My Take Monday: Professionalism, Social Media, And You
By Stax
The internet amplifies the best and the worst of everything. Every day we see stories of heroism and cute, funny things that happen and an endless supply of inspiration and positivity. We also see drama, hatred, jealousy, and general negativity - often in the same places. Welcome to the internet where all you need is an e-mail address and you can create a social media account, be it on Twitter or Reddit or on Discord, and you can have your opinion seen by as many people as there will ever be in the history of humanity.
Every now and then, pro Rocket League players have been criticized for their performances and have read social media postings from anonymous people with only a screen name and sometimes a profile picture to offer any clues as to their identity. Some of those postings suggest they are the problem on their team and that they either should be replaced, or will be replaced. Imagine having a poor performance, like being considered one of the best teams in the world and failing to advance out of the first stage of a major event, as Team SoloMid experienced at Dreamhack Valencia. Or failing to qualify for the World Championship - but barely avoiding the Promotion Tournament - for 3 straight seasons as Ghost Gaming has. Then, during the offseason you see posts on Reddit calling for you to be kicked or even some saying that you've already been replaced and your teammates are looking for a replacement. Sure, your teammates and even your coach might tell you that you're not going anywhere, but ask Kronovi how that worked out when G2 dropped him with all the grace of a baby giraffe attempting to walk for the first time.
The reality is that there is simply no safety net for these players. There is no union, no collective bargaining, their contracts are barely a safe haven for them at all because many of them are as flimsy figuratively as the paper they're printed on is literally. With increasing prize pools, and more events being added every year, the pressure has never been higher on these players to win. And when a spot opens up on a roster, or a player's contract runs out and they start testing the waters of free agency, loyalty will only take you so far. That's when trust becomes a serious issue. It's perfectly understandable that players would be very upset over seeing the implication that their career is at risk, even if in reality they're safe.
This isn't limited to just players. Look at casters. You can often find a Reddit post talking about casters - both past and present, and some posts praise them, other posts not only dislike them, but actively wish for them to not have a career. Same thing players go through. For some casters, it gets even worse than that. Some, present party included and especially, have their appearance mocked and belittled. Often it's a passing comment, sometimes it gets relentless. And unlike players, who often play from home during RLCS & Rival Series League Play, the casters are right in front of tens of thousands of viewers on a weekly basis during the season.
With all of that said, anyone whose job involves being watched by everyone is a public figure. They are the subject of rumors, jokes, praise and hatred. This all comes with the territory. You get paid to play or commentate on a game, you get all the money and the fans, as well as the haters and the pressure, that comes with it. It's a gift and a curse. While very easy to say, the best solution is simply: Get over it. Yes, people who don't know any better are posting false information as fact. Yes, someone who wouldn't even dare look at you the wrong way in person is tearing you down on the internet. And yes, some people hate you through absolutely no fault of your own. There are some battles you simply cannot win. But that's why you are paid to do what you do, and they are hoping they get a cute decal at the end of the day. That's why people care when you say or do something, and they have 2,000 tweets and 30 followers. That's why you are able to fly around the world to do what you do, and they have to ask for permission to take the car to a friend's house. Any public figure in esports is liable to go through the same exact things as the next. What separates them from each other is how they handle it. We are held to a higher standard for a reason.
For every negative post, you will likely find at least one positive post. Probably more. The internet amplifies the best and worst of everything. Be the best.
The internet amplifies the best and the worst of everything. Every day we see stories of heroism and cute, funny things that happen and an endless supply of inspiration and positivity. We also see drama, hatred, jealousy, and general negativity - often in the same places. Welcome to the internet where all you need is an e-mail address and you can create a social media account, be it on Twitter or Reddit or on Discord, and you can have your opinion seen by as many people as there will ever be in the history of humanity.
Every now and then, pro Rocket League players have been criticized for their performances and have read social media postings from anonymous people with only a screen name and sometimes a profile picture to offer any clues as to their identity. Some of those postings suggest they are the problem on their team and that they either should be replaced, or will be replaced. Imagine having a poor performance, like being considered one of the best teams in the world and failing to advance out of the first stage of a major event, as Team SoloMid experienced at Dreamhack Valencia. Or failing to qualify for the World Championship - but barely avoiding the Promotion Tournament - for 3 straight seasons as Ghost Gaming has. Then, during the offseason you see posts on Reddit calling for you to be kicked or even some saying that you've already been replaced and your teammates are looking for a replacement. Sure, your teammates and even your coach might tell you that you're not going anywhere, but ask Kronovi how that worked out when G2 dropped him with all the grace of a baby giraffe attempting to walk for the first time.
The reality is that there is simply no safety net for these players. There is no union, no collective bargaining, their contracts are barely a safe haven for them at all because many of them are as flimsy figuratively as the paper they're printed on is literally. With increasing prize pools, and more events being added every year, the pressure has never been higher on these players to win. And when a spot opens up on a roster, or a player's contract runs out and they start testing the waters of free agency, loyalty will only take you so far. That's when trust becomes a serious issue. It's perfectly understandable that players would be very upset over seeing the implication that their career is at risk, even if in reality they're safe.
This isn't limited to just players. Look at casters. You can often find a Reddit post talking about casters - both past and present, and some posts praise them, other posts not only dislike them, but actively wish for them to not have a career. Same thing players go through. For some casters, it gets even worse than that. Some, present party included and especially, have their appearance mocked and belittled. Often it's a passing comment, sometimes it gets relentless. And unlike players, who often play from home during RLCS & Rival Series League Play, the casters are right in front of tens of thousands of viewers on a weekly basis during the season.
With all of that said, anyone whose job involves being watched by everyone is a public figure. They are the subject of rumors, jokes, praise and hatred. This all comes with the territory. You get paid to play or commentate on a game, you get all the money and the fans, as well as the haters and the pressure, that comes with it. It's a gift and a curse. While very easy to say, the best solution is simply: Get over it. Yes, people who don't know any better are posting false information as fact. Yes, someone who wouldn't even dare look at you the wrong way in person is tearing you down on the internet. And yes, some people hate you through absolutely no fault of your own. There are some battles you simply cannot win. But that's why you are paid to do what you do, and they are hoping they get a cute decal at the end of the day. That's why people care when you say or do something, and they have 2,000 tweets and 30 followers. That's why you are able to fly around the world to do what you do, and they have to ask for permission to take the car to a friend's house. Any public figure in esports is liable to go through the same exact things as the next. What separates them from each other is how they handle it. We are held to a higher standard for a reason.
For every negative post, you will likely find at least one positive post. Probably more. The internet amplifies the best and worst of everything. Be the best.
This is a super important topic - and people should be talking about it more! Though it's hard to ignore the megaphone that it is the internet. The more people are able to tune it out and create self-worth outside of that vacuum the better. I am sure that it is hard, I don't even like one or two little comments when I'm playing online.... I can only imagine what it is like for the pros.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to tell all of them to keep fighting - work hard - they deserve to be where they are. No random internet person can take that away. There are tons of people out in the world that appreciate what they do and it's amazing what is created for this game that we love.
That include you stax - you're a great asset to the game and your passion for it always shows. Thanks for what you do. Know that you are appreciated, you're talented, and if some shmuck tries to tell you otherwise they don't know what they're talking about. Keep grinding my dude. -Tom