2008 CGS draft was a few days away. I had really no idea what I was getting into, as I had stopped competing years before and reunited with Dolven to take on an advisory role shortly before my departure. Once I landed in Texas I finally had the honor of putting names to faces with the Carolina franchise and others within the walls of the league.

At this point I told myself, “This is it, this is where attitudes will change and a bonafide sport will be born.” With the evening winding down, a handful of players and I went out to eat, finishing off the last relaxing day we had before the draft. Other players started to roll in to the restaurant, and we all sat together and reminisced about past competitions. Then something happened that never sat well with me for the rest of the trip.

A competitor stumbles in to the restaurant, catching up with some other friends. Clearly intoxicated, the player becomes increasingly loud and belligerent, to the point where the restaurant manager has to explain that it is a family restaurant and foreshadows that if it continues, he’s gone. This only quells the player for a short time. Mr. Manager again has to circle around and asks for said player's leave, to which he gets a reply only fit for a sailor’s ear. Long story short, the player had to be literally removed by restaurant staff. Our group was then front row center for a shoving match that almost went ugly if it weren’t for the cool heads of the staff, locals, and friends.

As we retire for the evening, I roll my eyes at the concept of what just happened. This is a first time in a long time that competitive gaming has been given a professional American platform to prove its worth as a sport. Other countries have had decent success, but none with this much potential. It only takes one action like this to quickly change the minds of people who are trying to understand the goal of this league. The maturity levels in competitive gaming are substantially lower than that of other professional sports due to the heightened expectations, also the demographic for video games in general are directed toward a younger-minded crowd. Because of this, The CGS has a tough road ahead; taking the minds of a youthful nation and hammering out professionals. This is why it is incredibly important that the players representing this league now pave the way for its future gamers, as they are going to be masters of not only their own destiny, but the portrayal of the very sport they are trying to encourage. Players, equip yourself with these thoughts:

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The story I told illustrates a darker side of the gaming life. Every gamer who has played competitively has experienced some shade of this, whether in be online or in person. Yes, established sports have the same issues, but it’s unfortunately more amplified here due to the accessibility of the pro players. This can be good or bad, since we don’t really get a chance to talk to Kobe or Peyton. Although on the other side, being able to interact with the players leaves them vulnerable to scrutiny with every word that comes out of their mouth. Boasting “I won’t stoop to your level, because I am a pro gamer” won’t cut it if during the season (especially on TV) you are throwing a tantrum because lady luck wasn’t in your corner (Yes, the quote above was actually said in seriousness by someone during the ‘08 draft weekend). This helps no one and just deteriorates the credibility of gaming being remotely professional. Players need to start being more aware of what they say on and off camera, because it can be incredibly detrimental to their teammates and self. Right now with the league still budding, image is everything and players will need to focus on a bigger picture than just themselves. If it becomes too much of an issue, may I suggest tape as an alternative.

Setting An Example

Fresh off a gold medal win at the Beijing Olympics, LeBron James is becoming, if not already, a legendary tale in NBA history. At 23, this man is a year younger than I, but if anyone has seen the progression of growth towards his game and teammates, you will know how impressionable a young guy can be on a nation, dare I say globally; especially in a short span of time. He was drafted out of high school and a few years later, has the swagger of a well-rounded 30 year old; it’s incredible to witness. In comparison, we desperately need these types of emerging “E-Stars” in our deck of cards too. We need players paving the way and crushing stereotypes to pioneer professional gaming into the next decade. Fortunately, we do have players like this! The CGS happens to be littered with some incredibly talented, charismatic people. These players will be the one who are recognized, and remembered for their efforts in making a notion once ignored by the general public a believable reality. Not by skill alone will this be achieved. Doing nothing to progress the idea will make this league like any other LAN tournament we’ve ever been to, and no one wants to see that (I hope). Players should not only be mindful of their actions while on camera, but also when they are not playing or even in the off season. As crazy as it sounds, this is a real job now, and you have to treat it like any other real-world job you have if you want to be dubbed professionals.

Community Involvement and Growth

Let’s say a new gamer sparks interest in playing competitively. Alright, well where do they start? Right out of the gates, the aspiring pro-gamer will begin their quest to play online verse people across the nation to get better and get noticed. The player gets online or travels to their local LAN tournament, and prepares to make their mark; whatever means to impress the best. After not playing very well, said gamer gets lambasted for his skills by other players and teammates, and through this spawns mudslinging about said gamer’s mother. After only a little of this the gamer quits in frustration and goes back to playing casually, squandering any hopes of playing competitively. Does that sound like something you want to be apart of?

Although an extreme circumstance, this is a general issue that has plagued competitive gaming for over a decade. Not every situation is like this, but players who continue the journey either become numb to the immaturities or embrace them. Heck, even throughout my career to this day I still occasionally fall short of taking frustrations out on others in-game. Even though it is easier to just lash back, we as a community need to be more than just players, but encouragers to people who are fresh to the competitive gaming concept. There have been a few bright spots though along the way, like Complexity’s random acts of kindness, to several CGS players doing mall tours with Wendel, these are the type of positive things that will develop a stronger community.

Summation

These are just some of the thoughts that all gamers should consider when focusing on their craft. E-Sports growth will always be in trepidation when it comes to the issue of age and maturity. We have to take arms and combat this type of behavior or we’ll find ourselves, as the old adage goes, “One step forward, two steps back.” With things that have happened during and off the season, hopefully The CGS will look at creating more strict policies on player conduct. Thankfully gamers are gradually growing up and more people are jumping on the bandwagon in belief that ‘professionalism’ and ‘competitive gaming’ can be used in the same sentence. Where will we be in a year from now? We as a community can always hope that there is progression to the other side, where I have heard the grass is greener.