But I digress.
The ultimate moments of the MMA vs. Idra bouts (and arguably the entire MLG phenomenon), weren't the games themselves but the reactions of the players to their own blunders and that of the commentators to the "UNREALITY" of the event.
One of the more prized, is MMA's delayed reaction to the fact he accidentally blasted his own CC and ruined an otherwise lucrative gold expansion:
Keep in mind that for 99% of games, an SC player stares blankly into space with the same unresponsive facial reaction that accompanies orgasm, so having any sort of even mildly emotive look is a scarcity.
The commentators on the other hand, thrive on the loud, obnoxious, and at times distracting speech patterns that are more suited to a Christian Revival, where the result is foaming at the mouth and fainting back into the pews while a pastor chants "the devil leave this woman!" while holding his hand to ones forehead and speaking to the sky: if any of these guys had to mimic a SC2 unit for a Halloween party, they'd be best suited to the Zealot.
When they hush for more then five seconds and remain in a static state for just as long, it is a rarity. Idra's surrender prompted just such an event:
The moment of silence is a treat, especially after listening to Day[9] prattle on without actually offering anything of merit over the entire course of the game except mild disillusionment and energetic "OUTRAGE!" at the fact the players do not have the same omnipresent, top down view of the entire game world as they do. Compared to say NFL talking heads though, at least they have personality and arn't constantly patting each other on the back.
This leads me to review the man himself, Idra and any cues we can gather as to his emotional state of frustration and assumption just before he quit the game. With such limited information however, maybe the most telling piece of evidence is his facial reaction just before quitting:
Or lack thereof. One of the unspoken assumptions that commentary as a genre can lead down, is that a player, a team, or a group of some kind, should be aware and able to fully discern information and tactics with the same clarity as someone with the opportunity to stand outside and make unbiased judgements. Idra was merely conceding a game he viewed as lost: he made a snap judgement.
One can argue and try to understand the reasons behind it, maybe his own mounting frustration led him to concede, or he is gripped by a sort of emotional instability that few people know him well enough to comment on. As I said earlier, he is used as an example of poor judgement and emotional control overcoming skill and luck, but I'm not going to applaud or denounce him for making a choice that was crystal clear from his perspective.
No, what I will do is thank him for forcing real and overtly obvious emotional responses from his opponent and those gathered to worship the event. For me, that is more interesting and worthy of praise: he made the routine interesting and drew out honesty and feeling in an environment that usually doesn't harbor either.
To Idra, let me thank for this sadly rare, yet amusing and quite interesting, moment of clarity.
Good game to you sir!
