I entered the SSB: Melee tourney in 7th grade. It was my favourite game, so, needless to say, I played it constantly. I knew I was pretty good. It had gotten to the point where my friends wouldn't let me play with them because I would beat them so easily. I thought one day, 'Hey, maybe I can make something out of this...' So, I entered a Gamestop Melee tournament. There were 35 contenders competing for a 150 dollar Gamestop giftcard. I entered at my preferred location and practiced constantly until the day finally arrived. After just 6 rounds, I was the last female standing. When the semi-finals came around, I was one of four people still competing. People were amazed. I actually had girls cheering me on JUST because I was one of them. In my semi-final match, when I beat my opponent, he threw his controller and cursed me,
"You're a fucking chick! This is ridiculous..." He rolled his eyes, stood, and walked away (it's common courtesy to shake hands and say good game). I felt guilty. He had made me feel bad for beating him just because he had called me a girl. Who was being more ridiculous, him or me? I wasn't sure...
The final match was difficult. He was good, beyond good. I only just took him out in a Sudden Death match. I launched to my feet, beaming. I couldn't believe I had actually won! Over all of those boys! He smiled, shook my hand, and disappeared into the crowd. The girls that had attended were giving me high fives and complementing me on the game. Maybe being one of the girls isn't so bad after all.
YOU'RE AWESOME. There has to be someone in this world to put men in their place! Kidding, sort of.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I grew up without video games. My parents thought they were hazardous to my health, addictive, and a waste of time, so I didn't play my first video game until I was in 8th grade. Super Smash Bros Brawl. And my parents were right: I still play it everyday.
Anyway, I've encountered those guys before. One of them was even my ex-boyfriend. He was a video game fanatic, top of our AP calculus class, and valedictorian of our high school. So you could say there were some times when things were more of a competition than for fun. Whenever we would play, he would talk down to me and it bothered me after a while. Not to mention that he would never stop bragging after he beat me (over and over). Then I reached a point when I didn't even want to play anymore because it was no fun.
But I still remember that day when we were playing Super Smash, and my Kirby hammered his Falco off the screen and I won. Once that happened, I gathered enough confidence to play again and beat him for a second time. Then one game after the other. Until he wanted to give up. He actually had the same reaction your competitor had in your story.
Nonetheless, my story wasn't even close to such a victory as yours. More power to you.