Subject: Re: Magic No Is Sport
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:48:06 -0400
From: otter@labyrinth.net
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

Hey, Frank.  The "Why Magic will never be a sport" post caught my eye, and
I figured I might as well start working off those Ferrets.  ;)  I consider
a lot of the following stuff to be painfully obvious, but that assumption
hasn't served me very well in the past.  I agree with Mitch in principle,
and in talking with other players from across the world, I get the
impression that there are quite a few people (including myself) who fit
into Mitch's demographic -- mid- to late-twenties, married, semi-gainfully
employed individuals who enjoy the game and perform reasonably well against
good competition without having taken the steps to reach the highest
levels.  I also get the impression that most of us in this demographic
share a certain distress with, um, "assholes."  I'm not going to address in
this post how significant a percentage of the MTG community is made up of
parties who match that description, or where the line between
"gamesmanship" and "assholery" should be drawn.  I'd just like to bring up
a few things and then I'll shut up again for a while.

First and foremost, I'd like to say that if the presence of jerks takes an
endeavor out of the realm of "sports," then anyone who's ever played
[insert sport here -- tennis comes first to mind, but I'm sure ex-athletes
in the crowd can chime in with a host of others] might have been better off
lettering in square dancing.  Believe me, *any* competitive forum, whether
or not there are tangible rewards involved, will draw its share of
distasteful people.  I have been cleated in the tear duct -- I know this.
=)  Some forums draw more jerks than others, or a certain type of jerk, but
I think it's safe to say that among any sizable field of competitors, there
will be a few people who are willing to sacrifice social and ethical
considerations for glory/money/a shot at Suzie Creamcheese/whatever.  Magic
isn't alone in this, and I don't think that the presence of a few (or a lot
of) peckerheads factors into the "is it a sport" judgment.  That said, I
don't think that whether or not Magic is a sport was the real thrust of
Mitch's post.

The central point of Mitch's post, I think, was that there seems at times
to be an alarming lack of civility on the part of Magic players at any
level of competition.  That, I can sign off on.  I don't make a point of
finding people to dislike, but there are players with whom I've come into
contact who are vile, obnoxious children well on their way to becoming
vile, obnoxious men, barring a sudden decision on someone's part to step in
and do what Mother Nature should have done long ago.  So why is this, and
what if anything should be done about it?

Well, a big "why," I think, is that a lot of Magic players are young.  I
don't have anything against young people in general, and in fact still
qualify as young out in the real world (or so I keep telling myself).  In
fact, if more people my age weren't such patronizing pricks to younger
people, they might reciprocate the respect.  But the fact remains that when
you're mixing players from their early teens with players up to twenty
years their senior, there are going to be etiquette discrepancies.
Behavior that would simply be inexcusable on the part of a thirty-year-old
is just part of the process for a thirteen-year-old or a twenty-year-old or
a twenty-eight year old.  Think back -- how much did you know about, say,
five years ago?  Ten?  How did you act?  If you're lucky enough to be able
to remember, I'd bet dollars to donuts that there are more episodes of
regrettable behavior or social lapses in your past than you'd care to
count.  That doesn't make being a jerk any less offensive, but it should
put things into a bit of perspective... if we're old enough to know better
than to do something, we should also be old enough to realize that in most
cases we came by that knowledge through hard experience, and that we should
cut people a bit of slack when possible.  Most of us weren't born cool.

Which does nothing to explain the phenomenon of, well, assholes our age.
Simply put, some people are just assholes.  They don't grow out of it.
Maybe the world crapped on them in high school, and now they're jumping on
the chance to hog the laxative.  I don't know, and I don't particularly
care.  For whatever reason, there are people who really should know better
who will go above and beyond the call to irritate the hell out of you.
Assholes are a part of life, and a good way to get an ulcer is to sit
around stewing about them (there are better ways to get ulcers, but they
would require a separate post).  Make yourself comfortable or at least
tolerant of them by whatever means necessary, but they're everywhere, and
that's not going to change.

*cue strings*

I agree in sentiment with Andrea Kunstt's post about eliminating cheating
on the Pro Tour -- the most palatable way to discourage assholery is to
create a social environment in which it isn't allowed to thrive.
Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen.  Another
characteristic of assholes is that they're willing to be hated by you, your
mama, the Donaiseseses, and every randomite on the Dojo.  That's why in
Magic circles they gather in little cliques with clusters of smaller
satellite assholes circling in orbit around Asshole Prime.  I honestly
don't know what to do about "cheating on the Pro Tour" or "assholes in
Magic."  I know what I do about the latter -- I watch my back, count my
teeth, and try not to lend their behavior undeserved dignity by treating it
seriously or making it a central factor in my life.  It's hard to hate
baboons for throwing crap.  It's what baboons do.  Just avoid going near
the monkey house unless you have to, carry an umbrella when you do, and let
them enjoy themselves picking vermin off of each other in peace.

Anyway, that's all I have to say.

Otter Driver
Hijo del Santo
Captain Obvious
Master of the Six Zippy Flavors of Shaolin
otter@labyrinth.net