 | Hiyas everybody! I hope you're enjoying the 4th of July if you're an American, and if you're not, well it just sucks to be you now, doesn't it? I'm pretty certain this article will make a few people chuckle, a few people pissed off, a few people sad, a few people disgusted, and some will just say, "Spond has done eaten way too much acid in the 70s". Well, here we go. Our topic today will be "Myth Culture and the MWC". Most everyone knows the history of the Myth World Cup, so I won't bother re-hashing it. If you don't know, here is a brief history. Butcher got an idea. He made some scripts, did some promotion, and a buncha players showed up to play. He did it again a year later, then some other guys did it, and now yet another set of guys are doing it. Why? I don't know. In my experience of running tourneys, small ones can be a lot of fun. Big ones are a lot like a long bout of food poisoning. You enjoy the food and the eating of it, but later on your gut cramps up, you pray to the porcelain god, and both ends of your intestinal tract erupt in technicolor foulness that you will later have to clean up after. But it goes on and on, and when it's over, your head hurts, your family is concerned for you, and you missed doing whatever it was you were actually supposed to be doing with your life. But it's over, and you are relieved that it is over. Then begins the process of expunging the memory of the horrible wretching, crying, and convulsions, not to mention the smell and crappy forum posts. What? You never post to the forums while in the toilet? I thought everyone did. Silly me. Okay, now lets get back to the subject. No more stream of conciousness blatherings ... at least I'll try to keep on subject mb ... There are a good number of players in this year's MWC who have played in all 4 tourneys. There are some who this is their first MWC. The amazing thing is that there are teams from every corner of the Myth universe competing. Some are competing for M2SBR, some for fun, some for comptetition's sake, some for tradition's sake, some from Uranus. The majority of players are from the U.S.A., but there are players from Northeast Europe, Great Britain, Australasia, Japan, South America and God's country, Canada. I heard God lives there ... if that's true, then why does their beer suck so bad? All these places have their own cutural identities, with many variations in ways of communicating, belief systems, morality standards and so forth. In some countries, they have nudity on public TV. I think that's pretty cool. Often I wonder if anyone would ever watch Ally McBeal if she were nekkid. What do the teletubbies have under their furry garments? I have never seen Dianne Sawyers' ass, either clothed or unclothed. That piece of crap Temptation Island certainly would have been a LOT better nude. All of us have this one game in common though. On b.net, there are many different cultures, as in the world, but they are predicated by the manner which each individual prefers to play the game. I mentioned the reasons we are in this year's MWC, so let's take a look at some of the different groups in this year's tourney. Those who are in it for fun I'll do these guys first. Why? I happen to think that these guys have the most on the ball. Myth is a game. We play games for recreation. Recreation should be fun. It should make you feel good. It should foster friendship and teamwork. The folks who are in this for fun come mostly from the unranked rooms on b.net, but there are a few from ranked as well. They play their best, practice, and have fun (duh). They are mostly unpretentious, humble, and mostly quiet folk. They play maybe a couple times a week normally, but use MWC as an opportunity to play more often, and with more people than they normally would. I like these guys mostly, but sometimes they think they are better than the other groups, and this just doesn't do them justice. To them I say, take it easy. Have fun like you want, and recognize that there are different peaple™ in the world. They are no better or worse, just different. Have your fun, and then get back to your own business. <center><[img=07-03-2001-hightimesvodka.jpg ]>you guys smoke too much" Those who are in it for M2SBR M2SBR is short for "Myth 2 Soul Blighter Respect". They crave it. They need it. They play and practice more than anything in the hopes that their tournament victories will be remembered, and whenever they appear in the lobbies of b.net, everyone will want to be their friend. Some of these folks are known to double enter, to dummy, to use other's accounts, to pose as others, and cheat in other ways. I don't understand these guys. I don't know as I ever will, either. To them I say, be yourselves, and quit cheating. If you have skills, let people recognize you for your skills. You don't have to be perfect. Being perfect is an impossibility. You can try, and trying is a good thing. The higher your aspirations are, the more you can accomplish. Cheating is dishonest, and in my opinion, detracts from your M2SBR. <center><[img=catgivingthefinger.jpg ]> you guys probably are thinking this right now</center> Those who are in it for competition These folks come from both ranked and unranked, and are like the folks who are in it to have fun, but something in them gets going whenever there is a competition. Horemones? Hismones? Who knows. These guys I understand. I have a major league competitive streak in me. I just mash it down, because I want to suck instead of being really really good. Mission accomplished. <center><[img=page-170-05.jpg ]>your average Myth competitor</center> Those who are in it for tradition's sake I have no idea who these people are, but if you ask me, they are stupid. Who makes a tradition of a tourney that takes 12 weeks to get through, and consumes more of your time than sex and sleep put together? I can't even think of a picture suitable to describe these folks. Those from Uranus I'm as tired of seeing that goatsex pic as everyone else is. In conclusion, it's a very interesting phenomena, this MWC business. There are folks in it from all over, for all sorts of reasons. The fact that even one of them completed is stupefying. People argue over fallback, over points, over their memories of what happened in past tourneys, and over some of the most stupid crap you ever heard. Yet for some reason, they just keep happening. MWC is a part of Myth culture itself. Let's all enjoy ourselves and play to the best of our abilities. There are going to be times when we don't all get along, but if we work together, we can get through this thing. |
