EPTSome preliminary background. I followed both previous TSL’s, but I am not really a true forum veteran. My level of involvement on this site has waxed and waned since 2004. I’ve also been watching SC:BW since SKY OSL 2002, but I never even played BW. Even in the heyday of my four-year Starcraft “career,” I only played vanilla SC (perverse, I know). As of today, I have played maybe six games of SC2—all on my friends account, all in bronze league, all consisting of a 6 pool as Zerg.
And that’s kind of leads me to my point. Let me tell you, I am deliriously happy with the TSL so far. I couldn’t be more pleased even though there are times when I have fuck-all clue what’s going on. And I couldn’t be more pleased, looking back, that BW has been my spectator sport of choice for the past eight or nine years, even though especially in my early years I hadn’t the faintest notion of how high level games ought to pan out. I think my ignorance nowadays in SC2 and then in BW actually worked to my advantage.
A lot of fans on TL remind me of those unhappy parents you see at little league baseball games. They are so sure they could be making better calls than the umpire; they are so confident in their superior understanding of the game; they are so persuaded that their particular child is not getting a fair shake that they end up shouting and fretting and carrying on and basically having a really shitty time. They don’t end up enjoying the game or even, hell, the fresh air. They just bring everyone down. You end up wishing they would just chill out, grab a hot dog from yonder concession stand, and try to appreciate the spectacle, rather than flying off the handle every time they think they perceive some minor-ass transgression on field.
Well—OK—maybe TSL3 is a little more serious than a little league game, and maybe there have been some problems that are less than minor (personally I haven’t seen any, but I’m willing to give it the benefit of a doubt considering, like I said, that I don’t know very much about the game). Regardless, I think that people would have a much better time if they didn’t feel so goddamn heavily invested in pointing out how so-and-so only lost because of blah-blah-blah, if they didn’t feel like their personal grasp of SC2 strats and tactics were in question just because a game didn’t turn out how they expected and so they have to go fishing for an alternate explanation.
Basically, I think people would be having a much better time if they weren’t taking this TSL so personally.
All I can really tell you is this: life is good over here in the casual spectator section. Life is very good. I love the story lines. I love the art. I love the casters even though (shock surprise!) they don’t cast at every moment like the perfect almighty caster in my head would have. I love the pretty explosions and the sound effects. I love it when TL crashes. I loved it today when this crazy German guy that I had never seen play before today actually beat Nestea in a perfect nailbiter of a series. I mean there is some truly quality shit going down here, BUT, if you’re paying more attention to might be going wrong than what actually is going oh-so-right, you’re missing out.
So this is just my little proposal. Try to focus less on whether or not the game has been patched into perfection yet. Try to focus less on what insidious conspiracy of circumstances might have allowed this one player who is theoretically completely garbage to triumph over this other guy who is the perfect embodiment of SC2 virtuosity. Try to focus less on how some minor faux pas on the part of the TSL3 planners or admins or casters spells certain doom for “the future of e-sports.”
Try to enjoy this little gem of a spectator sport instead. Just spectate the spectacle. I can assure you from years of experience that watching high level RTS play in pure dumb amazement pays off in huge dividends of enjoyment.
