Competition and Sportsmanship

For me the goal of competitive gameplay is to win. Likewise for most other competitive players. The route you take to achieving that win is what I'd like to talk about. When I look at what loadouts or tactics I'm going to use, I look at the effectiveness of them to attain the win.

Talking with other people I hear the word "cheap" and "tryhard" thrown around a lot. And I don't really understand why. My mentality is to win. You can't win every game but I certainly try to. The problem I have is if you're not trying hard or not even trying at all, what are you doing? The other word that makes me cringe is "cheap". Some players have some kind of set of inner rules of "that's cheap, I won't stoop to that level". The rule I have is to use any and all means necessary to win, as long as it's not cheating. Are you more effective a player at using the more overused weapons? Then go ahead and use 'em. Putting C4 on objectives to prevent capture? By all means do it. Players too many times have a rigid structure of play and fail to adapt to new elements or tactics used against them. In result they go cry foul about how that was cheap or not honorable.

Now here's where sportsmanship comes into play. I don't think tactics or gameplay considered "cheap" can also be called unsportsmanlike. I don't believe in things like honor or unwritten rules of games. Glitching and cheating are rules written in stone that should always be followed but competitive games only know winning and losing. Honor or unwritten rules are not the same thing as something that can be considered unsportsmanlike. Things like hatemail and teabagging to me are unsportsmanlike. I really think they're uncalled for. If some person keeps killing you over and over, sending hatemail isn't really going to help you overcome that player. Adapting and improvising will though. There have been times where I get frustrated, everyone does but I don't think hatemail or raging at someone is going to do anything to make the situation better. If you keep putting yourself in the same situation that gets you killed over and over you have to start rethinking some things.

Becoming a top player starts with using any and all means necessary to enhance your chances of winning. If you find a loadout or tactic that gives you the advantage over other players, as long as you're not cheating, then you'd be stupid not to use it. Other noncompetitive players might not find that fun, for me winning is fun. So shrug off those unwritten honor rules and go win. I hope this helps you become a better player and teammate.

                                                                                                    -Tr0y