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[CENTER][U][B]DOES SIM = SNOB?[/B][/U][/CENTER]
The word “Sim” gets tossed around the sports gaming community as if it were Lindsay Lohan at a lesbian DJ convention, but what does the word “Sim” really mean? What is it supposed to imply? Why do so many people in the sports gaming community use the term to describe themselves?
All of these questions constantly arise for me while I commission Active Logic Season 2, my NBA 2k10 league. As any of you who have ever run a league know, running a league involves replacing quitters/glitchers and all kinds of virtual scum on a pretty regular basis. It kind of comes with the territory of being a league commissioner so it’s no biggie, but it allows me to see and play against a lot of different gamers and play styles.
Now for clarification, the league I run is NOT a “Sim” league. I think it’s kind of ridiculous to force people to PLAY A VIDEOGAME (or even the sport of basketball for that matter) a certain way. We have 2 major guidelines, don’t quit under any circumstance and save the cheese and 59 point beat downs (of someone whom you’re clearly better than) for ranked matches (you can find our entire guidelines in the “Quitters Lose and Losers Quit” article [url]http://www.operationsports.com/Logic%20Doctor/blog/6587-quitters-lose-and-losers-quit/[/url])
[B][U][CENTER]WHATS THE POINT OF ONLINE LEAGUE GAMING?[/CENTER][/U][/B]
If I’m not mistaken, the whole point of participating in an online league is to experience playing a real season where you can control your team via trades/draft and have the opportunity to improve both your teams ratings and your own skill level. I don’t know about you, but I find it fun and challenging to play someone multiple times throughout a season (and possibly in a playoff series), trying different defenses to stop them or watching them try to stop me, or going out and trading for players who I know can match up better against a rival (and my record is 16-11 so I’m far from undefeated or unbeatable.)
[B]Now, does everyone play the game the way I play, or the way I want (or would like) them to play? [/B]
No.
[B]Are there times when I’m getting my A** handed to me in a semi-cheesy way (Lots of points in the paint /unnecessary steal attempts/baseline drives every time down the court)?[/B]
Yes.
[B]What do I do when that happens? [/B]
Well, I for sure don’t cry bloody SIM murder like so many sore losers do in today’s online league gaming community. If I feel the cheesing was egregious and could put the entire league’s completion in jeopardy, I warn the league member of his behavior and let him know the possible consequences for jeopardizing the league's completion. The member can curb the behavior or let it be the reason for his replacement. The choice is always theirs, but the one thing I don’t do is take my losing as an insult to the “Sim” nation or grounds for that league member’s crucifixion.
Now, all of this is said to simply lead us back into the initial point of the article, which is to state that many of the so called “Sim” gamers out there in league gaming land are not in fact what they say they are. [B]In truth, they are actually snobby sports gamers who want to dictate how they are allowed to lose games. [/B]
Last time I checked, “Sim” was short for simulation, and in this case it’s in reference to the NBA (via NBA 2K10.) So let me ask you this……When was the last time you saw an opponent of the Cavs come up to LeBron before a game and tell him he was only allowed to score less than 75% of his points in the paint or he was a cheeser and they would quit? I could be wrong but I don’t remember Kobe telling Paul Pierce in the 08’ finals that he was only allowed to play on ball defense so Kobe could get to the rack more easily. There is, IN FACT, something called team defense.
[B][U][CENTER]BOTTOM LINE[/CENTER][/U][/B]
My point, if you haven’t already guessed it, is that calling yourself “Sim” based on the fact that you don’t like losing a certain way is killing the credibility of the word “Sim” along with the actual “Sim” community. In fact, your petty rules and regulations for losing actually create the opposite of an NBA simulation. Any real fan of the NBA knows that shady s*** happens all the time in the REAL NBA. From the whole “hack a shack” fiasco to Kobe dropping 81 on the Raptors. That’s competition, thats how it works, when it gets down to the nitty gritty competitors are going to do whatever it takes to win and if you’ve ever competed in anything in life you should already know this.
So don’t hate the opponent OR THE STYLE THEY CHOOSE TO PLAY, hate your lack of skill and work to improve it. If you were really as “Sim” as you would have the world believe, you would surely appreciate simulating Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers roles by coming up with a better gameplan.
If you lose a game because you allowed your opponent to completely dominate the paint then you deserved to lose. If you lose a game because you could not beat the CPU AI off the dribble then you deserved to lose. If you lose a game because you couldn’t beat a full court press then you deserved to lose. It’s time for whinny, snobby, so called simulation gamers to stop pointing to their “Sim” top hat every time they lose a game or quit a league. You are not “Sim,” you’re a sports video game snob.
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