I play video games once in awhile. And since nobody in my house likes to play Rocket League with me, I play online against people. The truth is, I'm not very good. Video games, I think, are like real sports in only one way, that younger people are better than old people. I don't have the reaction time or the vision or simply the ability to put in the hours necessary in order to be good. But I like to play.
So the other night I go online for a one-on-one dual. I don't do this often, because I'm not very good. But surprisingly, in the 5-minute match I got out to a quick 2-0 lead, and I was in control of the ball and maybe was going to score again Yeah! That does not happen very often, so I got excited...until whoever I was playing dropped off and I won by forfeit. WHAT? Yes, it goes into the ranking system as a win for me (one of few), and I am assuming a loss for the other person, but still...that's just bad sportsmanship.
I go back out into the game matchup, sign up for another game, and whaddaya know...they match me up with the Exact Same Player. That's actually hard to do...at any given time there are tens of thousands of people playing online. But we start again, and sure enough, I get a quick goal. And again, this person forfeits, like a chump. I'm really ticked off this time, so I do what I had never done before and reported the person as having unsportsmanlike behavior. Hopefully he gets kicked off for awhile, because that's just bad.
Now, maybe his internet connection was bad. Or maybe it was a really small kid who genuinely had never played before and didn't know what he was in for (of course, he still might beat me, because I'm not very good). But I would guess that the person I beat was likely some kid who thinks he is entitled to quit the moment he got down. I watch enough youth sports with my kids to know that this is a very real thing...yesterday my son played a team in which a kid on the other team cried every time he got a foul. But quitting entirely? I've done that against the computer before...but against a real person on the other end of the internet? It's the equivalent of playing basketball against somebody to 21 and you get two quick buckets on them and the other player decides to quit. C'mon, man. Toughen up. Sometimes you lose, and being an adult is about learning to take your beating. Trust me, I know...there have been times I have been completely embarrassed on that game...only recently I lost to somebody something like 15-1. I really wanted to quit, but I didn't...that would not be fair to the person I played against. And hopefully it made me a little bit better player in the end, because I don't want to get beaten that badly again. Finish the game. Be a good sport, whether you win or lose. Don't refuse to play just because you get your butt kicked. Man up.
(And yes, I know complaining about video games is the stupidest rant ever.)
