internetexplorer_

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I really can't get behind that article after seeing how the pub community treats all comp players in TF2, and how nice/honest EVERYONE is in competitive starcraft (even idra, and if you don't understand why you haven't thought about it enough). There was a time when a few comp tf2 players went out of their way to post 'lolumad noob pubbie' everyone, but they're pretty much all gone now and all that's left is a bunch of whiny pubbers who can't get over themselves.

I'd like a rewrite that says the wall esports has to overcome is people who are irrationally afraid of competition and better players showing off, and therefore won't ever be part of an audience or try to join in on the fun. Also people who don't respect the massive amount of effort put in by people before them to figure games out, and post crap like "why can't queens be massive?" or "why can't the medic have a shotgun?" No one walks into an NBA game and tells the players he has a SICK NEW STRATEGY they should try, because they would have him escorted out by goons in suits. The guidelines on TeamLiquid, for instance, say directly to people that "if you just came up with a new strategy, get replays before posting about it. otherwise you're basically asking everyone to spend their time testing your theory and your thread is useless." The same thing applies when someone goes on the steam forums every week and says the demoman is overpowered, the medic needs powerful weapons etc.

It's worth noting that in place of any real evidence, the article has anecdotes and made up dialogue. It's basically like a cracked.com top 10 list but about esports, in terms of writing quality. It would be all too easy to go on TL or gotfrag or whatever and get 'evidence' to support the article, but then there would be the possibility that someone knowledgeable explains why the author's interpretation of it is wrong. Can't have that, can we?

I think 2011 is just the year that a lot of people learn the term "esports" because of the popularity of starcraft. They fail to apply it a few times in blog/forum posts and then go back to their caves (forever? we can only hope.)