I'm tired. I'm tired of losing. Not as an individual, but as a country. I am sure I am not alone in my desire to see foreigners perform well in Starcraft 2. It is always the biggest story line at any international tournament: who can beat the Koreans this time? For a while I was happy to see some foreigners surface recently such as Stephano and Naniwa that could go toe to toe with the best players from the holy land of Starcraft 2. However, even that has started to lose excitement to me, and it took me a bit to realize why.
I now know that what I truly desire to see is an American step up and kick some ass and take some names! I don't hate the other top foreigners from places such as Europe, in fact I love Europe and I love players such as TLO and Sase. The thing is, I love America more! When I was younger I used to think it was cool to hate on my own country and be counter-culture, but after awhile I began to realize that while the USA has its flaws, it's a pretty damn awesome country when you think about it.
Growing up in America it is hard not to adopt the mentality that being anything but the best is unacceptable. Look at our performance in other sports, it is hard to deny that we are home to many of the top athletes in the world. We have time and time again shown we can beat the established best (Miracle on Ice anybody?)
So now I ask why can't we do it for Starcraft 2. We have the resources, we are building the infrastructure (see EG Lair), and I know we have the determination. I am looking at you Idra, Sheth, iNcontroL, qxc, Machine, Tyler, and many more. I'm also looking at you young, up and coming, players like Illusion. I am not criticizing you, trust me I want nothing but the greatest of successes for you all. I am simply trying to give you more motivation. I don't know how much pride these players have in their country but trust me when I say we have pride in you. Whenever you think you can't compete, think about Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps, Serena and Venus Williams. You have a whole awesome country behind you and you are our representatives in this eSport. We are America, and to quote our current president, "Yes we can!"
I hope that other Americans feel the same way and equally cheer on their favorite home team players because I know as the 4th of July, our national holiday, approaches there is nothing I would love to see more than a big W for the U S of A! We made this game! So lets win this game!
And now a video, because there is literally only one way this blog could have ever ended:
So now I ask why can't we do it for Starcraft 2. We have the resources,
Yep.
we are building the infrastructure (see EG Lair),
With you here.
and I know we have the determination.
This is where I'd disagree. Yes, every one of those players you mentioned is very talented, works very hard, and is incredibly determined, but I'd argue that they don't have the determination required to be number one. If they did, they'd be spending more of their time training and in practice games instead of on podcasts and interacting with the community. Part of what makes Korean players so successful is their willingness to sacrifice time, social interactions, and even their health in training for absurd amounts of time a day to become the best in the world at what they do. Yes, Machine and Incontrol are good players, but no one would mention them in the same breath in terms of skill with, say, a GSL winner.
At least that's how it worked in BW. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of top players, especially for SC2. Would anyone care to correct me here? Perhaps after a certain threshold more practice doesn't help a person's game? I dunno, I'd like a pro's opinion on this. I think it'd be very enlightening. I'd obviously like to see a wildly successful American player, but I just don't see it happening in the near future.
Also Venus Williams crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon recently
Same reason America is so successful in the Olympics is why Korea is successful in ESPORTS. Far more interest, far more investment and money, etc etc. Sometimes you will get a prodigy from a random country with hardly any investment, but at that point it is a crap shoot and has nothing to do with nationality.
Same reason America is so successful in the Olympics is why Korea is successful in ESPORTS. Far more interest, far more investment and money, etc etc. Sometimes you will get a prodigy from a random country with hardly any investment, but at that point it is a crap shoot and has nothing to do with nationality.
We have interest though! Our tournaments and streams get a lot of viewers. We have money, don't a lot of Korean players not get paid much at all? And last, America is not a random country! We can be relevant, I just know it!
It's the determination, I think. From what I can gather, American players don't want to win enough to sacrifice their social life/futures/comfort/health for the practice regimen that Korean players do.
On June 30 2012 04:38 Empyrean wrote: It's the determination, I think. From what I can gather, American players don't want to win enough to sacrifice their social life/futures/comfort/health for the practice regimen that Korean players do.
Which i dont really understand. In almost any type of skilled exercise you have to make sacrfices if you are going to be the best. Maybe how society looks on gaming is a lot diffrent in korea than america?
EPT
