CJ Nation

by defenestrate

I watch intently for a barracks landing
At five AM, through eyes with slumber glazed,
A four-pool at a crucial series standing
Or yet another fatal comsat razed...

To no avail. The hero's frenzied hands
Convey a bitter, growing desperation.
He flails and fails, I see with trepidation,
Before his younger foe's precise commands.

The night gives way, the sky is gray. I pray
Their starry craft may rise again to art,
Or, if the future promises dismay,
They'll build a pylon heart to warm my heart.

I trudge to work bereft of sleep, and yet
A CJ match shall never bring regret.


The games mentioned in the first stanza are from early 2007. In order:

http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/games/3148_Casy_vs_Iris
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/games/2959_Justin_vs_sAviOr
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/games/2000_NaDa_vs_sAviOr

"Exhibiting Greatness"
by BroOd

If you turn to your left, you'll see one of our most popular exhibits here at the Progaming Museum. Ma Jae Yoon, also known as Savior, donated these two pages of the diary he kept while a progamer on CJ Entus. They paint a picture of a talented but troubled gamer, in the throes of a well documented slump. They also mark the beginning of a return to form for the Zerg legend. The second entry shown here was written shortly after his stunning tear through both major leagues, capped off by two spectacular final set dismantlings of FireBatHero and Bisu. Solidified as one of the greatest Starcraft players of all time, fans today often forget that even Savior had his struggles. Sometimes, the greatest thing you can find out about your heroes is that they're human, just like you.

09/20/08

Dear Diary,

Well, I lost again. I think I almost expected it this time. He played like I knew he would. I was able to stop it. I am able to stop it. I just didn’t stop it. I think even he was surprised at how easy it was. I don’t understand any of it anymore. The macro is easy, the micro is easy, and the builds are easy. It’s all easy. So why is it so hard to win?

I owe my team. I owe my fans. I really owe myself.

I can’t promise my team yet. I’m not ready. I can’t promise my fans yet either. They’re not ready. But I can promise myself, and I can promise you, diary. I can promise you I will win. One day, I’ll write, “I told you so”.

MJY

08/02/09

Dear Diary,

I told you so.

MJY

"Savior Song"
by yubee


Download the mp3

We've seen a lost art in the metagame
An era's end
Like your third you can't afford to defend
When we came here today
All I wanted to say
Was how much I miss you

Lost it all to the Terran ball
And some girls you can't afford to pay
When we came here today
We all felt something new
'Cause now you rush hive... and lose

to the tune of Red Eyed and Blue by Wilco

"Closed Eyes"
by SoMuchBetter

I want this shirt. I want this shirt so bad that I can taste it. I want it so bad that I draw it on my body and imagine that I already have it. As I go about my daily business I attract many raised eyebrows and snide remarks. It doesn't matter though, as long as I'm wrapped in the embrace of CJ entus. I close my eyes and imagine myself on a small Korean stage, standing before crowds of cheering fans. I stumble out of that little booth with my eyes locked onto the bench. In front of me are my teammates, slumped over their seats staring back at me. I must remember my surroundings. Forcing away my smile and feelings of excitement, I lethargically high five my teammates. The sea breeze brushes through my hair and my sweat glistens in the spotlights. I've never been to Busan before, but now I hope I never leave. The Ace match took a lot out of me. I pull off my CJ shirt won in a little competition. It has made all the difference for me and hoping that it can for someone else, I throw it deep into the crowds. At that moment the fans flood towards the stage. They pick me up and toss me high into the night sky, towards the stars. I feel as if I can reach out and grab them, pull them out of the sky and put them into my pockets. I close my eyes once again hoping this moment never ends.

... Man I want this shirt.

by LightRailCoyote

The air was filled with sounds of dropships plummetting to the ground, pummelled by the cerebrate's kamikaze fliers. The last groups of brave men and women were swathed in corrosive biotoxins spewed forth by skittering plague factories as they picked apart by swarms of hydralisks and lurkers. The desert sands were choked with blood as the swarm pushed through the last of the human defenses.

And then, GG.

It was over. The first, and best professional Starcraft game i ever saw, had ended. Ma Jae Yoon, more commonly known as Savior, had finished off the most epic semifinal game 5, against none other than his teammate, Byun Hyung Tae. Iris. The Berserker Terran.

It was Savior's high point. CJ's high point. And my starting point. From then on, when it came to Starcraft, I ate, slept, and breathed Savior. I suddenly became untouchable amongst my friends and started playing for hours on end. He was my inspiration. I would explain to my peers, most of whom didn't even know the existence of Starcraft, why I wasn't looking glum like I usually did. "Ma Jae Who?" "Yoon. Ma Jae Yoon. And he's just ridiculous."

I never actually got to see him fall. I was out the night of the Legendary MSL finals. Where Bisu picked him apart to the horror of all CJ fans everywhere. Our hero, our scion of the creep, was defeated. And he has still yet to recover.

I don't think that Savior will rise again to the level he previously attained. I think that he can still pull himself up to the competitive level once more. I believe in Ma Jae Yoon. Every time he falls i may go "oh he's done", but I cheer for him anyways the next time he plays. Every time FBH dances, I think, "There will be a reckoning." Because progamers, more than anyone, must learn how to accept their losses. Savior will pick himself up again. And I will watch him once more.

"Happy Anniversary"
by Lyll

In 2003, I was working as a senior beauty advisor for Walgreens. Basically, my job was to tell old women which lipstick would make them look pretty, and convince them that even at 60 years old, blue eye shadow still looked good on them. One of the photo techs was a tall, skinny, blonde kid named Justin. I talked to him a bit, and thought he was funny. I even had a small crush on him, but nothing I ever thought about pursuing.

The only game I’d ever played was Everquest. I’d never heard of Starcraft, or Warcraft 3, or any other RTS. A friend of mine actually bought me Starcraft while he was visiting from California. I really tried to learn how to play it, but even the single player missions would take me hours to complete. It was a terrible game, and I hated it. But for some reason, I kept playing it.

One day, I came in to work super tired. I was in the office whining to my manager about how I had stayed up too late playing video games and needed to go home and sleep. Justin came in and overheard me complaining, and asked which game I had been up playing. I told him he probably didn’t know the game, but he bugged me until I finally gave in and told him. He didn’t believe me; girls aren’t interested in Starcraft, after all.

Somehow I convinced him that I had indeed been playing it. We started talking on aim, and he linked me some video feed of Starcraft TV, and an article talking about Starcraft Doritos, and tennis shoes. I thought it was a joke. I mean, people playing video games on TV? That’s crazy talk. He introduced me to players like Savior, Xellos, Boxer, Nada, July, and Nal_Ra. And even though I was awful at the game, and my APM will probably never get above 60, I loved Starcraft.

In 2006, we went to WCG USA finals or something in Las Vegas. I met Tasteless, and he told me about TeamLiquid.net. After that, Justin and I started watching Pro Starcraft religiously. I always play Liquibet, and never rank higher than 100. I am still terribly clueless about the mechanics of the game. I just cheer for my favorite players and teams, and always feel bad for the player who loses. They seem to take losing so hard!

This month, Justin (Disarray on these forums) and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary. CJ Entus is our favorite team, and we watch every OSL, GSI, MSL, and Proleague game. I know this is my first post; I am way too shy to post in any of the topics because I am so clueless, but it would really mean a lot to me if I could give this CJ Entus shirt to my boyfriend as an anniversary present. Without Starcraft, we probably wouldn’t have started dating. <3

"First Love"
by poingy

When I was chosen as the first alternate in the lottery for the large white CJ shirt I’m now writing to win, I was ecstatic. Weeks of eager anticipation had finally culminated into my one shot. I fell short by a hair, but I was left with hope. If there was anyone else to be given a chance to purchase a large white shirt, it would be me first. Later recounting my good fortune to a friend, he asked, “What are you so happy about? You lost.” Stunned, I pondered the question. Why was I so happy?

I had started playing on low money 1v1’s coming from the mineral rich BGH games, and repeatedly, I was trounced in magnificent fashion. My spirit as broken as my StarCraft pride, I turned to professional gamers for answers. Looking for anything, a certain zerg player caught my eye. I began to see a parallel between myself and all of his opponents; we were all dominated and playing way out of our league. I immediately became a fan, and my interest in progaming grew rapidly. My desire for the game became uncontrollable, and VODs were no longer sufficient. I wanted to feel the rush of watching a game live. Searching for my fix, Team Liquid seemed the most useful site in a language familiar to me. I immediately searched for threads relating to watching games live, and I was pleasantly surprised by the massive fan base outside of Korea. More importantly, I learned the name of my hero, Ma Jae Yoon. Throwing myself passionately into progaming, I felt my love for the sport exceed my love for any other, and finally I understood what drove those crazy fans in stadiums to wave foam fingers or paint their faces. Young and ambitious, I dreamed of the day I would make an expedition to Korea to watch my favorite player and my favorite team. I longed for the day I could sit next to Korean fan girls and scream with them in unison, “MA JAE YOON FIGHTING” or “CJ FIGHTING”. Desperate for an outlet of my fandom, I hunted relentlessly for merchandise relating to either player or team. I would eventually give up after several frustrating hours poking through sites where the language barrier proved too solid to be breached. Finally in 2008, I found it. I found what I had been looking for a year ago; it was exactly what I wanted. The CJ shirt – my opportunity to display my passion to anyone who cared and impose itself upon anyone who doesn’t. Frantically, I looked toward contacts in Korea only to find that they were unable to help without a Korean SSN. With hope all but lost, a post reignited the flame within me. Team Liquid would be receiving CJ shirts. There was one more chance.

Reflecting upon all of this, I realized the answer to his question was simple and unexpected. It’s love; to have even the slimmest chance makes me elated.

"Perfection"
by o3.power

Since I had started playing Starcraft, my main race was Protoss. Recently however, I had decided to switch my main race to Terran. There had been many reasons to this switch. One of these is inspiration from watching Terran players play. MNM micro, tank pushes and a huge Terran ball, all used by progamers have inspired me to play Terran. Unfortunately, even progamers are human and perfection is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. One particular Terran though, had caught my eye since I was a Protoss player and has always made me doubt my decision to play Protoss. This Terran my friends, is none other than The Perfect Terran, Seo Ji Hoon; AKA Xellos.

At the start of his career, Xellos has faced several encounters, the biggest of which is his mother. Like most parents, Seo Ji Hoon’s mother wanted to see her only son excel in his studies and get a secure job with good pay to support his family and so on. Many parents would be disappointed if their only son decided to play video games for a living. Seo Ji Hoon’s mother is no different. Ever since his father passed away, Xellos and his sister were taken care of by their mother. In a family without a father, the only son was expected to support the family as soon as he could. Xellos decided to do this through the game Starcraft. His mother resented this and had resorted to beating him many times. Seo Ji Hoon didn’t let his mother stop him though, and continued to play. His mother soon gave up trying to stop him and spitefully sent him off to his team as soon as he got his progamer’s license. On July 13, 2003, Xellos finally solved his conflict with his mother, dedicating all his hard work to her by winning his first OSL beating Yellow 3-2 in the finals bringing tears to the eyes of his fans, and most importantly, his mother.

“I am here because of you. I love you Mom.”
-Xellos

So, what is Seo Ji Hoon’s role in CJ Entus? Back before CJ Entus got its name, it was called “G.O.” Their star player: Xellos. Their sponsor: None. Most other teams had their own sponsors to support them such as Samsung, SK Telecom, and Pantech & Curitel. G.O. had to support themselves from their players’ own winnings. Xellos, being the star player, contributed the most to his team’s funds. Winning the Olympus OSL in 2003, WCG in 2004 and WCG Korea in 2005, Xellos was able to keep G.O. alive until they finally got CJ Foodsystem as their sponsor. Without Xellos, G.O. wouldn’t have been able to survive. Without Xellos, no company would want to sponsor the team. Without Xellos, there would be no CJ Entus.

Unfortunately, once you have reached perfection, the only move left leads to imperfection. Xellos is no longer one of CJ’s stars. However, he will always be the legend known as The Perfect Terran.

"Sport of My Life"
by ThePhan2m

I was not a great player. I didn’t know many secrets in Starcraft. I didn’t play as much as every other player. I was just obsessed with a genius game, exploring as a newbie. Nothing did I know that it was going to be the start of something new.

I had heard rumours of great legends like Boxer and Nada. I didn’t watch replays, or any VODs. I just knew that this game amazed me, and the explorer that I am, I couldn’t stop playing. Then finally, fall 2004, a spark was lit. I got my first broadband connection at home, which allowed me to watch the WCG2004 live-stream, and to play Starcraft without having to think of hours or cost. Listening to Wackstevens enthusiastic American voice cracked me up. That WCG, made my heart sparkle. Among all the foreign players, I was exited who was going to crush the Koreans. But after watching Day[9] vs. a Korean Terran, I was so amazed by this Korean Terran player. Since I was a Terran player myself, I just kept on watching. I had seen a new legend, this time, with my own eyes. His name was Xellos. His play just seemed to perfect. I wanted to play like him. Little did I know that my Starcraft world was going to experience darker ages.

Drums of War reached my ears, and as the explorer I was, I got drawn into a whole new world with dragons, murlocs and trolls. It took 2 years, before rumours of another legend reached my ears in Azeroth. It was said that he was far greater than any Zerg before him. It drew my attention back into Starcraft. My former hero had lost the last WCG, and now he was out of the MSL as well. I heard that his team-mate was still in the tournament. I found a link that led me to watch a final match: SaviOr vs. Silver. I was exited; a new legend was sitting there, defending his title, among hundreds of cheering fans. I was amazed by his play. I was surprised by the setting and the enthusiasm of this scene I was witnessing. It made me want to watch more.



Ever since that day, late 2006 when SaviOr won his 3rd MSL. The sparks in me, flamed up. And throughout 2007, the amount of VODs I watched grew rapidly. My favourite team CJ did well in proleague, even though they had two final losses. I followed eagerly while new talent rose from the team. Terran players like Iris and Darkelf made me want to play even more. And every morning I turned on my computer, but this time, It was not to play, but to watch and exiting game of Starcraft. I dropped several classes in college only to watch the Korean e-sport scene, which now had grown to a flickering flame in my heart. I had truly found the sport that my manliness desired.



^^

"Model of Perfection"
by LonelyMargarita

When you think of a “gamer,” what images come to mind? The average person might envision someone who is lazy and irresponsible, someone immature for his age, someone emotionally unstable, or maybe just a social outcast. Whatever it is, the person they imagine is usually not the model of perfection. Yet when I think of a “gamer,” I envision someone mature, hard working, responsible, selfless, and loyal. Assuming I'm sane, how can it be possible that while the average person thinks of an overall low-life, I think of someone you could model your life after? Because when I think of a “gamer,” I think of Seo Ji Hoon, the Perfect Gamer.

More commonly known as XellOs, Seo Ji Hoon boasts qualities seemingly opposite the average gamer. While it might not be rare for a licensed progamer to act well mannered, Seo Ji Hoon's emotional maturity goes far beyond typing “GG” or bowing after defeat. His stoic demeanor is the first thing most fans notice. He believes that any serious gamer must control his emotions at all times, and he exemplifies this control better than most crisis counselors. Of course without hard work, maturity doesn't get you far.

Dedication is required of any progamer, but XellOs' goes beyond that of even other pros. Forbidden from playing by his mom, he had to train silently at night to achieve the skills to go pro. He maintained that dedication as a pro by voluntarily dropping to the B team when he was slumping, devoting more time to practicing and returning to his previous form.

While most people game to avoid responsibility, Seo Ji Hoon became pro to support his family. Losing his dad at 12, he was expected to help provide for his mother. Licensed at 17, Seo Ji Hoon was able to do just that, eventually winning an OSL and devoting it to his mom. Yet Seo Ji Hoon's loyalty isn't just to his family.

As a member of unsponsored G.O., much of XellOs' winnings went to help support the team. While others left G.O. for higher pay at sponsored teams, he remained, despite needing to support his mom financially. Because of his selfless loyalty as their star player, G.O. secured sponsorship and became CJ Entus.

When I think of a “gamer,” I think of Seo Ji Hoon, because he is what other gamers should strive to be. CJ Entus embodies his qualities, being known for emotional control and hard work. While others may envy their favorite pro because of his wins or his looks, I envy XellOs because of his heart. He is the reason I stay up all night to watch every match of every CJ player. He is the reason my favorite player of every race all play for CJ Entus. He is the reason I still play StarCraft and am not ashamed to tell others. Seo Ji Hoon isn't just a model for other gamers; he is a model for anyone.

Click to enlarge