I was inspired this evening. I watched the movie "Moneyball" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/). Great inspirational movie about a guy who literally changed baseball. I love to look for the quotable quotes in movies, and tonight was no different. The main character, Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), when discussing the fact the Oakland A's won 20 games in a row, said, "How can you not get romantic about baseball?" Man, what a quote.
I love baseball. That and collegiate football. I should explain. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Buckeye country. I have had season tickets to Ohio State football since I was 7. I'm twenty. I don't miss games. When the loss, I feel the hurt. The win, I feel the rush. In Columbus, we also love our baseball - minor league, specifically. The Clippers are really good. I'll be going to opening day this year and I plan to make a summer of dime a dog night and dollar drafts. So I fell in love with the game at a young age and this movie captivated me. But I had a realization tonight: I love starcraft more than Clipper's baseball or Ohio State football.
That's huge for a guy like me, you understand. As I write this, I am watching the GSTL, and Oz is playing Coca. I realized tonight, "How can you not get romantic about Starcraft?" Like baseball, it is a numbers game. You attempt to play cost-effectively. How many lings is a zealot really worth it? Or, can I sneak in a few more drones and hold with what I have now? Also like baseball, it's a people game. The standard thing to do may be done by 99% of the player base. However, that 1% will do something different 100% of the time. You have to account for that. You can't just slap a computer on this game. So many other games can be played by bots because they are mathematical, logical, or otherwise programmable. Not Starcraft. There are literally thousands of ways a game could go - probably millions.
To be honest, I don't know what direction I wanted to take this blog. Did I want it to be a masterpiece? Not really. However, I did want it to be an accurate representation of why this game has captivated us. I'm a baby to this scene (as old as Starcraft 2), but some of you have loved this game for ten years. Have you ever wondered why? I'm theorizing, but this game gives us hope. Remember when they told you that games would get you no where in life? I sure do. Man did it make me mad. I used to think, "One day, I am gonna get paid to play a game." And people laughed. They laughed and said it is impossible. I look at those people now and think "Who is laughing now?" Dreams can become reality.
If your still reading at this point, I've realized that I've reached my thesis: dreams can become a reality and that is one of the (many) reasons we love Starcraft 2(and Broodwar). I'd argue that reason is the biggest one. Dreams can become reality. No matter what your dream is in life, if you work hard, don't take no for an answer, and have a good heart, anything can happen.
This quote from Captain America will need adapting for our purposes, but I think it serves a purpose: "This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — 'No, you move.'"
Do you believe in your dreams? Do you believe in this game? Do you believe that people can do WHATEVER IN THE HONEST FUCK THEY WANT? DO YOU? Then, ladies and gentlemen of TeamLiquid, I contend we start acting like it. Let us grab our lives by the horns and use the hope of Starcraft 2 to go out and do something with our lives - something that we want to do, regardless of what people may think.
So let me end this as I began, "How can you not get romantic about Starcraft?"
I don't know either.