It’s been a few days but just had to share a small win. I know it shouldn’t be a win but it feels like a milestone for me. (Sorry if this is a long read).

See, I’m a gamer who also has a bit of a temper when I’m tired or manic. I’m a gracious winner but I don’t always take losing that well, especially if the other team is rubbing it in.  Not proud of that and something I’ve been working on, mainly by avoiding hyper competitive games.

Fast forward to last weekend when I went to PAX West with my son. There was a HALO amateur tournament where you got the chance to come up on stage, get interviewed, and have a screen caster call the game. (The stage was for the pros really but regular players got to compete during the lunch break).

My son talks me into doing it and we have a good time our first match which is close. Second match we go up against a guy who brags about being at the top of the ladder. He then proceeds to trounce our team, constantly baiting us and then making taunting gestures the entire time. It didn’t help the caster made fun of us saying that was the lowest score of the day (we lost 25-2). 

There were times in my life I would have definitely raged. But I kept calm, cracked some jokes with the announcer, and my son even got a gift card for being a kid competing against adults. It was a good feeling, especially when I found out the other guy has like several hundred thousand subs and makes a living as a HALO influencer. His audience specifically watch him be a dick so it’s his brand. Me keeping my cool was worth the humiliation.