I'll start with the happy stuff, and also, people say there are too many words and not enough images in my posts. I got Enigma and Death Prophet plushies:
The first thing I thought about the pubstomp was that it made no sense to be holding this event in your typical pub-like atmosphere. All around me I could hear conversations, most of them revolving around the games over the past couple of weeks (they were playing highlights of the matches leading up to the grand final while waiting for the main event to start). However, a lot of the conversations sounded a bit like this:
Person 1: Those sunstrikes have been really on the mark this game
Person 2: What?
Person 1: I SAID, THOSE SUNSTRIKES HAVE BEEN REALLY ON THE MARK THIS GAME!
Person 2: Yeah, and that fast ghostwalk to dodge that gank was amazing.
Person 1: What?
Person 2: I SAID, THAT FAST GHOSTWALK TO DODGE THAT GANK WAS AMAZING!
It wasn't even like the pub purposely played loud music. The organisers hired a DJ specifically for the event, and the music was very loud doof-doof music. Which I don't understand, because nobody was dancing. It just seemed like the music was just making it more difficult for people to talk to each other.
The only people I knew there were friends who had volunteered to help run the event, so I didn't really have anyone to talk to. I tried talking to someone, but my attempt at making a new friend failed miserably.
Me: So, which team do you want to win?
Person: Ummm, I haven't actually watched any games. I don't even know who's playing.
Me: (Didn't really know what to say in response. I wanted to ask, "So why are you even here?", but that seemed rude. I then thought I could ask, "Do you play Dota?", but that also seemed rude, and if he answered that he didn't, well, that would be even more awkward. I thought I could ask if he was waiting for his friends, but the reason I picked him to talk to was because it seemed like he was also alone at the event, so I didn't want to rub it in. Then I thought I could use my usual small talk tricks, and ask him about his life, but I realised he was probably 18. Well, I didn't even think he looked 18, if he was trying to buy alcohol, I'd have carded him, but given that the event was 18+, I assumed he was 18. I'm 28. I didn't want to give him the impression that I was hitting on him, and I didn't want to give me the impression that I was trying to befriend someone 10 years younger than me in a bordering on creepy way.
At this point, about a minute had elapsed since he replied, and I still hadn't thought of a good response. So I turned back to the screen, and avoided eye contact with him. We both sat there in silence watching the replays. And that's what I get for talking to strangers!)
During the night, they had a raffle. Each person was given a ticket (though you could buy more if you wanted to), and there was a box for each team competing in the grand final. If that team won a match (the grand final is a best-of-5), they would draw that round's prizes from that team's box. There were a few people behind me who were ridiculously obnoxious. Every time a raffle ticket was drawn, they'd complain loudly that the number selected wasn't theirs. And when someone didn't claim their prize instantly, presumably because they had multiple tickets to check, they started yelling at the MC to draw another ticket for the prize, even though the MC kept saying that they should get at least 10 seconds to come up and collect. When someone finally did make it through to the front, they'd boo them.
Seeing was it was a best-of-5, obviously, the raffle draw would be a bit one-sided, so after all the major prizes were drawn (mouses, keyboards, headsets), the organisers decided to draw some tickets from the losing team's box for some of the minor prizes (T-shirts, thongs (of shoe variety)). Obnoxious group started complaining loudly again, and they were also complaining that the competition was rigged as some people had 10+ tickets. One of the females in the group then started making kissing sounds and saying how she'd really love a prize. Is that a thing? Does it even work? (It didn't work in this case.)
I sat there silently listening to them yell and scream, and I realised that these people are the "get hype!" kind of people. These are the people who bring up the energy of events, yelling and screaming for their team to win, starting Mexican waves, cheering loudly whenever something good happens. They create that atmosphere that makes people drink lots and have fun.
It was at this point I had a sleep-deprived revelation - I'm really too old for this kind of stuff now. I had this urge to tell the obnoxious group that back in my day, people were grateful for what they got, and didn't make people feel bad for their good fortune. I wanted to tell the DJ to turn down that horrible music so I could eavesdrop on the conversations around me. I wanted to be somewhere where I wouldn't be afraid that someone was going to jump out and tell me the guy I was talking to was underage and I'd just been busted by a sting operation. I suddenly wanted to call everyone a whippersnapper and there may have been a compulsion to get them off my non-existent lawn. I'm pretty sure that I'm perfectly suited to being a grumpy old person.
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