Write your blog for the opening of the shop… And how exactly am I to do that – I’ve never written one in my entire life. Sometimes I am bad with merely putting the sentences together, not to speak of writing them down on paper. On the other hand, however, I’ve given quite enough of the interviews in over a decade of playing CS. Not once did I sweat my guts out just to write several coherent and consistent sentences, so, perhaps it’s not going to be that bad? After all, sitting in peaceful confinement of four walls is less stressing than, say, walking on the stage, receiving the Player of the Year award or pronouncing the speech to several hundred people (not to mention those at their screens). All of them looking at you. At least in the hall you get applause for a sincere speech.. who cares it was just a few words in which I thanked those close to me, my family and my team. What matters is that I said them, right?
Years pass, there appear new obligations and, apart from gaming itself, there will come time for settling down, founding a family and becoming a responsible citizen, who’d be able to take matters in his own hands. And yet, why? For several years in a row we keep hearing
that it is over, that we are old and that we’ve seen our best years go by. Who truly defined those borders when one is to retire? Boys from the team have already balded, nonetheless, we still play and that we do well. There has to be something after we’re done with gaming, though. We live in the country, where, should you have six world titles, you wouldn’t be able to tell what would happen to you in a year, if you finished your career. Or we could just as
well be accepted to the tactical force of Polish Army, for we’ve defeated Swedish, Russians and Germans not once =)
The idea of creating a shop developed slowly, while I was stubbornly fending off attacks from all the sides – reminders of my age and of the fact that I won’t be in gaming forever. But what if I love all this?! The very train trip to Warsaw (about which I always
complain, because, actually, I could buy an airplain ticket from Poznań to go to the tournament, right?) during which I can contemplate and brood over my “miserable” life, the meetings with my „beloved” team (sometimes we are more than willing to kill each other) and the tournaments, winning which, getting awards for which – all this makes us what we are and helps us go on. This is why the atmosphere in our team changes so drastically. We are no less than a family, which experiences premenstrual tension in times of trouble and losses. Frankly speaking, it’s even worse than in case of women, this state can last for weeks in our case, and there is more than one or two of those who carry around the disease, it’s the whole five of
us! And each one has his own, important opinion to voice. Another unforgettable experience is going to the afterparty in the end of the tournament, speaking to the other players and listening to props from the people from all over the world; listening to the opponents, who
caused us so much stress during the game, that it was them, who were prepared to lose, knowing that they played against us.. or, that they are our admirers since many years, for no other team lasts as long as ours, no other team has such a stable and well balanced formation
as ours and none other in the history of Counter Strike ahieved as much as we have. If only they knew what is being said in our closed circle, they would have locked us up in the asylum or, seeking profit, would have written a book about us, which would turn up to be a bestseller. Comparing to us, the „Grumpy Old Men” are just kids in the sandbox.
So, where was I? Oh yes, the shop. Well. I am old, my fingers aren’t as nimble as they used to be, time for a peaceful life. But hey, hey! Who said I have to leave everything and stop playing immediately? Throughout all my life I had all support I needed from those who are close to me. The legend of e-sports – Hayabusa, also called a founding father of Polish e-sports, is my dad, who’s with me in this since the very start. A one-man band – from organising the first tournaments, managing a small internet cafe, to finding the first sponsors of e-sports around Poland and creating organisations, taking care of leagues and events. These days, if it were not for him, the work on this whole project would be in its first stages. I am constantly thinking of how often my mom has to talk to him so that he doesn’t lose patience, that his son is not such a layabout and slob as he looks like. Good thing I am also supported by those who’re close to me: my sister and her husband, who’ve been together for quite a few years, and my mother were my best advisors at times, my girlfriend, who deserves a golden prize for patience for constantly listening to how helpless her boyfriend is and how he’s getting old for playing games. Returning to the topic: apart from me and my father, the NEOGEAR team includes Asia, my girlfriend, who is finishing (with God’s help) journalism studies this year, and has an extensive experience of running ‘E-SPORT’ program on Hyper television. In such a company, and with assistance of several friends of mine, I believe, we have a chance to win the audience, not only a Polish one. Maybe I will find passion for something I’ve never done before? Maybe it’ll turn out that I inherited my grandmother’s aptitude to this sort of things and I will like it? The most important thing is that it’s not going to be JUST a shop. A new project of tactical advises is coming into being, graphic designers
are working miracles. It would be cool if everything worked out and it would come to be more than just a page. I want all of us to work on this one together – the NEOGEAR team and the fans. Maybe then I will find something in this enterprise, which just like CS will be able to take me away from the tedious greyness of everyday routine? And I can’t say I am quite satisfied with what I have written so far, as I am usually not satisfied with what I say. Well, that’s the way it is anyway and noone can change that. At least I’ve written something.
I will be updating this blog usualy after each LAN event we will attend.
In case some of you guys would like to support our project, please find the links below:
youtube: www.youtube.com/neogearofficial
facebook: www.facebook.com/filipneokubski
www.facebook.com/neogearpl
website(soon in english also): www.neogear.pl/
STEAM: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/NEOGEAR
Pretty soon our youtube channel will also feature some other games like SC2 and LoL. Hope you will like it.
Thanks!:)
