EPTHowever, it caused me to wonder things about both myself and the community perception of bronzies (such as I).
I'm a noob to RTS games and SC2 as well. I remember (vaguely) playing some BW back in 1999 when I was on leave and couldn't leave the base. The base single Marine program had a T1 connection and 24 computers loaded with the latest games, including BW. I played some, and got completely stomped by the AI because I didn't understand anything about RTS games. AT ALL.
Fast forward to 2010. I'd been laid off, had a child, and my wife had just left me. I had nothing to do but screw around on the internet. I went looking for any Diablo 3 news, and couldn't find anything at all. Back in 2000-2002 I'd been a hardcore D2 player and even wrote a joint article on the vibrator bug with one of the mods at the Lurker Lounge. Anywho, I couldn't find a damn thing about D3, so I googled "Blizzard Beta videos" and was greeted with some jackass calling himself Day[9]. Little did I know how this would play out.
I wandered around Youtube looking for this game, Starcraft 2. Two? Really? Why have I never heard of this game? Why have I never played it? I've been playing video games for 28 years and I've never heard of this?
I ended up watching a series of videos by HD and Husky. I was so excited, I started talking to all of my friends about this emerging eSports thing. Then one of them, who's a bit geekier than I, told me I was around 15 years behind the power curve, that eSports had started with Quake and Starcraft. Curious, I went on a delve into the internet, and uncovered a wealth of information. I also watched the HDH Invitational on Youtube and noticed that jackass showed up again. That's right, this Day[9] person was apparently somebody in Starcraft world, based on the way HD and Husky talked about him.
But finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I went out and bought the BW battlechest. The AI kicked my ass, so I googled Starcraft strategy and there was that jackass again. Day[9]. Hey! I don't want to stare at some nimnard talking to the camera, I want to watch Starcraft strategy! GTFO!!! Jackass.
But after weeks of being unable to defeat the 10th Terran mission in the original game (I kid you not), I finally snapped and watched a Day[9] video. I think it was Daily #162 or something, it was a protoss late-gas expand, basically the root of the FFE.
And I was hooked.
I searched for the live channel and ended up watching Newbie Tuesday #1 (Daily #182). I've missed dailies since then, but not many. After DayJ mentioned "hotkeys" I got curious and actually read the fucking manual, something I should've known due to my past as a computer technician. When in doubt, RTFM. I literally facepalmed myself. I'd been playing BW with one hand, my mouse hand, and that was it. I wasn't hotkeying buildings or units, I wasn't macroing, I wasn't out-producing, I wasn't even upgrading.
Excited, I dove back into the 10th mission after huffily chucking the Prima Strategy Guide in the trash. I built 2 rax, then a shit ton of factories and slow pushed with tanks and goliaths into every base. I leveled all of them, built CC's, teched to BCs and Yamato cannoned my way to victory. Finally! Now I could play Zerg.
Eventually, in 2011, I finally graduated with my bachelor's and then my birthday rolled around. I bought myself all the pieces and parts to build my dream PC and a copy of Starcraft 2. I came in towards the end of Season three. I beat the single player mission on Normal, and quite handily. So I jumped on bnet and started playing my 50 training matches. At match 28 I was sick and tired of those goddamn rocks preventing me from getting out and mauling my opponent, and besides, all the terrans were floating CCs around the map and teching to BCs. So I did my five placement matches. I beat a bronze. I beat a silver. I got beaten by a gold. A platinum roflstomped me. And a diamond left the game.
Congratulations! You've been placed in a division! With a gold medal out to the side. Yes! I knew all the practice in BW and watching DayJ would pay off!
I then lost 47 games in a row before the ladder locked.
Season 4 rolled around. I did my placement match and was thrust into bronze.
Oh. Fuck.
These guys were cheesing. They were BMing. I think I ran intto a couple of smurfs there too. They even had some one-hit wonder builds like the 4gate (which I knew nothing about). I lost around 60%-70% of my games that season. Season 5 I barely played. Season 6 I barely played.
Then I got fired. I went home, my girlfriend took me out for sushi. Mommy came and picked up the kid for the weekend. My girlfriend had to go to work, so I was at home alone. I started up SC2. Lost my first match. Then crushed the next guy. And the next guy. And the next. And so on.
I played around 20 games that day, and lost two. I also crushed, and I mean CRUSHED three silvers and a gold. They appeared to be on tilt, because they were BMing the living dogshit out of me. Their match history showed they had been on hard losing streaks, like 10 in a row.
Then I noticed that the Bronze-Gold TeamLeague thread was growing, so I posted my stuff and Desura happily added me.
And here I am.
Coming Up: Bronze from a Bronze view.
when you guys play a game, why don't you look stuff up for it? Some people may say that takes out the fun of starting a new game.. but who likes to get smashed in games? Like when I first got sc2.. I was like ?? wtf this shit is different from bw so I played like 2 v AI coop... or like me vs AI games... then I saw a guide "MMM" (marine marauder medivac) . Okay. I do that. all 5 of my placement matches I do that. I won 4/5 except last guy was a plat that baneling busted and I had no idea how to defend that. Then.. oh cool! I'm placed plat and I have no idea how to play. ??? 
