This has to be the most insane thing I've found on the net so far....

This has been floating around on the net since the 8th of this month. The preferences attached to my stumble button should make it impossible to miss a story as insane as this, but there we go... I missed it anyway!

http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/2008/02/steroids-in-professional-gaming.html

Now this only leads me to wonder... who on Earth is desperate enough to win Guitar Hero (even if it is a professional tournament, presumably with a cash prize) that they would take steroids?

Steroids? To win computer games?

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that there is a single gamer on EARTH that hasn't felt at least a modicum of anger towards their TV/ PC screen while playing a particularly difficult game, or particularly hard portion of a game (for me, these are almost always Boss fights for ANY Metroid game since Super Metroid; that particular game frustrated me so much I went to the Metroid database and got easy hints how to kill each boss: the game was a disappointing breeze after that. Just goes to show that you should do as much as you can on your own, otherwise, where's the fun?), but I've never felt the compunction to buy a performance enhancing drug to better increase my ability to play something that is a leisure activity. Now, I know it was a professional gaming tournament, but I have friends that play in professional gaming tournaments. They are the happiest people in the world, because quite literally they get to just play games for a living (It's a pretty good living too. Top prize in most gaming tournaments is around £10,000 in the UK, and the amounts decrease by £2000 a time for each place lower than 1st; so come 3rd, and you've won about £6000. They compete in about seven or eight tournaments a year, the rest of the time they spend "training." Bastards.) and have never EVER felt the need to enhance any of their abilities with drugs.

I used to compete in Martial Arts tournaments. I competed in two disciplines; Shorinji Kempo, and Muay Thai. I loved the buzz of competition. I loved the fact that I was pitting my skill and learning and stamina against someone else's skill learning and stamina. I hated losing, don't get me wrong, I fucking hated losing. It made me angry, but I accepted it. I seriously believe that that's what taking performance enhancing drugs is all about. They can't accept the reality of loss, and never want to accept it. They want to gain an edge on people that they must feel don't deserve the win as much as they do (that's how they must think. otherwise, why work so hard to take away a win from someone else through any means apart from the fair ones?). These people cannot accept that they have limits.

It is a reality of life that no matter what it is that you do, no matter what your strength is, what your God given talent is, someone out there in the big wide world of over six billion people is better than you at that particular gift. The trick is realising that it doesn't make your talent worthless, and if anything, it sets a benchmark and a goal for you to strive for.


If there's no competition, what's the point?