I’m sorry I’m a terrible "Rocket League" player and
you had to carry our team every game. Sometimes when I thought I was
going to hit the ball, I missed. Other times when I thought I was in the
right place, I wasn’t. I apologize for that, and I promise to not only
be a better player but also a better person as I learn from this
harrowing experience. Please forgive me. — Will
This
past Friday, Nov. 3, a friend and I competed in the first ever "Rocket
League" eSport intramural at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
For those unfamiliar, "Rocket League" is
a popular multiplayer video game featuring rocket-propelled cars racing
around an arena trying to hit a large ball into a goal — think soccer
mixed with race car demolition derby.
The
inaugural tournament took place on the second floor of the City Campus
Recreational Center, utilizing the equipment of a projector and an Xbox
One to stage the two-versus-two split-screen matches.
eSports
such as "Rocket League" have become increasingly popular as a
competitive, high-paying “sport” around the world. Whether you’re
comfortable with calling video games a sport, major sports media
companies such as ESPN have begun investing heavily in the growing brand of eSports.
It
only makes sense that "Rocket League,” as one of the more popular
eSports, was chosen by UNL Intramurals to forerun its entry into
electronic sports.
In preparation for the
experimental intramural, I played "Rocket League" for the first time a
week before our opening match. I did drills, practiced with random
players online and watched legendary "Rocket League" players such as Kronovi, Rizzo and Deevo on YouTube to get a better understanding of the game before competing against UNL’s best.
Like
most sports, it’s very hard to get anywhere close to good in a week.
"Rocket League" isn’t a real sport, though, so I thought I could wing
it.
We were one of the first teams to play
during a day jam-packed with "Rocket League" games scheduled from 5 to
11 p.m. The 64-team bracket meant 32 matches needed to be completed,
each lasting roughly 15 minutes.
The
atmosphere was great. A few teams didn’t show up, but the room was still
filled with teams watching and waiting to test each other’s "Rocket
League" skills. I started to sweat as I watched players warm-up with
perfect dribbling and aerial skills, almost walking out in nervous shame
and tears.
Our team name was Team Need
Boost!, and our opponent was Team EKSI. Luckily, my teammate and former
roommate is a pretty experienced player. During our first match, I tried
my best to hide by our own goal and make solid defensive plays while my
teammate drove around and scored crazy goals.
My
confidence would rise whenever my teammate would score, and I’d be
brought back to reality every time I tried to fly my car up to the ball
and whiff it completely in front of a room full of observant players.
Driven
purely by my teammate’s outstanding performance and my mostly
accident-free, passive play style, we advanced through the first round
with a win during the first round’s third game.
Round two immediately followed, and we faced-off against the Kryptic Dragon Boiz.
Ultimately,
the Kryptic Dragon Boiz were too difficult of a challenge, and we were
defeated in the last game by one goal. My teammate could only score so
many goals, and I could last only so long before making crucial mistakes
and blunders. Missing wide-open goals and floundering upside-down on
the roof of my car were some of the most common errors.
The
loss was tragic but also a good learning experience as I continue to
try and break into the professional "Rocket League" community and get
paid thousands.
While that probably won’t
be happening anytime soon, I have a feeling the "Rocket League"
intramural at UNL is here to stay. The turnout was fantastic, showing
there is a desire from students to play structured eSport tournaments
here at the university. People were excited to be there and excited to
play against other students. Even though the grand prize was only a
t-shirt, contestants were there, like most intramurals, to simply have a
good time and compete with friends and strangers alike.
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