My name is Joe, but you can call me 'how'. I am not exactly sure why, but I feel a need to have an introduction. I have been a fan of Starcraft since probably about 2001 or 2002, but had no idea that there was an entire pro scene developed at that point. Around 2006 or so I had heard of some stuff here and there, but it wasn't until 2008 that I got hooked. Best vs July OSL finals. I loved everything about those games, and I didn't even really know why, all I knew, was that it was something I wanted to be a part of (also July will always be a pimp in my eyes.) It was also around that time that I started to stop by TL more often, but only once or twice a month. I was able to get two of my friends interested in Broodwar from showing them that set, and are all still fans to this day.
It wasn't until I got into beta that I started to frequent TL more often though. I went from a couple time a month to a couple times a week pretty quickly. But, when the game was released, I was actually doing a semester abroad in China, and had no way to play, so whenever I had the chance, I would check TL to see what players were doing well, which ones were not, I would study unit stats, and try to figure out what would be good in what situations, but it wasn't enough. I wanted more. Once I got back from China, I finally made a TL account, made TL my home page, and started checking it compulsively (which I still to do this day.)
The next big step in my SC2 life was the MidWest Championship. It was my first ever LAN tournament, and it sealed the deal for me. I was able to go to dinner with some of my old friends, and some new friends, one of which was Destiny (funny story, had no idea who he was when I got there :p.) I also spent some time talking with Catspajamas and DOA, and I am extremely happy to hear that they are both getting more and more coverage! I was also able to win the Precious Medals Tournament they had there (a separate tournament for the bronze-plat players) which was an amazing experience.
(Me and my prizes ^_^)
Since then I have just been playing when I can, but I spend more time watching VOD's/listening to podcasts/browsing TL than playing simply because I can do 2/3 things while at work (and slow days I do all 3) and I am currently working 7 days a week. But when I can, I still enjoy laddering, along with doing 2's and 3's when my friends are on as well.
I hope to get to know this community a lot better in the upcoming years, and I am going to try to be a lot more active in the forums in one way or another. Either way, thanks for reading, and if you ever want to play some games with a plat level T or just shoot the shit about Starcraft, let me know! Thanks for reading