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East Gorteau22261 Posts
Hello TL, this is to be my first blog post on Teamliquid, and the first I've written in a very long time, so my blogging might have become rusty but bear with me.
Following Naniwa's elimination from Code S earlier today (or yesterday, depending on where you live), I was annoyed to say the least. Not because MVP had beaten my favorite player, or because Naniwa would not be this season's champion, but rather because some people are behaving terribly in Live Report threads. I realize this is not a new problem by any means, and that it is a rather subjective matter, but I'd still like to address the part of LRs that annoy me the most: shrugging of someone's liking of a player because they come from the same country.
It has happened not once or twice, but dozens of times, particularly when Naniwa wins or loses, but also to some lesser degree when the same happens to other players.
Particularly today. Naniwa was, to put it simply, cheesed out of the Code S.
Predictably, a bunch of fans and anti-fans conjured a shitstorm in no time flat; both because MVP advanced largely with cheese, and/or because Nani was eliminated by cheese.
Many of the more outspoken Swedish fans stated, as is their right, their dislike for MVP's choice of strategy. That the community in general dislikes cheesy games is nothing new, but MVP's fans and Naniwa's anti-fans both took the oppurtunity to shout "SWEDISH NATIONAL PRIDE".
This kind of upsets me.
Am I not allowed to like a player from the same country as me? Is me being a fan of that player suddenly worth less because we happened to grow up in the same town? Because we speak the same language?
People are free to dislike Naniwa, they're free to dislike Stephano and they can dislike Cloud all they want, but I don't think it's fair to shrug of fandom as nationalism or national pride. Telling me "Of course you're rooting for Naniwa, you're Swedish" will serve only to make me irritated. I do not cheer for Morrow, but he's Swedish. I don't cheer for Sjow, and he's Swedish too.
Who I cheer for has nothing to do with what country they are from; I cheer for Nani and Goody because I like their play, and (to some extent) their personalities.
I realize that the whole NATIONAL PRIDE-thing comes, at least partly, from the community's general dislike of certain players, in this case Naniwa. If a Korean was to cheer for Polt, that wouldn't be strange, but if a swede cheers for Nani, it becomes a whole other matter. Suddenly, you're entitled to say "Well, you don't really cheer for Nani as a player, you only root for him because you're from the same country".
Well, guess what? I don't. It might play a part, naturally - I wouldn't really know, but I like Naniwa's style and most of all his dedication - as a professional swimmer, I can somewhat relate to what he says about not giving a shit and just practising. That he comes from Sweden is of very little interest to me.
It's not a cool thing to do, shrugging off someone else's like of a player because you don't like the player and don't want anyone else to, either. If you don't like Thorzain, or if you harbor a strong dislike for Idra, that's fine - but don't be stupid enough to assume others only like them because they come from the same country. It's ignorant, and it serves only to get people pissed off at each other, which is not at all what LR threads are meant for.
Tl;dr: think twice before you call someone a nationalist for cheering for their favorite player. Chances are you've got it all wrong, or that you're just an idiot.
  
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welcome to tl where saying a word that could be deemed racist in another context will get you banned, but actual racism like this gets ignored. sad, but true
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a few posts in an LR thread shouldn't so tip you. we don't all think you are all nationalists.
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East Gorteau22261 Posts
On May 03 2012 02:08 Alejandrisha wrote:
a few posts in an LR thread shouldn't so tip you. we don't all think you are all nationalists.
Of course, you are right. And I don't believe everyone thinks that, either - I've read a bunch of really good and sensible posts, but the very idea that someone (who isn't intentionally trying to provoke a reaction) could come to a conclusion like that bothers me greatly.
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Yeah LR threads are an unfortunate place to get opinions on, but the view that a lot of Swedish members are nationalist to some extent comes from whenever anything happens involving a Swedish player, some tend to be loud on it. If you go and look through the Naniwa probe rush threads, you can go pages at a time without finding a non Swedish person defending him, though on almost every page at least one Swedish person did. I think that kind of stuff did leave a lot of people maybe for a moment wondering.
To be clear though, claiming an entire country or group of people are nationalist is something that will only be said in the heat of the moment or by uninformed or unthinking people. We know not all Swedish people are X or Y, or Nationalist or even Naniwa fans. Don't let tournament fan rage get to you. 
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people actually get offended over this stuff?
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I don't think you guys are all nationalists, even though your screen name is a little ironic 
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East Gorteau22261 Posts
On May 03 2012 03:46 Rice wrote:
people actually get offended over this stuff?
I guess my background plays a role - competetive sports (and in this case, competetive gaming) has played a role in my life, both because I'm a competetive sportsman myself and because I've always been a fan of a few people across multiple sports. eSports may be a different beast, but it still annoys me greatly that anyone would try to shrug off me liking a player, be it a football player or a Starcraft player, because we're from the same country.
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Hey man, just gotta learn to read the LRs with a grain of salt. There are always going to be a ton of posts that your not going to like, just gotta close the thread and move on.
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+ Show Spoiler +On May 03 2012 01:53 Zealously wrote: I cheer for Nani and Goody because I like their play, and (to some extent) their personalities. On May 03 2012 01:53 Zealously wrote: I cheer for Nani and Goody because I like their play On May 03 2012 01:53 Zealously wrote: Goody because I like their play On May 03 2012 01:53 Zealously wrote: Goody play <3
Make it so your country doesn't show up, problem solved if it really bothers you.
Even though I wanted to see Naniwa advance, the games were a bit disappointing because they were short(cheesy w/e), but MVP played well enough to advance, I hope he goes and wins it all now.
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Nationalism is always annoying.
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When the olympics come I'm gonna cheer for China so I'm not seen as a nationalist. Actually, I take that back. I'm gonna cheer for the United States just as everyone cheers for their country because there's nothing wrong with being proud of your fellow countrymen and you shouldn't be offended if someone accuses you of it.
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I love Kas and Bomber. I'm neither Korean, nor Ukrainian. I don't actually like Huk, living in Canada, and I am not a fan of MaNa even though I am of Polish blood.
I will watch and cheer for whoever I like from a personality and game play standpoint. I am always amazed when I watch these two stream, and for some inexplicable reason I just LOVE Kas' personality. Taking third at IEM Kiev and saying that he will never say he is the best terran in europe because 'I always try make better' shows a humbleness that I really appreciate.
In a global game like Starcraft, your country should not affect who you cheer for.
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EPT
