Halo As "Sport"

Since my daughter arrived I haven't had a lot of time to play Halo, which is my chosen "gaming" activity. I've had the argument with Speedbmp numerous times that I'm not actually a "gamer," per se, I'm a Halo player. I don't really give two shits about anything else.

Sure, from time to time, other games have captured my attention. I played through Gears with Malice on co-op, then pretty much filed it away. I played the hell outta Crackdown for awhile. Played some CoD4. But I always come back to Halo.

I won’t get into fanboy rhetoric about Halo, mostly because I’ve had some revelations about the game and why I play it.

To me, Halo is a competitive sport, and it takes the place of not getting to play soccer or football or basketball. I have no one around to do those things with and I’m not really a free-agent kind of guy.

I played soccer growing up. A lot of it. In college, I played every Intramural sport I could con my friends into letting me play. I don’t know how to explain it to anyone who’s never played competitive sports, but I need it. I need to win.

It’s not like I’d crush anyone’s soul to achieve victory, but I play to win. Always. I abhor losing. Winning is like a drug. It’s like the video game equivalent of having an orgasm, and I imagine there are shared endorphins at play.

Someone in our clan, when we were talking about the difference between casual and competitive players, suggested that perhaps the distinction lies in our histories, whether or not we played team-based sports growing up. Some of us need to test ourselves against others, not to belittle anyone, but as a means of self-gratification. We need that particular challenge.

I’m one of those people. As much as I like you guys and 2o2p, I can only handle so much social anything, so much goofing around for funsies. I’ve spent so much time playing competitive 4v4 that I start to lose my shit when I’m caught in the chaos of big team. Why aren’t my teammates moving together and shooting the same people? Why is that dude standing in the corning shooting a happy face on the wall? What the fucking fuck.

Winning is fun. Winning is good. Winning is right. I expect to play Halo a certain way. I’m not interested in the novelty of different guns. I understand the need for power weapons, but I think the game would be purest were there just the BR on the map, some nades and nothing else.

That would never, ever get old to me. It doesn’t get old to me. Five years and counting.

It's like basketball with four players. You get your guys, I'll get mine. The rules are all the same and may the best team win.

The variety in the game comes from my opponents, not from the gametypes or the maps. Those things are almost irrelevant. Level the playing field, skill vs. skill, hope the connection doesn’t suck and let the chips fall where they may.

Losing has always been motivation to me to get better. It’s a side-effect of playing to win.

This isn’t to say I have no respect for my opponents, especially those from 2o2p. I’d hope that my team and myself, at least 90 percent of the time, has been graceful in victory and defeat. I can’t say we always have. We haven’t.

When you play like this, emotions get the better of you at times and you end up arguing about stupid shit like host or smack talk or what have you. That’s a side-effect of caring whether or not you win. And it makes people do or say shit they wouldn’t normally do. I think we’ve finally learned as a competitive community on 2o2p when to let that shit go. I hope so, anyway.

We’ll find out once we get everything up and going again. We’re hoping to recreate the community we had during the halcyon days of 2o2p Competitive Halo, when most clans had 4v4 teams and tournies were rampant.

But… don’t ever think 2o2p is a place where you’re safe from having your ass beaten. What you’re safe from here is the banal discourse of the dregs of Xbox Live. You’re safe from racist children and general fuckwits.

I don’t begrudge anyone from playing for fun. Bully to you. Do what makes you happy. I’m just saying that to me and mine, Halo is sport.