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Gratia Placenti
For the sake of pleasing.
Major League Gaming [MLG] has really taken off in the past year. The competitions are aired on multiple networks on television and it seems to be what all the young gamers want to do. With this explosion of popularity and recognition, it really does make this competitive form of gaming seem like a sport. Why not? The top gamers are making a hefty six figure salary. Does Major League Gaming belong with other ‘Major League’ sports?
While there are youthful golfers, young tennis pros and let’s not forget Lebron James, it is safe to say professional gaming is saturated with youth. All the top players are still in high school or only a year into college. However popular MLG is becoming, it is still considered a youth sport which leads to leaving a bad taste in some people’s mouth.
It is only natural for there to be taunting in any sport. Football players are known to mouth-off to their opponents. Tennis players will scream, throw their racket and bark at the judge. How far do they go though? One of the things that people don’t like about MLG is the conduct of their players. During the game things will get intense and players will scream. That doesn’t seem that unnatural. It is when they resort to phrases like “rape” and “owned” that puts chills down everyone’s spine. Do these kids know what rape is? Do they know what it means to own someone? Sure phrases get altered over time. The word “gay” used to mean happy well before it meant homosexuality. Will the use of “rape” and “owned” become the common tongue in kids? We can only hope not. It doesn’t seem to phase the gamers they look up to. Is this how a Major League sport will conduct itself?
What if other sports resorted to these tactics. What if the NBA [for example] were like Major League Gaming. That is hard to imagine that a professional sport could condone [and encourage to an extent] the use of such vulgar terms.
Steve Nash just stole the ball. He is hoping for a fast break and rushing the basket. He leaves the ground for the hoop, and gently puts the ball in the basket as he yells “Raped!” I would fear for Steve’s life after his mother heard him say that. Being a professional athlete means more than fearing your mother though, it means acting professional. That sport is your job. You can get fired, you can get hired, and you can get raises. If you are in a profession then you are expected to act with maturity and respect.
It is easy to understand that a fourteen year old who plays first person shooters all day may not be up to par on their maturity. You would expect a person getting paid more than their parents to at least have enough respect for their opponents [and their own parents] to where they wouldn’t dare utter such terms. Perhaps being professional means something different now. If Major League Gaming attracts viewers like they do then they must be doing something right. What happens when these gamers grow up? Do they get more mature, or do they search the dictionary for more vulgar terms to exploit?
Paul M. Hooper is an internationally published photographer living in Lexington, Kentucky. He shoots shows at various venues in Kentucky and neighboring states, as well as traveling around the country shooting models portraits. Mostly though, he's just an average dude with a passion for music, art and clicking the shutter of his camera.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 am
Heh, I’ve always had this tendency to rebel against MLG being labeled a ’sport,’ simply because of the fact that there’s no real physical effort involved. But that’s a rant for another day.
The fact remains, however, that MLG is gaining the public spotlight and, as such, its members ought to conduct themselves with a high level of professionalism. At the very least, they ought to be held to the same standards as our professional athletes. I realize anything like this develops its own culture, and trash-talking seems to be par for the course for most gamers, but I think there ought to be some sort of standard maintained and enforced by, if nothing else, the companies that sponsor these teams.
I’m not so naive to think that this behavior can be eliminated completely, but I think it ought to be reduced as much as possible and controlled. There’s no reason for people who plan to live in the public eye to act like hooligans. (There’s no reason for people who don’t live in the public eye to act like hooligans, either, but that, again, is a rant for another day.) Using words like ‘rape’ is completely crossing the line, and ‘own’ (’pwn’) is definitely pushing it, at the least. I actually really don’t like how this gangster mentality (Grand Theft Auto influence, mayhap?) has infiltrated gaming and how it’s pretty much acceptable behavior by most gamers to like the biggest ass possible when you’re in competition.
Now look what you’ve gone and done - you got me all fired up. I may have to write something up about this later.
Mind if I link back to you?
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 am
No problem at all, link away.
I think although the problem will likely not be eliminated, it can be reduced. Gamers look up to these MLG players a lot. Can you imagine what an impact it would make if you saw the top 10 teams conducting themselves with great sportsmanship and saying “Good game” afterward? It sure would have a big influence. I agree with you that if they don’t have the decency, the company sponsoring them should.
Being a professional is more than getting paid with big checks, it is about conducting yourself like a pro. Only so much can be expected from kids, but if they can get payed more than adults who have been working their whole lives, then we should be able to expect them to to act like the caliber as which they are paid.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:16 pm
[...] friend Paul (aka, Dweezle of TTL Gunslinger fame) has written up some thoughts on MLG player behavior - and I agree with him completely. It’s interesting to me how much slack we [...]