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StarCraft finally received some solid, mainstream coverage this week through the growth of the BarCraft movement. WSJ journalist Amir Efrati attended BarCraft San Francisco (tuning in to MLG Anaheim) and tried to explain how nerd-ballers are no longer satisfied with watching by them lonesome, and coming to sports bars in droves, begging/demanding to watch some StarCraft with beer.
SAN FRANCISCO—One Sunday afternoon last month, a hundred boisterous patrons crowded into Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar here, to watch a live broadcast.
Internet e-sports like Starcraft2 have big-name pro players, announcers who broadcast matches, and millions of fans who'd rather watch the action online or in bars than play themselves. WSJ's Amir Efrati reports.
Half the flat-screen TVs were tuned to a blood-filled match between two Korean competitors, "MC" and "Puma." The crowd erupted in chants of "M-C! M-C!" when the favorite started a comeback...
StarCraft and BarCraft are featured on
- The front page of Wall Street Journal website
- Front page of the dead-tree, August 23rd 2011 version of the WSJ
- WSJ this morning, a radio show produced by the Wall Street Journal that's syndicated worldwide.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/AioYC.jpg)
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They make it sound like Starcraft II's being broadcasted on TV in Korea =(.
Oh well, this is great coverage nonetheless.
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This is win. Now all they got to do is have actual cable networks that broadcast these games.
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Thanks God they didn't cover the riots when MC lost hahaha
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Totally boss. I definitely encourage everybody to head out to one of these, I feel it really gains esports a lot of exposure.
I'm planning on heading to my first one in Boulder, CO this weekend for MLG :D
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Yeah so I must have missed the part where the bar fight broke out over SC2 being on the screen... Misleading title, but a decent article nonetheless.
+ Show Spoiler +The appeal is lost on some patrons. During a Barcraft in July at Public Tenley, a Washington, D.C., sports bar where seat cushions are made from the same leather used in basketballs and footballs, manager Deric Ortiz said he changed one of 26 monitors to a baseball game after a customer pleaded with him to switch the screen near him to show "anything but this videogame."
OMG what a tragedy!
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Great news. Its all good for da esports! :=)
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Hell, I'd go to a bar to watch starcraft II matches. Rather than watch alone and quietly at night, doing silent fist pumps when my favorite player wins, I can scream like I want to and not worry about waking anyone up.
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The article doesn't exactly get all its facts straight but I am super pumped that barcraft is getting mainstream attention!
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LOL the last paragraph
good coverage though, I guess ;p
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no barcrafts in Raleigh for MLG Raleigh? bummer, not everyone can get a ticket/has the time to go to the event.
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On August 23 2011 15:03 GenesisX wrote:
LOL the last paragraph
good coverage though, I guess ;p
Goes to show how slumping Baseball is as a bar sport in some areas.
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Looking at that map makes me sad the Ohio Valley area is completely left out 
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Win. Article talks about MC vs Puma, and how the
" digital swarms of an insect-like race called "Zerg" battled the humanoid "Protoss" on the bar's TVs."
" "It's a drone genocide! Flaming drone carcasses all over the place!" "
Was that Artosis?
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that is actually a pretty lengthy article, not some 2 paragraph blurb. Pretty amazing
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Wall Street Journal. Not bad 
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On August 23 2011 17:18 warblob004 wrote:
Win. Article talks about MC vs Puma, and how the
" digital swarms of an insect-like race called "Zerg" battled the humanoid "Protoss" on the bar's TVs."
" "It's a drone genocide! Flaming drone carcasses all over the place!" "
Was that Artosis?
I'm pretty sure the final series was casted by Gretorp and Incontrol, and now that I think about it I think Gretorp said that.
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i love how "Starcraft" is always put in quote marks in the article. that's like the one slight at the game in an otherwise respectful article.
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A well written piece, compared to some of the trash we've seen come through the video game blogosphere. Good to see WSJ give SC a fair shake.
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This is awesome. Some good exposure right here.
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Haha, solid! Sharing this with friends
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Even though some facts are off, the article is very well made for people unfamiliar with the game/scene.
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I wish Durham had Barcraft :-/ this article makes me envious
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+ Show Spoiler +On August 23 2011 14:27 Primadog wrote:Looks like the eSports community is finally getting some proper attention. Show nested quote +SAN FRANCISCO—One Sunday afternoon last month, a hundred boisterous patrons crowded into Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar here, to watch a live broadcast.
Internet e-sports like Starcraft2 have big-name pro players, announcers who broadcast matches, and millions of fans who'd rather watch the action online or in bars than play themselves. WSJ's Amir Efrati reports.
Half the flat-screen TVs were tuned to a blood-filled match between two Korean competitors, "MC" and "Puma." The crowd erupted in chants of "M-C! M-C!" when the favorite started a comeback...
"Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar"
That sounds awfully american for an English Pub...
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On August 23 2011 20:21 arthur wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On August 23 2011 14:27 Primadog wrote:Looks like the eSports community is finally getting some proper attention. Show nested quote +SAN FRANCISCO—One Sunday afternoon last month, a hundred boisterous patrons crowded into Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar here, to watch a live broadcast.
Internet e-sports like Starcraft2 have big-name pro players, announcers who broadcast matches, and millions of fans who'd rather watch the action online or in bars than play themselves. WSJ's Amir Efrati reports.
Half the flat-screen TVs were tuned to a blood-filled match between two Korean competitors, "MC" and "Puma." The crowd erupted in chants of "M-C! M-C!" when the favorite started a comeback... "Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar" That sounds awfully american for an English Pub...
Nah, Mad Dog? Fog? Distinctly British. I'm sure they have a sign out front showing the broadcast times for Premier League, and their best selling beer is Stella.
Joking aside - I want to attend a barcraft this coming weekend but I can't. However, from the last barcraft, I can really see this scene expanding considering we were packed for our first time. Beer and starcraft is a pretty good combo - now if only our group was cheering like the ones in the article...
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On August 23 2011 20:21 arthur wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On August 23 2011 14:27 Primadog wrote:Looks like the eSports community is finally getting some proper attention. Show nested quote +SAN FRANCISCO—One Sunday afternoon last month, a hundred boisterous patrons crowded into Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar here, to watch a live broadcast.
Internet e-sports like Starcraft2 have big-name pro players, announcers who broadcast matches, and millions of fans who'd rather watch the action online or in bars than play themselves. WSJ's Amir Efrati reports.
Half the flat-screen TVs were tuned to a blood-filled match between two Korean competitors, "MC" and "Puma." The crowd erupted in chants of "M-C! M-C!" when the favorite started a comeback... "Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar" That sounds awfully american for an English Pub...
Check out the video, you can see it looks like a typical pub in Britain.
ESPORTS!!!
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The video they have paired with the article is a great explanation of what Starcraft 2 is like as a competitive endeavor - I think the video is better than the article itself. Not condescending at all, and treats SC2 like a legitimate activity with legitimate fans. That is pretty big, especially in the Wall Street Journal!
Getting SC2 "mainstream" news coverage like this is important for growing the sponsor base. It raises the visibility of the product (SC2) and the respectability of the competitors. Awesome article!
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I'm really glad to see this article and video, but hahaha that picture. "A Dark Templar".
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iNfeRnaL
Germany1908 Posts
America is awesome. Everyone who was included in making this whole BarCraft thing happen is fucking awesome. Wish this was more common in Europe but eh, considering I even live in one of the most conservative parts of Germany I don't think it'll ever happen here.
I'm proud and jealous on you americans the same time. =P
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Don't WSJ articles require a paid subscription to read? Or was that NYT?
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This is great, I work in investments and have talked about SC2 with co-works who like tomock my game playing. I feel like the WSJ article is some vindication.
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I sent this to all my corworkers haha so awesome.
And not too mocking of our guilty pleasure.
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Mainstream coverage, I crave
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Really jealous that you guys have this. Nourish this =)
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I did a double take when I read it this morning xD
Awesome to see SC2 getting this sort of exposure!!
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Proof that drunk people everywhere are awesome.
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On August 23 2011 21:33 Sandro wrote:
Don't WSJ articles require a paid subscription to read? Or was that NYT?
Certain articles do. For this particular article it is free.
Funny article! Made me happy :D!
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Stoked for this, more exposure is good as it brings more attention to the scene and therefore more sponsor dollars for teams and tourneys.
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On August 23 2011 14:40 windsupernova wrote:
Thanks God they didn't cover the riots when MC lost hahaha
Yeah, entire keyboards were broken! there was a rash of people yelling "FUCK!" out of their windows, sales of Pumas dropped 0.2%!
Utter madness.
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Just got the print version of this article. Trying to explain the scene to relatives who think this is all news to me isn't the best use of time, I'm finding.
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I could move to the US only because of this!
ESPORTS!
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On August 23 2011 21:44 mechavoc wrote:
This is great, I work in investments and have talked about SC2 with co-works who like tomock my game playing. I feel like the WSJ article is some vindication.
I'm a biglaw securities litigator who feels your pain. After [Market] Hours Gaming League? Donation to be made in honor of winner to fund for Madoff victims?
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Hopefully some billionaire wants to host a million dollar sc2 tournament
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Dang, the closest one to me is about 500 miles away... Maybe I could convince one of the local places.
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The "Starcraft" franchise is more popular in Korea, where two cable TV stations, MBC Game and Ongamenet, provide dedicated coverage. The cable channels and Web networks broadcast other war games such as "Halo," "Counter-Strike," and "Call of Duty." But "Starcraft II" is often the biggest draw.
Not sure about the exact accuracy of this statement, as it seems to be awkwardly worded in a way that implies that MBC Game and OGN broadcast Halo, CS, CoD, and SC2. This slight inaccuracy is slightly bothering me.
Also, the random picture of a DT pencil drawing is hilarious in a random, out-of-place way.
Otherwise, great article, though I'm sorely disappointed about the lack of real bar fights.
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I would like to suggest that ALL barcraft should have at least a couple computers setup and ready to play. For barcraft to last it is going to need more appeal than JUST watching a few matches.
Depending on mostly introverted nerds to sustain your Barcraft nights will be hard to do over the long haul. The next fad that comes along will drive out the barfcraft nights. Same as how those crappy free poker nights were ruling bars a few years back.
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On August 23 2011 20:45 kakaman wrote:Show nested quote +On August 23 2011 20:21 arthur wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On August 23 2011 14:27 Primadog wrote:Looks like the eSports community is finally getting some proper attention. Show nested quote +SAN FRANCISCO—One Sunday afternoon last month, a hundred boisterous patrons crowded into Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar here, to watch a live broadcast.
Internet e-sports like Starcraft2 have big-name pro players, announcers who broadcast matches, and millions of fans who'd rather watch the action online or in bars than play themselves. WSJ's Amir Efrati reports.
Half the flat-screen TVs were tuned to a blood-filled match between two Korean competitors, "MC" and "Puma." The crowd erupted in chants of "M-C! M-C!" when the favorite started a comeback... "Mad Dog in the Fog, a British sports bar" That sounds awfully american for an English Pub... Check out the video, you can see it looks like a typical pub in Britain. ESPORTS!!!
I watched video and omg
He pronounces Puma, Poo-Ma...
Its Pew-Ma man..
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Actually not a bad article, wayyyyyy less disparaging than some of the shit on Kotaku. And I like the angle they took that bar owners are using this as a way to fill the bar on normally slow days, I think that's a great pitch to make for expanding the number of places where we can go tobe watching esports in public.
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For those that don't get the print version, this was actually on the bottom half of the front page, which is a pretty big deal. They used the DT picture in the print version too, probably because it doesn't have color.
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lol I love this at the end:
The appeal is lost on some patrons. During a Barcraft in July at Public Tenley, a Washington, D.C., sports bar where seat cushions are made from the same leather used in basketballs and footballs, manager Deric Ortiz said he changed one of 26 monitors to a baseball game after a customer pleaded with him to switch the screen near him to show "anything but this videogame."
FAIL DC, FAIL !
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On August 23 2011 23:27 Aoi_10 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 23 2011 21:44 mechavoc wrote:
This is great, I work in investments and have talked about SC2 with co-works who like tomock my game playing. I feel like the WSJ article is some vindication.
I'm a biglaw securities litigator who feels your pain. After [Market] Hours Gaming League? Donation to be made in honor of winner to fund for Madoff victims?
You should talk to the trading folks in your bank. Sc2, poker, and beer are pretty big after-hour activities, from what I've heard from my friends in the industry.
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Man, that article has me stoked as hell for Barcraft this weekend. Hopefully the hurricane doesn't destroy the stream, and we get a good turnout out in Beaverton.
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This is so awesome a friend just told me about a Barcraft event this weekend in Chicago, and now after reading this article it sounds I am so stoked!
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Their "portrait" of the dark templar looks way more fantastical than it actually is....XD
Also, I think the quotes around "Starcraft 2" is just journalistic consistency...if you look at their reviews of CD's, restaurants, galleries, theatre shows, etc, they do that too.
Also, some of the comments following the article are just....>.<
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On August 24 2011 01:53 whoopingchow wrote:
Also, some of the comments following the article are just....>.<
To be fair, they're way more mild and civil than comments on IGN etc.
A part of that though is that I think most WSJ readers aren't interested enough in the article to comment.
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On August 23 2011 17:08 Lucid971 wrote:Looking at that map makes me sad the Ohio Valley area is completely left out
This.
So true. It actually surprises me.
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On August 24 2011 01:31 archangel2 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 23 2011 23:27 Aoi_10 wrote:On August 23 2011 21:44 mechavoc wrote:
This is great, I work in investments and have talked about SC2 with co-works who like tomock my game playing. I feel like the WSJ article is some vindication.
I'm a biglaw securities litigator who feels your pain. After [Market] Hours Gaming League? Donation to be made in honor of winner to fund for Madoff victims? You should talk to the trading folks in your bank. Sc2, poker, and beer are pretty big after-hour activities, from what I've heard from my friends in the industry.
Sadly, I work at a law firm, not a bank, and I think we're a squarer bunch on the whole. I actually posted a message on the firm's mostly-ignored intranet message board, and a whopping one person (from the help desk) responded.
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On August 24 2011 01:53 whoopingchow wrote:
Also, some of the comments following the article are just....>.<
I just read the comments, most were pretty supportive. I really didn't see anything bad there? You had your obvious "Oh something I don't like or understand, let me bash on it" people, but there were like...two. The rest of the comments were really positive.
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The article just hit front page WSJ, in the top 5.
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On August 24 2011 03:19 Faveokatro wrote:
The article just hit front page WSJ, in the top 5.
#4 baby! TL/reddit bringing in the views lol
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I thought the article was really great, and it wasn't necessarily bad that they reflected some bar regulars being a bit discontent with the new ESPORTS business. Overall it painted a pretty awesome pictures of the scene. We should give more attention/discuss these articles!
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that video was pretty slick too.
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wow, front page online and on the actual paper, very impressive.
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#3 now! We should drive this into #1 and keep it there for at least a day.
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I really love reading the comments of these articles because they reflect how the average person views eSports.
I came across this comment: "I think this is a great idea. In fact, I've wondered for years why no one has done this. I am an avid online gamer and it's actually a lot of fun to watch the pros play these games. Their skill levels are breathtaking. A lot of people watch football or baseball or other sports because they have played themselves and love and understand the games. This is the same thing. I know there's a market for it. Not sure how huge or sustainable over time it would be, but it's definitely there. BTW, I'm 62 and female. I won't personally be at the bar (I don't go to bars) but I'm sure there are other, younger women who would go. Heck, they play online games a lot. I know a ton of them."
That's amazing.
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Wow, those comments were... pretty damn reasonable.
There were only one or two flamingly stupid comments. The rest of them were either supportive or tolerant. I'm impressed.
For an article on ESPORTS on the comments section of a paper owned by Murdoch, that's pretty good.
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Man are there Barcrafts in Europe? I only know about Homestorycup III in the Irish Pub down at TaKes apartment.
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On August 23 2011 17:08 Lucid971 wrote:Looking at that map makes me sad the Ohio Valley area is completely left out
At least your state is on the map...
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ESPORTS! It is now up to #3!
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When we held a Kitchener-Waterloo barcraft, there were some old guys in the bar (and the owner) who knew nothing about SC2 but started getting pretty into it once people began explaining what was happening (and stuff like the XelNaga Towers). It was really cool to see.
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Many parties are making last pushes for LA, SF, Austin, etc. I wish them best of luck, and god speed!
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On August 24 2011 08:19 Primadog wrote:
Many parties are making last pushes for LA, SF, Austin, etc. I wish them best of luck, and god speed!
Where in SF? And will you update your other post if it happens?
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Most definitely
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This is awesome news for Starcraft, eSports and bars who plan on organizing BarCrafts. All thanks to day9 :p
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Cool Too bad the article mentions Zerg vs Protoss when it's about MC vs Puma, but they are forgiven.
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the last paragraph made me chuckle. "please, stop showing this video game!"
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TL needs to front page this naow :p
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I'm just disappointed Mad Dog in the Fog isn't doing a repeat for MLG this weekend. Seems like with all this publicity it'd be a prime situation to do a second event. Especially with the focus of the article being on San Francisco, but not a single BarCraft event in the entire bay area is on the schedule...
I live a couple blocks from Mad Dog, and would certainly make my way there Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
SF people: how did we drop the ball for the upcoming MLG? and, can we make it happen in the next 3 days?
Who has bartender friends?
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On August 24 2011 08:52 Endercatbus wrote:
I'm just disappointed Mad Dog in the Fog isn't doing a repeat for MLG this weekend. Seems like with all this publicity it'd be a prime situation to do a second event. Especially with the focus of the article being on San Francisco, but not a single BarCraft event in the entire bay area is on the schedule...
I live a couple blocks from Mad Dog, and would certainly make my way there Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
SF people: how did we drop the ball for the upcoming MLG? and, can we make it happen in the next 3 days?
Who has bartender friends?
No bartender friends, but I will be in the city on Friday and probably Sunday. *crosses fingers*
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On August 23 2011 14:30 neobowman wrote:
They make it sound like Starcraft II's being broadcasted on TV in Korea =(.
Oh well, this is great coverage nonetheless.
Uh... it is?
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Holy shit, I thought this was just an online story. It's on the front page of the fucking Wall Street Journal. That's fucking incredible.
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hahaha "a dark templer," i love wsj
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This is pretty major publicity. Glad to see this and AHGL taking off. I hope more people get organized and form more company leagues. Anyone works for Cargill here?
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OMG EPIC
also, because starcraft is a title/game, the quotes are appropriate, just like other works like books and etc
anyways, i think its funny they even put a picture (DT) in tehre xD
Also, whats with the geeks beating jocks part? when did that happen? or are they just over dramatizing the situation, that the bar was watching esports instead of other sports (which is a given since it's a starcraft bar)
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I almost had a stroke when I saw a dark templar on the front page today.
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Yeah, I actually read this article online recently. Awesome!
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WSJ This Morning is a radio show produced by the Wall Street Journal. Host Gordon Deal interviews WSJ journalist Amir Efrati about this new eSports phenomon as a follow-up to the front page BarCraft piece.
The Wall Street Journal This Morning Aug. 23, 2011
08-23-2011 - Col. Moammar Gadhafi strikes back at rebel forces, what the taking of Tripoli could mean for other Mid East nations and the geeks that are taking over sports bars.
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Ironically, people still insist that e-sports will never catch on in America.
It's on the front page of the wsj, everything that goes on there means something. To someone. Eventually.
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So i herd about, and read this article earlier this week. My reaction was quite happy that Sc2 and Barcraft was getting some recognition in a very popular, and different form of media. Did't think much more of it than that.
Anyway my Dad had been on a business trip, for a few days came down to my room to ask what i wanted to do for dinner, when he saw me watching MLG. He had seen me playing Sc2, and watching GSL plenty of times before, always disregarded it as a waste of time.
Though this time he asked "What game is that again?". "Its Starcraft 2." I responded. Then he proceeded to tell me that he had read about it in the Wall Street Journal. I told him that i knew of the article, and we had a few words about Barcraft its self.
Then my dad actually stayed their and finished the game I was in the middle of, watching with actual intent. The game was Idra vs Nobeless game 1. Given he had started in the middle of the game i tried to give back ground on to what each player was trying to accomplish, and who was winning, while being careful to not be overly wordy or excessive with my analysis.
Once the game was over they showed a shot of Idra in the booth. My dad asked "Who's that?". I responded with "Idra the guy who just won, he played the red biological units." Then added, "You know,.. that guy grew up in Kalamazoo (my family lives in Michigan). My dad left with a few words as we had to get ready for dinner. (luckily before games 2 and 3)
Im not saying, that my Dad is now a fan of Starcraft 2, or even respects it. Though i do think this was the first time he viewed Starcraft as something that people play / watch. Not just a small activity that his son, spent majority of his free time watching and playing alone. Though that there's good amount of people in the world that actually care about this game. Would be kinda like an American watching Soccer for the first time, they may not like it, or respect it, they simply recognize that many other people do.
Without a doubt, the slight change of view, can be attributed to Sc2 getting a mention in his world of business.
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That's a heart-warming story, Cyanocyst. Stuff like this make all the grunt-work worthwhile. =)
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That is a great story Cyanocyst. I just wanted to watch StarCraft in a bar. I had no idea it would explode like this. I am even more amazed at the legitimacy this gives eSports in general. ^_^ Getting on the front page of the WSJ was more than I could have ever imagined.
o_Oskar
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You told me about this WSJ piece like a months ago. It's hardly a surprise for you :p
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the article wasn't a surprise, but getting on the front page was. :-)
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fun little article, im surprised that the comments on the online article were not that pejorative, people were more curious than fuirous
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wow - frontpage of the WSJ is pretty impressive.
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On August 23 2011 17:52 akaname wrote:
i love how "Starcraft" is always put in quote marks in the article. that's like the one slight at the game in an otherwise respectful article.
It's always put in quotations because that's the grammatically correct way to refer to the title of a major work.
Or is it italics for a major work and quotes for a minor title? I need to work on my English 
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i wonder how its gonna do once football season comes around. my guess is the bars make more money drawing people in with nfl direct ticket.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hdItI.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/2l5g4.jpg)
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