The curse of heterosexuality.
I’ve no difficulty understanding lads being thirsty and attracted by a lovely lady who appears to be into gaming and hey, you can even interact and try to get her attention!
Now, explain to me lads getting super invested in some lads running around a field chasing a ball. Like, literally having their lives revolve around it, their identity entirely centered on it. Now that’s a complete mystery to me.
I actually understood sports fandom for the first time because of watching streamers play video games. I was like ooooohhh, this is a very challenging skill, and I’m watching someone do it very very well, and I’m fucking hyped and I want to see more.
I never in my life had that for basketball or anything. But it made sense when I saw it for video games.
As someone who was born into the ball chasing cult, there are three things:
- The social aspect. It’s the one thing that brings my family together, each week, to watch the game. For away games, you have a cookout with some family friends, buy some drinks and then you watch the game. If it’s in the evening, then you go out afterwards. For home games, you gather the same group, but now you’re gonna meet more people in the arena, people you know because they’re also in the cult. You have a drink, you have a laugh and you catch up with them. Our team is a second division side with some okay players and a great goalie, so the game is almost relegated (heh) to play second fiddle.
Oh and don’t get me started on the choreos.
- Hometown pride: This team has been here since the 19th century and for me, going to the games or even having just a passing interest in the team is part of being from that town.
You tag lamp posts in your town with their stickers and you do the same in the surrounding smaller cities. By looking at the stickers in any given town, you can see to which city their youth gravitates, which tickles my brain in ways I can’t explain.
- It’s fun to watch: Arguably the weakest reason, but God damn, sometimes even second division footy just looks so good! When you see someone pull off a sick trick or make a clean tackle or catch, you get that sweet dopamine kick, it’s insane.
I’d never beat someone because of their allegiance. Those people can kick rocks.
Fair-play to you for a thoughtful answer. Much appreciated and it certainly matches my personal experience.
As I said somewhere else : seeing my mates being all up in arms about ManU when they live in fecking Donegal was always funny to me, but I totally see the social aspect.
So much banter at the pub! If there is a thing the Irish love, it’s a good banter.Shame about the assholes who use it as an excuse to get into fights. Fecking idiots the lot of them.
Thanks for the kind words, I really have to take every excuse to practice writing in English ^^
Yeah, I definitely forgot about the banter and storylines.
I think what contributes the most to the sports ball hype is that a lot of people play sports ball themselves. And just like gamers watching streams of people playing the games they want to play or are playing, ball cultists wanna see guys do the shit they do on some backwater pitch. You know, for the “damn, I know that’s difficult” or the “I could do it better” - factor.
Man, the “damn, I know that’s difficult” is strong in every sport. I can appreciate a sport so much more if I did it myself, even just a few months. Fencing? No idea, people waving some sticks around.
Soccerfootball? Sick volley shot, man, I saw a mate to the same thing back in 2006…Yeah, I think it’s also “I saw like 10 of my mates shit the bed trying to do that”.
Thanks for avoiding the s-word btw ^^
Hometown pride
Do you also refer to your city’s sport team using “we”, “us”, and “our”? I’ve always found that weird, because while I’m a fan, I don’t consider myself being a part of what the team accomplishes. I’m just a spectator. I just refer to them as the team name.
Not the person you replied to but yes I do. I used to think it’s weird but there’s a few things that made me change that feeling.
One, I’ve been at games decided by fans. Players said they couldn’t hear anything on the pitch. Home sides shat their pants during warm up. I wasn’t on the pitch and didn’t touch a ball but I was part of one of the reasons we went home happy.
Two, and more importantly: when I think of the club I don’t think of the players and the managers. I think of my friends, I think of the crowd in the stands. My team has a crazy successful time right now (Football fans will surely be able to guess by now) but it wasn’t much different when we were playing 2nd division. Players leave all the time—currently my team has like one player who was part of the team for the whole successful run—but the club isn’t defined by the players, but by the people in that stands. They don’t change. And while football is certainly an enjoyable sport to watch, I wouldn’t care about it half as much without the fan culture surrounding it. Over the years I’ve become part of that as well, so fuck yes I say “we”.
I am with you: I’ve been there when we played in the 4th division, outside of professional football and within my lifetime, we made it back into the top flight, with one player scoring in each division on the way. He was the first German player to do that, and while I know of another German who got there 2 years later, I don’t know if this happened anywhere else.
Now I’m curious. It sounds like SVD?
Nope, I’ll give you another hint: we had the most chaotic promotion match in the history of the Bundesliga
I’m stumped. A club that played 4th division that actually has fans?
I have pretty deep roots within the city, and I could not imagine not rooting for my team (within limits, I wouldn’t tolerate bigotry, but as of now, they behaved pretty good on that front), so yeah, I use “wir” and “uns” :)
I appreciate the summary and I think i get why people like sports ball… but I really enjoy having a sports ball free space to talk about how absurd it is the way our society obsesses over it. on the internet, you’re the weirdo, not me!
It’s weird to be both somewhat of a nerd and a sports ball person since birth, so I get your comment :)
ball chasing cult
lol yeah :D
Most of the time it’s the social aspect that is infectious. It gives you something in common with other fans that would otherwise be strangers to you
I never understood sports fans until walking around Key West with my Navy buddy who wore a hat for the Browns. Random dudes kept cracking jokes at and/or with him the whole day. Still ain’t enough to get me into the cult, but I get the appeal now.
Sometimes I think I should spend a few minutes each day reading the sports headlines, just so I know what’s going on enough to banter with people about the latest goings-on.
But, ain’t got time or energy for all that.
Did you see that ludicrous display last night?
What was Wenger thinking, sending Walcott on that early?
Thing about Arsenal, they always try and walk it in.
As a dude who’s sometimes socially awkward and struggles to connect with men, becoming invested in football seemed like a serious cheat code to me tbh. Sit with random strangers at a bar? They’re wearing something that makes their club affiliation obvious, or they spot yours? You’re there talking how is the season going, is their keeper recovered, when will your striker score again? And maybe throw some well-meant insults while saying cheers.
As a guy who is socially awkward with other men, the longer I’m around them, the more difficult it is for me to conceal how very different I am from them.
Aye, like wearing a cool metal shirt and getting the horns from a complete stranger. We do like our tribe(s), don’t we?
As long as we get to pick our tribes, realize that it is all good-spirited tribalism and banter, and are able to tolerate if people pick a different tribe, I’m cool with it. Hell yeah, brother 🤘
Practicing masculinity, delighting in skilled human action, and bonding with peers.
Not my thing, but I get it.
The male ball chase cult is not even into women’s sports. I always found contradictory that the crowd that qualifies itself as the manliest and straightest, enjoys looking at sweaty males that grop each other celebrating scoring. The whole thing reeks of suppressed sexuality.
Each to their own pal. I’m sure there are things you do that others find a mystery.
Hey, no hate on people loving sports!
My point was it’s super clear why a teenager wants to thirst on a pretty woman playing vidya.
Now, my irish mates all having their club and being all very serious about it, when they’ll curse the English in the same sentence has always been hilarious to me.
And I’m talking people from fecking Donegal, who lived through the Troubles and shit. Never understood that one.It’s cool.
I’ve never really understood it either to be honest. I’ve gravitated to solo sports and more admiration at the ability than the winning per se.
I’m from Manchester, UK, so been around a lot of Irish people. Had a lovely time in Port-Stewert once. (Port-Stewart?) At the same time I’ve put countless hours into Minecraft, Factorio, Running, or climbing and people wonder why.
Why?
Their mad at the English government, not the English people. An English football club is entirely separate from the English government.
Good point, cheers!
That is a magnificently executed thought-terminating cliché, but if I may offer a rebuttal: nuh-uh!
On the contrary, I think baseball obsession is more ‘grounded’. There’s no illusion that the players are your personal friends, they are a team and the social part is cheering them on with fellow fans.
its like joining a cult, you swap your weaker identity with the stronger cult identity
Expanding on the penis in vagina theme for a minute…
Now that’s a bit of a stretch
Holy fuck I wish lemmy gold was a thing i could give you. Sport fans always seemed like cultists to me.
Male Loneliness Epidemic is mostly just broke teenagers trapped in the suburbs who haven’t figured out their girl peers are just as lonely, broke, and horny as they are.
As soon as they crack the code, they’re at it like jackrabbits
I don’t understand watching any video game streams. It just makes me want to play video games myself, why would I spoil video games by watching someone else play it?
Nobody is watching for the game. Everyone is watching the cute girls and the bewbss.
I’d argue that’s not completely true because in that case why not just watch porn or why watch non-sexy video game streamers who also get plenty of viewers?
I do think you are partially correct though in a way that makes it a little more depressing, I think a lot of viewers see a cute girl playing video games specifically as a combination they like so they can fantasize about specifically having a “gamer girlfriend”. But if they like that, then they’re also there for the gameplay or will inevitably get at least a little invested in it as they watch.
people want some fun storyline around their porn.
I like to watch high level gameplay to see what others are doing. There are streamers who talk through their decision making and you get really valuable insight. YouTube just isnt as good because the games and lessons are cherrypicked instead of being able to see how they play winning and losing.
The appeal isn’t in the games themselves, it’s in the personality playing them.
I got pretty into watching twitch a couple years back, and yep, the streamer and community are what made my favourite streams. I mostly watched streams for one or two games I knew, but would watch others because it was one of the streamers I liked
made for a nice change from podcasts or music
I’ve just recently gotten into this. Gotta find someone with good commentary skills, and doesn’t have an annoying voice.
Also, speedrunners aren’t who I thought they’d be, was expecting a bunch of nerds cracked out on adderall. I don’t seek out the genre, but the ones I’ve stumbled across accidentally are older, with a technical background and do well-spoken commentary. Makes it much more interesting when they can articulate what they’re doing as they’re doing it.
This, for real. I love people who like think their way their way through, or add thoughtful commentary. They’re the interesting people who don’t even need prodding with remarks from chat; thoughtful, chatty people make good background TV for me.
I immediately close streams where they play their own music or refuse to fix their audio issues.
Here in Brazil, a lot of kids watch streamers because their families can’t afford any gaming devices :(
background noise.
i put it on while i work for games i’ve already played or would never play
I don’t understand watching any video game streams. It just makes me want to play video games myself, why would I spoil video games by watching someone else play it?
I don’t understand watching any football streams. It just makes me want to play football myself, why would I spoil the fun of playing by watching someone else play it?
Actually though. I can’t bear football and I’d still rather kick a ball around than sit and watch it
I don’t watch sports either. That said, that’s not a bad point, I suppose if I got into it I theoretically could watch and enjoy competitive games. Not the same as streamers playing singleplayer games though.
I suppose if I got into it I theoretically could watch and enjoy competitive games. Not the same as streamers playing singleplayer games though.
There are streamers who dedicated their lives towards a single game and become incredibly proficient at it. They don’t go pro either for monetary reasons (streaming could be more lucrative) or there just isn’t a pro scene for that particular game.
You could learn A LOT about various mechanics aspects from watching people play Minecraft. You can learn a lot of tricks and map knowledge from watching FPS players. Or it could be just a variety streamer that’s incredibly funny, like Soviet Womble. Etc., etc.
There are some games I can’t “git gud” at but I enjoy seeing the gameplay, so I watch edited playthroughs.
I don’t watch streams much, for a multitude of reasons.
I have limited time, watching certain gaming channels lets me know about games I might be interested in.
Then I can wishlist them, purchase them when they’re on sale, and never find the time to play them.
I also have limited skills. Watching certain gaming channels lets me experience games I wouldn’t be able to progress in if I played them myself.
Also, some are entertaining because of the way the person plays. Watching Jon forget about his damn blunderbuss cavalry until they are again slaughtered to the last man amuses me.
I don’t play for an audience, so I can constantly pause and micromanage the game, and therefore don’t tend to make these amusing mistakes. I’m also not as good as most professionals. Therefore watching certain professionals play certain games can be more entertaining than playing them myself.
Finally, there’s also the reaction factor, same as with film or TV or music reactions. Watching someone experience that surprise or shock for the first time triggers the mirror neuron, and is the closest I can get to experiencing it myself for the first time again.
I used to hang out with friends in college, and I’d do homework in the same room while they’d play videogames (or vice-versa). Throwing a streamer on while I’m working gives the same vibe.
It’s literally just reality TV. Nothing strange about it. It’s nice to watch someone play a game I like while I’m eating or something.
I will say I don’t like watching female streamers because through no fault of their own (sometimes it is their fault) they are non stop sexualized and either make it their personality to be toxic towards men or don’t get into the content because men are constantly bothering them. Also thirst trap streamers are the worst.
What makes a man do anything now days lol
I’m sure horniness is a factor, but there is also the aesthetic allure of the adorable. Like I can look at cat pics for hours. Doesn’t mean cats make me hot.
Sexual attraction and frustration, sure. Also loneliness, loss of community, loss of purpose, loss of meaning.
Maybe not every guy who watches her is like that, but some definitely are. I would especially be concerned for those who watch her consistently and donate large amounts of money to her. But I feel the same way about anyone who watches a lot of streamers and donates a lot of money (relative to their own income of course).
Parasocial relationships are a deeply concerning development.
Parasocial relationships are a deeply concerning development.
I agree. I’m not sure how anyone who has a healthy sense of self-respect can develop this sort of relationship, tbh. Even wading into the sometimes toxic peergroup of fandoms is better, because at least you’re communicating back and forth rather than just imbibing this quasi-social runoff that’s not even directed towards you as a person.
+1.
I was failing to put all this to words because the phenomenon is so weird and artificial.
but there is also the aesthetic allure of the adorable
yep
i think it’s like this:
men walk around aimlessly until they find something they like (woman). that calms them down and they stop wandering around. that’s the “appeal of the adorable” or sth.
Gambling is adorable 🤗
Anon can’t fathom being interested in people if the reason is not sexual.
1 way streamer ‘relationships’ feel super weird and impersonal to me. It’s like there’s some kind of fantasy the streamer is personally invested in, and interested in, you, too.
Like maybe I’d watch a bit out of curiosity, like watching a sports team or something. But become paying ‘patron’ and watch them all the time?
To me it’s just entertainment, not a relationship. But I’m starting to wonder if I’m the weird one. I often just watch the archives too, not even live.
I find some of them consistently amusing so I keep watching. At some point I think that it’s only fair to contribute monetarily to help incentivize them to keep producing the entertainment I like.
To me it’s just entertainment, not a relationship.
I suppose I didn’t mean to overgeneralize, this may why most watch streamers.
It seems more like a relationship to many, especially those that throw big bucks at these streamers, and basically live in the comment sections saying weird things.
I understand greentexts are misogynistic by nature, but wtf is wrong with this entire fucking website that this shit is what pops up first. The entire “joke” hinges on the idea that that woman’s entire worth is tied into being pretty. This is not even casual sexism, that’s ranked competitive sexism.
Also going by the comments some advanced morons here seem to unironically think that is actually how it works. Per twitch’s own leaked financials pokimane did not make more money than her male counterparts (who no-one ever accused of abusing their pretty privilege). But she’s a woman so of course her merit has to be scrutinized and her success has to be attributed to men. I suppose the idea that she has a large female audience has never even crossed the minds of the quadruple-chinned gremlins who upvote this garbage.
The entire “joke” hinges on the idea that that woman’s entire worth is tied into being pretty.
Uhh no, the joke is that a lot of men see women as objects and will watch her streams solely on the fact that she is a woman that they desire to bang. But yea, no matter what lens you look at it, it’s patriarchy all the way down. I think watching and developing parasocial relationships with streamers, male or female, is pretty fuckin weird anyway.
I think watching and developing parasocial relationships with streamers, male or female, is pretty fuckin weird anyway.
It is weird in an understanble way. Homo sapiens is a pack animal. For most of our 300k years of history, we survived by forming tribes and being connected to each other. This is why rejection sucks at any context, be it romanic or employment or friendship.
Today, we are more alone and isolated than any time in history. It’s understandable some lonely people are desperate enough to hang onto some simulacrum of connection.
That’s a very charitable interpretation. Anon is a literal incel, he made a sexist joke, and I really don’t think he (or you) has ever watched one of pokimane’s streams because they’re aggressively non-sexual. There are plenty of actual sex workers on twitch if that’s your thing.
Has pokimane had her share of weirdos over the years? Sure, but it’s really not that many people in absolute numbers and spreading naked incel propaganda is really fucking icky to me. Incel jokes aren’t okay even if it’s “humor”. It normalizes this extreme misogyny, even if you say “it’s okay we’re laughing at anon”.
You realize that’s how the world works?
Men or women, people are primarily judged for their physical attraction.
I’ve never had anyone suggest the success I had in life was in any way related to someone wanting my dick in them no.
You’re making it sound like this post is discussing pretty privilege. It’s not. It’s making a crass, misogynistic “joke” which hinges on the false implication that a woman is doing sex work for her success. But you already knew that and are just pretending otherwise. And if you think that misogyny is acceptable because it’s “how the world works”, I would not-so-kindly ask you to fuck right back off to 4chan or the fox news comment section or wherever else you incels congregate these days.
I think that at least 7 people didn’t understand what you were trying to say.
I did. Well said. I can’t see any problems with your argument.
Though, I think that maybe the green text was more about female streamers in general, not just the one that’s depicted.
Whichever. Be well.
I think you’re missing some cultural context where 80% of twitch streams by women are just softcore porn. It became much more diverse and acceptable now but soft sex workers were huge on Twitch without even doing much of actual sex work.
I have been on twitch before sex workers even got a foot in the door. If you think that’s what “80%” of twitch is about then you either don’t watch or are telling on yourself.
Anyway whatever you think of sex work is literally irrelevant to the conversation. The woman pictured is not a sex worker and implying that she is for the sake of an incel joke because “she’s pretty, that’s close enough to sex work for me” is misogyny and you need to take a long hard look at yourself.
I mean yeah but pokimane isn’t one. Also I’d really hesitate to go anywhere near as high as 80%
It is also wild how some people here think everything you do in life is for the soul purpose of “procreation.” Like there is nothing more to life than the shallowness of sex for some people.
Wait, are you implying that I’m sexually attracted to Josh from Let’s game it out!?
Who wouldn’t be?
Ugh have you seen what he can do with some wood?! Swoon
And the guy can keep going for multiple hours at a time
As someone that works in software, what he does to turn running code inside out, is kinda sexy. The guy is like a bloodhound for bugs and poorly-built software.
Game developers: Yeah, buy our game and play it however you want. It’s all for fun!
Josh: ::proceeds to out-QA the publisher’s QA department, breaking the game in the most egregious ways imaginable::
Game developers: No, not like that!
Speedrunners:: ::furious note-taking sounds::
I found out that some female streaming voices give me some asmr. And overall can be more pleasant to hear. And less prone to have “youtube accent”. I take that as a win.
I don’t watch Twitch but the youngin’s in my family do.
Female streamers don’t have that fake obnoxious rage yell/scream the guys do.
Last streamer I watched by choice was Skyrim Grandma BTW.
Female streamers don’t have that fake obnoxious rage yell/scream the guys do.
Eh, guys with the fake rage scream are about as common as the ladies who see Twitch as essentially a starter camsite/way to advertise their OF and are trading on boobs more than anything else. There absolutely are streamers on Twitch that are exactly what OP suggests, but they’re far from a majority and probably not the one used in the picture.
The only “streaming” I can watch are Game Grumps, but I get that’s not live, and it’s by and for a completely different demographic.
I’ve tried, but I find a lot of Twitch play-throughs to be low-stimulation, low-information, and low-entertainment. I think they’re better suited to a dual-screen kind of situation, but then I’d rather be doing far more engaging things like playing games myself.
I miss when GameGrumps wasn’t so corporate
I miss it too. If I had to guess, Arin sees a day with wall-to-wall recording sessions and meetings, and misses those chaotic early days.
I look at it this way: it’s a lot less home-grown now that it’s grown up. In exchange, they employ people, make Starbomb tours actually possible, and fund wildly off-the-wall games. Along the way, Dan was propelled into modest stardom, a lot of other folks from their camp got a boost for their endeavors, and they got to make some memorable moments with a few celebs. They’re not at “Liquid Game Grumps” levels yet, but it’s amazing to watch unfold. Maybe that’s worth it.
Completely agree. Just missing the good old days of being able to make whatever joke/comment they found funny, advertisers be damned
Holy shit, is “YouTube accent” that weird, half broken English baby voice to sound like an anime girl?
Every WoW guild I’ve been in has one.
Testosterone is a hell of a drug
so is estrogen
Both should be available in vending machines :3
Hell yeah
I’ve been watching streamers who I don’t want to fuck and who don’t really play that well, either. A lot of the time, I’m kinda too lazy to play games myself, and watching streams is a much more passive activity (if you don’t participate in the chat etc.).
I’m… Too lazy to play games? Bruh what
Actively playing games requires concentration, thinking, planning, quick reaction etc. and many games include long stretches that test your tolerance for frustration. Meanwhile, game streams can be a completely passive activity that add an illusion of company and let you stuff your face with snacks.
Plus, there are certain games that I suck at that have decent stories. And some games have decent stories but practically no gameplay.
Plus, my gaming PC is on my desk, which is not as comfortable as a couch or bed.
The aback I was taken had nothing to do with your comment, but the fact that I am absolutely certain I know what shape you are. Wild.
Probably not true, though.
My ass is relatively hopeless at fighting games, and although I could spend the time to slave away and grind at my couch for hours in the dozens of fighting games there are, I’d rather watch some compilation greatest moments. It’s an art to me, like playing an instrument. Shit I could do if I bother to learn it, but I don’t have the time, there’s so many, and I can easily find someone else doing it way better.
Just learned about the Daigo Parry a few days ago and the clip was so hype to me even if I barely know SF 3 mechanics.
Yup, watched a bunch of games I’d never play myself. Especially grindy games. Watching a stream/video is also much less of a commitment, I hate leaving games unfinished.
For me it’s when I’m too fucking tired from work to even think that well, but it’s still to early for bed so I just zone out.
I mean depending on the game the stuff does take energy. I’ve been malding Silksong these past few days for example and it’s definitely not for the faint (or lazy) of heart.
Is that why im getting fustrated at points? The game is difficult?
After years and years of megaman I have no idea what my skill cap is.
Is that person even human ?
I only watch top tier players so I can get better at whatever the game is. I’d rather be playing, but my obligations are such that I can watch (say, while doing laundry or dishes) when I can’t play. I find it makes my play sessions more effective since I have strategies to succeed where I’d otherwise fail.
That said, I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority given that many of the chats I see on streams are like “what did I miss?” or “has streamer done X yet?” like they’re watching a drama. I don’t understand that aspect of streaming, yet comments like yours show that I’m likely in the minority.
I think that’s really interesting and turns gaming from a hobby to a social endeavor.
I watch the movie edited versions of dayz streams on YouTube while I’m working.
Meaning a dude who plays dayz records his streams, edits it into a “movie” and posts it to YouTube.
I don’t play dayz… never have. But it’s nice to have some noise a narrative and easily consumable content in the background while I’m working.
I mean, have you ever had your penis in a vagina?
Wait you can do that?
You can’t, but others can.
How much money you got?
(I don’t have a vagina but money is money)
Gross, no.
With the exception of some c-section babies, every penis has been in a vagina, even if only in passing. It’s the “but I didn’t inhale” of peepee in the vajee.
Uh… no?
Have you?
A few times, yeah.
Besides your own?
He might have described why a chunk of guys pick up learning how to play the guitar.
Isn’t that Pokimane? She’s ranked in League. Cute women can do great things. If you sexualize it maybe you’re a creep. Go watch her play.
And non-cute women can do great things. Watch people play who entertain you, and if they’re attractive, that’s cool too.
I loved watching her play Among Us because she was so damn good at it.
