EPTI truly think so much of why I, as well as thousands of others, have been swept up in this swarm is because of the passion and love that the members of its community display daily. It's not the obvious outer layers that sucked so many of us into the depths of the Starcraft community, it is everyone else's' passion for it, it makes an outside observer feel not only that they must be a part of this, but they must do something to further it. I feel that this drive, that so many of the members of the Starcraft community have, grabs people who just get a glimpse of it, like nothing else can.
So, how does this pertain to anything, why does this need to be stated, why should anyone care to read this, because this is how we make it bigger, this is how we go mega. What is being proposed in this … random spew of thoughts … is not an easy task to be completed, but in order for e-sports, particularly Starcraft, to totally solidify its position as a legitimate sport we must show how strong this community is. Yes the Starcraft scene has many bad seeds…. Slasher comes to mind…… j/k; however, if we are able to overshadow those people and show the many potential supporters of Starcraft just how committed this community is to the bettering of Starcraft as a community, profession, sport, and ultimately a grand source of entertainment there is no predicting of how far Starcraft can go.
Well, saying that is great, for sure we need to show just how committed not only the players and organizers of Starcraft events are but also the fans, that seems fairly obvious, but how do we do this. We become a positive force, do all those things that so many have been telling us to do for so long, actually write to the supporters of the Starcraft community and thank them. Make the conscious decision to buy a product from SteelSeries rather than a competitor whom does not support what it is we all love. However, we also need to be hard on ourselves, in order to succeed we cannot just allow ourselves or what we love to be cast in negative lights because of the few we let get away with actions which we know could be stopped. This means all of the little things: if you go to an event treat the players with respect, do not just stop trolling in try to force people to be positive in the future, but also be critical (something the Starcraft community lacks greatly is actual constructive criticism of any form, much of this has already been addressed as our community needing, desperately I might add, some form of outside media which is not influenced by the organizations that run teams, tournaments, etc.) Further, try and do something if you actually have the drive to. I would not say, do something if you do not want to, no one should feel that just because they are a part of this great community that they must get involved, but if you wish to do something …. just do it.
Many are going to say that much of this is just restating what iNcontrol said in his post, and that is correct. I am only writing this because I feel it only strengthens many of his good points if it comes from someone who is not directly benefiting (other than huge amounts of entertainment value) from the actions of people beginning to get involved or the industry exploding. I feel it is important that many of the people who wish to help directly, who wish to see Starcraft grow, who wish to support this community in any way understand that it is important that what iNcontrol stated, and what I have said here, is something that many of us agree on, not just one of the most visible members of this community. That even us with no real voice feel that this community is immensely different from others, that this community is immensely important to us, and that this community has the drive more than any other to show just how committed we are to see this thing grow and become so mainstream it actually hurts.
Ps. Thx iNcontrol for inspiring me to write this, even if I am the only one who reads it!
