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Active: 4276 users

Damnit, Stephano Is Not Cocky!

Blogs > Umpteen
Post a Reply
Umpteen
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United Kingdom1570 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-09-16 22:41:54
September 16 2012 22:41 GMT
#1
He's really not. No: just give me a minute here. It's a cultural thing.

In some cultures, you have to telegraph feigned arrogance - really ham it up - so that it isn't mistaken for the real thing.

In others, self-deprecation is the norm, and deadpan confidence is intended to be taken as tongue-in-cheek. It is not indicative of a lack of self-awareness.

Stephano is centre-stage in pretty much any tournament he enters. He didn't earn that by having a big mouth, he earned it by having an excellent ladder and competitive record (plus a measure of fan-generated hype). It's bigger news when he loses than when he wins.

So when he says "This will be easy" or "That was easy", remember he's playing straight-man to his own cultural norms, the weight of expectation, and the intensity of the contest. He's being flippant on the understanding you'll laugh along with him. The more outlandish the arrogance, the more sure you can be of this.

So when he treats winning the European WCS as no big thing, don't worry about it. Worry about the fact he's probably having sex with your girlfriend while you're reading this.

Thanks for reading!

**
The existence of a food chain is inescapable if we evolved unsupervised, and inexcusable otherwise.
kollin
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United Kingdom8380 Posts
September 16 2012 22:55 GMT
#2
Wow. He was totally having sex with my girlfriend while I read this. Bloody Zerg players man, such good multitasking.
Antimatterz
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
United States1010 Posts
September 16 2012 23:49 GMT
#3
Stephano is like the Usain Bolt of SC2 imo.

And I fuckin love Usain Bolt.
"HotBid [11:45 AM]: i dunno i kinda like the big muta shooting smaller mutas out"
HeeroFX
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States2704 Posts
September 17 2012 01:04 GMT
#4
I like when Stephano comes off with this cool arrogance. I do get how it could be a cultural thing. But I feel like it's a good thing and here is why.

1. He is exciting to watch and interesting, not just because of his game, but his personality. How will he react to winning it all?

2. As a fan, I like seeing players get excited for winning a big game. Or even trash talking. That is good watching. When stephano walks down for his post match interview, he honestly comes off to the viewer, "ya I knew i was gonna win this, cause i am #1"

3. Swag is sexy.
Aerisky
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
United States12129 Posts
September 17 2012 01:16 GMT
#5
It boils down to semantics, but I would argue that he's cocky as a result of his cultural norms, and not cocky to the extent that people like to say he is.

I've never particularly liked Stephano, but he's a world class player, and he's clearly not a bad guy ^^
Jim while Johnny had had had had had had had; had had had had the better effect on the teacher.
Zerg.Zilla
Profile Joined February 2012
Hungary5029 Posts
September 17 2012 04:37 GMT
#6
On September 17 2012 07:55 kollin wrote:
Wow. He was totally having sex with my girlfriend while I read this. Bloody Zerg players man, such good multitasking.

Lol.Thx man a good laugh to start my day!
(•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■) ~Keep calm and inject Larva~
Suc
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Australia1569 Posts
September 17 2012 04:38 GMT
#7
Yeah, for the umpteenth time, Stephano is just being honest about what he thinks of the competition.
Itsmedudeman
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States19229 Posts
September 17 2012 04:46 GMT
#8
So being cocky is part of his culture, got it
Titan999
Profile Joined February 2011
Denmark67 Posts
September 17 2012 04:58 GMT
#9
who cares he is awsome, a european who is able to beat koreans. Who cares if he is having sex with my girlfriend.
Incontrol: “A part of the question was for you to figure out what I meant…..”
StateofReverie
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
United States633 Posts
September 17 2012 05:07 GMT
#10
He reminds me alot like flash. They are both so good, yet so humble
Umpteen
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United Kingdom1570 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-09-17 09:21:58
September 17 2012 09:21 GMT
#11
On September 17 2012 13:46 Itsmedudeman wrote:
So being cocky is part of his culture, got it


Pretty sure you're trolling me now.
The existence of a food chain is inescapable if we evolved unsupervised, and inexcusable otherwise.
Daswollvieh
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
5553 Posts
September 17 2012 09:28 GMT
#12
When it comes to how hard it is for him to do stuff, I have to take his word.
tili
Profile Joined July 2012
United States1332 Posts
September 19 2012 15:22 GMT
#13
Agreed. He is actually very honest about being stumped by TSL_Polt at times, as well as others.

He also constantly says how shitty his ZvZ is.

So, I dunno about cocky, but he is very confident in vP and vT.
phalanx
Profile Joined November 2011
France43 Posts
September 23 2012 16:54 GMT
#14
I completely agree with the analysis, gave it a 5. It doesn't mean Stephano is perfect in any ways, he actually have a lot of bad moves in public but who are we to judge a 20 years old boy dealing with such a diverse audience under the spots. I am really glad to see that he's constant in his behavior, his multiple victories haven't spoiled him(...yet?)
knowledge is like jam, the less you have the more you spread.
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