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United States22883 Posts
On February 28 2011 20:42 BrahCJ wrote: How many other times was iNcontrol on the eve of becoming the face of a $400,000 p/year tourney, spanning all over the world, trying to promote eSports globally? I don't believe a sterilized image promotes it better than an edgy, interesting one. Every mainstream sport would die for a well spoken, opinionated, slightly offensive presence like iNcontroL. Beyond that, SC2 is not going mainstream. If it gets 20x more popular than it is today, it will still be a niche market. No one is going to promoting family products and breakfast cereals on MLG or NASL, it's all stuff for a crowd that for the most part enjoys what iNc does.
Again, the face of the game does not need to be pristine. We've spent too many years with boring BW players to try and force our entertaining Westerners to do the same. If iNc wants to, then of course he should but he shouldn't change himself just because he thinks sponsors will care (which they probably won't.) If he were doing it on the main stream, that's one thing but I enjoy it when he does it on his own time (such as during SotG.)
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Not sure what you are really thinking but do NOT leave SotG!
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For one thing, nobody should be feeling sorry for incontrol, because 1) you gotta be able to take it if you're gonna dish it out 2) he's figured out better than anyone how to monetize playing this game, and deserves full credit for that. His team has all the great esports sponsors locked up, he's frontlining a very lucrative tournament IN WHICH his team will no doubt do very well (especially considering the format), personal sponsorship from SC2casts (which IS a super awesome site) and maybe others, and $100/hr to hang out with you on skype booked solid for months...well done indeed, I respect that. He's cultivated a solid enterprise from a genuine love for the game as far as I can tell, nothing bad about that at all.
So the cynical reaction would be, and I'm sure this has been well covered by more cynical people than myself, that this is all smoothly calculated or contrived or maybe even pressured upon him by "upper management". I don't think it's sarcastic, I believe everything written is genuine because regardless of why he came to this line of reasoning, it makes sense that he would embrace it, the public change of heart is only going to help both the tournament and himself (those two things being very codependent in their, hehe, ascension).
But it doesn't even really matter if he believes what he's writing, it only matters what he does as the linchpin for this huge new league which we all want to see thrive, so whether he's acting the part or playing from the heart is not really worth questioning. And never fear he's not going to become a humorless robot because that would be a downward curve in behavior just as fatal to the league as the upward curve he was on with colossal (get it?) errors in judgement such as restreaming GSL and stirring the roost of e-trolls against Kelly (yes, when you act like a huge troll then the lesser wannabe trolls will rally from your example, and guess what the results are 100% negative).
So as much as he likes to giggle at Day9 for going legit when airplane stories abound on the interwebs, he's got the same fine line to walk now that he's really going for the bigtime. But nobody should care why he's doing NASL or with what intent as long as he does it right, and I think part of that will be to realize that despite being superman, he can't actually fit all roles. A jack of all trades is a master of none.
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iNc! Internalize the fact that you are a funny guy before you start make fun of people.
You'll get so much more respect from people in your life and in this community when you commit yourself to being funny without hurting other people.
EDIT: I know I sound like your uncle. Sorry!
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On February 26 2011 05:48 vrok wrote:I just think that sometimes the joking is a bit too personal and disrespectful-sounding, more like bullying. While as a normal person among friends that can no doubt be absolutely hilarious, it's not too becoming when it comes from a professional player and caster regarding other players and casters. Artosis is (or used to be) pretty similar I feel, but he has toned it down some and to me done it just the right amount as well. I feel if you just tone down some of the more extreme stuff that we all know (and usually like) you're just saying to get people riled up, it would be ok. I recognize the situation because I'm exactly like that myself and have to make an effort among strangers I don't wish to offend too much, to restrain myself and my candid humor to a somewhat more appropriate level. You don't have to go all the way and become a children's program host though like Day9. I've never been much of a fan before but I will wish you good luck in your career and personal development so hopefully I and many others can become fans some day.
This is exactly how I feel. Someone talked about the bandwagon being Incontrol-haters ... not really ... the bandwagon has always been Incontrol-supporters (for the most part TL staff back up their own and most of TLers look up to/border hero worship Incontrol). The fact is Incontrol really comes off as a bully a lot of times. There are so many SC2 characters out there that contribute to SC2 in interesting ways without having to be asses (DJ Wheat and Day9 are the most obvious).
On March 01 2011 14:55 buickskylark wrote: anyone wanna give a brief summary of what happened? I have no idea what's going on.
From what I can gather this: http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/frqvb/this_is_the_face_of_nasl/
And the SOTG where TLers called him out for being a general bully (along with some of the other cohosts/guests) of Kennegit.
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you made a blunder and got a reality check and now apologized.
i hope the community will leave this behind and instead look forward to NASL.
Good luck with the league!
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Hey man, it's great to see that there's been some reflection going on, internally. Self-improvement and self-awareness is a big part of achieving any goal, and I think that more players in your position should probably think about the same kind of personal changes when in the public eye. Kudos on that.
With that said, I do think that the biggest hinderance of esports is the seeming 'know-it-all' or condescending attitude of most high level players and prominent members of the community. There is an air of elitism surrounding Starcraft 2's pro scene, and it will absolutely hurt accessibility. It's not easy learning about the esports world as a casual player, and certainly not for even an aspiring one. For instance, someone popping into your stream and hearing you (jokingly) berate people's questions or statements in the chat can be really intimidating for new viewers and players. We all know its sarcastic and fun, but newcomers might not. Even someone tuning into "State of the Game" for the first time may find it nearly unlistenable due to the seeming cold or callused demeanor of the cast.
I think the reason people gravitate towards someone like Day9, is the calm, welcoming, attitude he conveys. Even people like Husky (who admittedly is no expert whatsoever) make it seem like a much more welcoming community, and he's proven to be the gateway drug for people even mildly curious about pro casts. I'd like to see the NASL be a complete juggernaut in the west, and I'm really glad you're taking it completely seriously, and examining even the facets of your attitude to make sure not to intimidate newcomers to SC2 because that's the ONLY way this is going to grow. It's settled, iNcontroL is his own PR rep
First post on TL: Success (I hope)
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Canada9720 Posts
hey man, i thought the showmatch cast was hilarious, and it's always been fun to read and respond to your posts on the forums. hope you keep posting frequently, GL with NASL. keep on keepin on, mang
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Still a huge fan - switched races after watching you coach Protoss. You seemed to have two personalities before, the community/player vs the coach. I listened as a kid trolled you relentlessly during a coaching session (big brother of the student) yet you kept your cool and completed the lesson without incident. Unfortunately your new line of work will force you to put that coach persona on most of the time going forward.
You are a celebrity in the SC2 community now. That means all your actions will be disected under a microscope. Sure, some of the kiddies just plain hate you due to jealousy. On the other hand, people had legitimate beef with some of your actions.
I got bummed when seeing this tweet "Recharging with some X-Files and gf time. When I get back expect changes. People want serious/pro they will get that." The first thing I thought of was an incontrol who robotically responds to all inquiries and doesn't do SOTG, streaming, or any of that other fun stuff. Please don't pull a complete 180, just tone it down a little and realize how important you are to esports and this commmunity.
Good luck and lets kick this western esports shit into high gear!
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Incontrol is finally in control of the situation.
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Just wanted to let you know, InControl, that I appreciate a person who speaks his mind. I hate official persons who are afraid of being politically incorrect. My faith in your will grow whenever you get into a "scandal".
EDIT: Now, I'm not sure that being a real person will actually benefit e-sports, but it will make NASL more to my liking.
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