A Deeper Look At Viking's QB Christian Ponder.

Let's get started

A good while back I talked about Christian Ponder and his effect on the Viking's 2011 team. I think many fans unfairly judge Ponder, and fail to realize what weapons and the trainwreck that Ponder was given. I see all over the message boards about how the Vikings have no chance to be competitive with Ponder at the helm, and that he's buried beneath the great QBs that are in the NFC North. I will go on record to predict right now that Ponder will be the most underrated QB in the NFL in a few years just because of this reason. I also look around and see all sorts of praise for another young QB named Andy Dalton. Some even argued he could of been Offensive Rookie of the Year, an absurd claim in my opinion. I take a look at Dalton and see nothing that jumps out for me last year, he took a team that had the making of a good team all ready. The biggest being his WR named AJ Green. Also helps he had an above average/great defense.

"Of course I have a soul. What kind of silly question is that?" -Andy Dalton

For Comparison's Sake

How in the world does this compare to Ponder though? Pretty simple, Ponder was given one of the least talented teams in football, midway through the season might I add, and was expected to uplift it and make the situation good. I honestly can't think of many QBs that can do this, let alone a rookie. Especially when you got no first team reps until it was too late. Ponder had one of the worst defenses of all time, no joke, and the worst offensive line in the league. Outside of Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson he had no help on offense. But considering Percy sat out half the plays, and Peterson was battling injury all year that ended with a torn MCL/ACL, the weapons Ponder had weren't anything. When Michael Jenkins and Devin Aromashodu are your top targets we have a problem here. For comparisons sake, here's Dalton vs Ponder for stats.

Dalton:
16 Games
300 completions on 518 attempts, for a 58.1% completion rate
3,398 yards
6.6 yards/per attempt
20 TDs - 13 INTs
80.4 QBR
37 rushing attempts for 152 yards, 4.1 yards/per attempt for 9 first downs

Ponder:
11 Games
158 completions on 291 attempts, for a 54.3% completion rate
1,853 yards
6.37 yards/per attempt
13 TDs - 13 INTs
70.1 QBR
28 rushing attempts for 219 yards, 7.8 yards/per attempt for 13 first downs

Pretty similar right? But it also isn't fair to say Ponder played a full 11 games, he only play a full 8. He got benched vs Detriot, and got injured vs Washington and Chicago. But let's say Ponder played a full season, here's around what his stats would probably look like:

Ponder Speculative Stats:
16 games
320 completions on 580 attempts, for a 55.17% completion rate
3,712 yards
6.4 yards/per attempt
23 TDs - 20 INTs
73.57 QBR
55 rushing attempts for 429 yards, 7.8 yards/per attempt for 20 first downs

Not bad at all right? Consider this with the shitty team we had last year. Really the only downside is his decision making, which is something that we as Viking fans hope he learns how to read more with time. The reason for those INTs is because he telegraphs some throws and doesn't go through all his reads. Something that he can be taught, and he has already even said that he's learned from watching tape. Encouraging.

Ponder, please just don't throw interceptions in a Championship Game

Keep in mind this with Dalton, he had a great receiver named AJ Green who is already a top 10 WR in this league. I've watched AJ bail out Dalton. Guess who Ponder had to bail him out? Harvin? Yeah whenever he was on the field, sure. Even then we didn't actually use him correctly. When we did use him correctly; guess who got a big play? Exactly. I think it's actually kind of depressing Dalton has such a low yds/attempt with not one great deep threat, but two with Jerome Simpson whose now expected to fill that role on the Vikings. Our biggest deep threat was Devin Aromoshodu, statwise. I'm sure defenses were shivering in their boots.

I know all of this is hypothetical, but this is what we have to build off of right now. Just think if Ponder was given first team reps right from the start, and given a team that didn't suck. He would be right up there with Cam Newton in these rookie discussions. Ponder shouldn't be blamed with what when on last year, and any Viking fan calling his head would also be calling for Dalton's head if he was on this team. Don't get me wrong, Dalton is going to be a good QB, but some of the praise he gets is somewhat undeserved. The offense was tailored exactly for Dalton with Jay Gruden who uses Bill Walsh type training on his QBs. Ponder hasn't had the luxury of any of that, and yet he still shows something great.

We'll upset the Packers next year. Just you watch.

Who cares about Dalton!


Ok, so who cares how Ponder matches up with his rookie friend Andy Dalton? Hell there are even better comparisons out there. Just take a look at Tampa Bay QB Josh Freemen and see how eerily similar their stats are, or check out how terrible Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford were. They are 'ight now.

But what just Ponder? What did he accomplish that was so great? Well first off his was #1 in Red-Zone efficiency. His QB rating was 114.0. Or how about his great third down presence? Ponder moved us from one of the worst to #16 in that ranking. Not easy considering how horrendous McNabb was on third down. Especially in the 4th quarter, McNabb was a terrible 4 for 16. No wonder we lost all those huge first half leads.

"The ball has to go past that orange thing? Never would of guessed" -Donovan McNabb

Home Improvement!

Ponder isn't a perfect angel by any means. The stats don't lie when it comes to Ponder in some games. Those games where he posted sub 60 QBR weren't lying (besides his sub 60 on his first game vs the Packers). Ponder didn't do so hot in some games. There are things he needs to improve on and the most notable is just reading the defenses. Too many times Ponder telegraphed his throws and didn't see the coverage. Other times he was trying to do too much when nothing is there. Then there's just being plain risky like throwing at Charles Woodson. Also, while Ponder boasts great mid-range accuracy, he doesn't always know how to control it. He needs to anticipate better. His deepball also needs to improve, but with the way the West Coast Offense is setup, and with our prominent 2 TEs sets we will be using, the deepball isn't as big of an issue as many want to make it.

Remember this show?!

Final Thoughts


Ponder has a lot to learn, but what he showed us last year was something all Viking fans should be excited about. Yes, he burnt out by the end of the year and Joe Webb came and in put a fire under the offense. Yes, he got injured behind our pathetic o-line and just never looked the same after that. But what Ponder showed before all the shit hit the fan was something I was amazed by, something I've never seen as a Viking fan; a young QB uplifting the team and look promising. I'm excited to see what Ponder can do next year and you should too. He's a smart guy, and I have every bit of confidence that he'll prove a lot of people wrong.

Watch my highlight video!!

Video Games Are Becoming More Mainstream.

Does everyone play video games in the world? No, not yet. But in Asian and “Western countries” there are more gamers than non-gamers. “To play video games has become the norm, to not play video games has become the exception”. 

Video Games, sitting in front of your TV with a controller and playing it endlessly through the night. You imagine a teenage boy sitting there with his glasses on with an acne scarred face. When you talk to this boy he talks with a nasal voice, and makes constant references to Dungeons and Dragons. This is the stereotypical “nerd”. A person with no social life, and not someone you associated with. But this isn’t true. While stereotypes do have their reasoning, the typical gamer is changing, and it’s changing fast.

But c'mon, this looks awesome!

Video Games are no longer an entertainment outlet for that teenage boy with no girlfriend. It’s done by the CEO of a major company, or your grandmother in a nursing home. The average age of a person who plays video games is thirty-seven years old and has been playing games for 12 years. An even staggering number is that 29% of people over the age of fifty play video games, an increase from 9% in 1999. One-fourth of American households, 72%, play video games. This is an incredible amount of people, and it’s becoming more mainstream even if you don’t see it. Look around, see what people are doing on their phones. 55% of gamers play on their phones. So next time you hear that boy talking about Dungeons and Dragons, realize that he’s part of the wide community of people who play video games. From the dad who comes home from a long day of work, to the twelve year old after school.

Put the controller down grandma.

On the economic front, games are making billions upon billions. $25.1 billion dollars was made on video games and its accessories in 2010. The growth from 2005 to 2009 exceeded 10%. The rest of the economy, in the same time frame, only grew a measly 2%. Job growth in the industry is also reported as a 8.6% increase, with the average salary of $90,000. The industry is growing, and in this economic crisis that we are in doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, the video game industry continues to grow. It’s a cheap entertainment outlet that anyone can do at home, and in the palm of their hand on their smart phones or iPods. In 2009, the video game industry has started topping Hollywood in making money. In 2009 video games made more money then all the sales of DVDs and music combined, and four times that of the cinema box office. Since then it has grown even more, with blockbuster hits of Call of Duty coming out and shattering their own past game records. No one has to worry about this industry dieing off any time soon, and it will continue to grow as more people realize how easy of an entertainment outlet video games can be. 


How did video games become so popular? What made it become such a social medium so that people now get together to play Rock Band? It’s a bunch of things, it’s affordable and most of all; fun. But why was it not an “acceptable” way to spend time back in the 80’s and 90’s? That is easier to explain. Games, on the console at least, back in the 80’s and 90’s were hard. It was using speadsheets and following a guidebook hard. Games like Battletoads were games that only the dedicated would play. These games were not easy, and thus not very accessible. Instead many sat around in the arcades and played games like Pac-Man, and later on; Ms. Pacman. Pacman has become one of the most influential games of all time. Pacman was the first real “hit” that hit the mainstream crowd. It showed if you make the game accessible, fun, but at the same time challenging; you got a hit of a video game. Ms. Pacman, and another game in the 90’s in the Playstation called Tomb Raider, also made the video games more acceptable amongst females. With the a new heroine character they can relate to, it made it easier for them to get into. Lara Croft, from Tomb Raider, characterized a masculine image of a woman, and while she had the sex appeal, she was also relatable for women to play. Ms. Pacman was a spinoff of the very popular Mr. Pacman, and it was a hit. My own mother doesn’t play video games, but she remembers sitting in an arcade and playing Ms. Pacman with her brothers for hours. Ms. Pacman was a relatable women character. 

I haven't ever gotten past level 2...

How has the video game industry start to develop from the old Nintendo Entertainment System and Atari to how it is now? One of the earliest answers is a game called Half Life. It’s ranked as the number one game of all time by various game sites. Half Life was remarkable because it combined shooter elements and storytelling elements. It created a universe where people could become immersed into the world. with great storytelling and cinematic experiences. For a game in 1999, this was unheard of. The artificial intelligence was the best of its time, and it would constantly outsmart its players. But most of all, it just reshaped the way video games are now made. “Most developers working in 3D action will admit that they’ve had to drastically rethink their design concepts based on Half-Life’s radical redrawing of the genres landscape. Never before has a game so significantly raised the bar in terms of expectations for what action gaming could--should--aspire to be.” . This big change the genre made it one step closer to the mainstream outlet of entertainment that is it today. Without Half-Life, storytelling maybe wouldn’t be such a big thing to have in a game. 


Another thing that is going with this trend is the rise of the “casual gamer”. Who am I talking about? The average person who plays Wii Sports, or has a game on their phone. Many of the people who you may think have never played, or have any interests in games, have some games saved on their computer. These aren’t any adventure games, but simple games like matching games, games where you run a restaurant, and the obvious one; Solitaire. These people themselves when asked if they are “gamers” would more than likely say no. These casual gamers fit in the same group of teenagers playing Call of Duty. They all play videogames, just different types. Even if they don’t acknowledge it. Think about one of your last family reunions or office work parties. Was there by chance a game with plastic guitars and a drum set? Rock Band is one the games that is “casual”, a game where you can play anywhere and it’s no longer an “uncool” thing, but rather it’s “normal”. That’s the biggest thing about the trend of video games, it’s becoming normal to play it. It’s now normal because no longer do you have to set time down to play it, or have to take hours to learn how to finish that one level. Now it’s easy to get into and play with friends or family, or by yourself. An interesting find is people who are now getting into these casual games tend to be working class adults.  When asked if they’ve ever played video games before now, they answered a clear no and that this is some of the first video games they’ve been playing. But when asked when they’ve played games like Pacman and Tetris when they were younger, they said yes and that they’ve enjoyed them immensely. So it’s not that these people don’t like video games, it’s more these people are reconnecting with their childhood of liking video games.

Any 40 year old who says they didn't spend their childhood here is lying.

Back in the 1980’s, in the arcades, video games weren’t made for a certain audience, they were made to be played in the arcades that kids go to. There was no social weirdness of playing games there, well because everyone did. But as time has moved on, games starting becoming less of a social normality, and those people who enjoyed playing Pacman in the arcade started becoming disconnected with their joy of playing games. Games now have gone more back to their roots of just being fun and easy to get into, and thus making those same people get back into playing these games. 


What is the pull to play a video game? For some people who are so into video games, it’s can be hard to understand. Video games to some people is some of the greatest amount of entertainment they’ve gotten in their lives. Why wouldn’t others want to play it also? I find it fun, why doesn’t everyone else? Warcraft III is an example. It’s a strategy game where you control units and take over other players in matches. Maybe I see the great amount of pull to play it, but that doesn’t mean others do. But many don’t feel the same pull that maybe I do. It’s a diverse game with many things you have to learn, while a game like Pacman anyone can figure out what to do. It’s why casual games are so prominent. It has that “pull” that is needed to make you want to play. “Not everyone wants to pick up the game [Warcraft III] and start playing”. Games also can be successful off their storytelling element that pulls you into a game. That’s why Half Life was such a success.


Videogames use features to make you get into it faster. There’s stuff like Rock Band and Wii Tennis that make you mimic the action. It makes you feel like you’re the tennis player, or the rock star guitarist doing that solo on Crazy Train. Another way to get hooked is by easily downloading these games. These games can be played in short bursts and you don’t need to pay a lot of money to play. A good example is Farmville. Easily played on Facebook, and it doesn’t take much time commitment. It’s the “Pacman” of this generation; easy to play and easy to learn. With more and more people playing these casual games, it’s harder for companies to focus more on the “hardcore” players. They are a small player base and it’s hard to fund a video game for them. Electronic Arts is one company that has had a hard time with this.

Why do people even play this game?!

My last point I will touch on is the rise of the multiplayer world. It started with Everquest, a game that that at its peak was said to have 450k active subscribers. The genre has slowly evolved into the mammoth that is World of Warcraft. At its peak it has had 10 million subscribers. That’s a big “boom” that has happened with becoming popular. That didn’t happen overnight, World of Warcraft benefited from making the game casual. It took everything that was “hardcore” about Everquest and made it accessible, and easy to play. A game doesn’t get 10 million active players easily, World of Warcraft exploits the way you can make players keeping on playing with it’s casual play style,  yet it keeps a player stuck with the “Skinner’s Box” theory where they keep following the “carrot on a stick” to get the next best item. It’s easy to get into, and it makes it so it’s “cool” to play it since there’s also another 10 million people playing it, and that’s not including others who used to play it but quit.  Games like Guild Wars 2 are coming out that also make the genre even more casual and get rid of the subscription and “Skinner’s Box”. All you have to do is buy the box and you can play casually forever. The game can be easily picked up and dropped and doesn’t require a big time commitment; something that is driving this industry to become more popular. It’s a trend that is also hitting the multiplayer world of gaming just like the single-player world. 

How anyone finds this game fun is beyond me...

The effect of all this is that may not be earth shattering, but video games are becoming an accepted norm and being playing by many people in the world. Video games have become a cheap outlet for someone to have for an hour or two. It’s a way for people who work long hours at work to come home and relax with a game. It affects parties where all the family plays a game of Rock Band with a singer, guitarist, bassist and a drummer. It’s a great social tool people can use. Social gatherings are made less awkward by just having a video game console there for people to play. You may not think deeply about it, but a large percentage of social gatherings more then likely have some game people are playing. It’s the little things in this world that matter, and video games are no exception. The trend is making life better, and more enjoyable. What would your reaction be if there was no such thing as going to the movies? You’ll probably think life would lose some of it’s fun. Video games are no different, and their effect on society is finally being recognized.

Guild Wars 2: A Weekend in Review.

The weekend has come and gone. This past weekend has been one of the busiest weekends I've had in a long time. Saturday I had my Senior Prom, and had a great time. It overshadowed my first weekend of playing Guild Wars 2 ever, yet I still had some of the best hours of my gaming career this past weekend.

Let me start out and say I'm not "hyped" for Guild Wars 2. Hype doesn't just mean something that you get excited about. Hyped is exaggerated claims that you hope turns true. With my five years of following Guild Wars 2, there is nothing that will come as a surprise to me. There is no exagerrated hype that comes out of nowhere, all my excitement to play has come from actually watching gameplay videos and hearing guys like TotalBiscuit and Yogcast commentating on their excitement. People who've come into this beta with unrealistic expectations are more then likely a bit upset. The game was laggy, little optimization, and a zergfest. But anyone who didn't expect this is part of the above group of unrealistic expectations. Guild Wars 2 isn't an MMO that will forever change the genre like World of Warcraft did with years of remakes (eg; WoW clones). What Guild Wars 2 offers is a very streamlined themepark MMO that does what it's advertised to do very well. The dynamic events are everything they are told to be, the WvW is the best PvP experience I've ever had, and the artistic world makes the game just a joy to run around in. But enough with the first impressions, why does Guild Wars 2 "just work"?

The Environment:

The world is like walking into a painting. The cities, the NPCs, the towns, skill animations, and anything else that relates to the world is just beautiful. I was walking around and was just awestruck by the environment.  The first thing I did, after the tutorial, was load up my warrior to go into WvW. I look out and I see a giant keep with a light shooting from it into the sky.

My warrior Own Age Myname. Representing in The Mists 250 years later!

Included with the environment is the lore references from the original Guild Wars. My experience I've had with it was in the Charr starter area. There was a bunch of references. I found the Ruins of Surmia and I did a story mission on the Ruins of Rin. Both of these look almost like their Guild Wars 1 counterparts. I wouldn't be surprised if the same textures were used, because they seemed a less HD and more clunky. The minute I walked into the foggy corner where the Ruins of Surmia were, I had the "oh my god" feeling realizing I've been here in Guild Wars 1. There sat the same obelisks that I had to defend while Rurik was using "Knock" that had the 1,200 second activation time. Then I saw the Ruins of Rin, and the flashback of the cinematic came to my head of King Adelbern telling his son Rurik "You are no longer my prince, and you are no longer my son!". I also read you could find the Temple of Ages in Queensdale, but I didn't explore much of the human area, so I never got a chance to see it. That's for the next event I guess.

Look familiar?

My favorite part of Guild Wars 1 was Pre-Searng. I have a character that is 3 years old that sits there, and I used to be a well known member of the community. I made builds and guides on how to do stuff and I would merch dyes and get the best gear in Pre-Searing. So it's an understatement to say I loved that section of Guild Wars 1. On that note, obviously the Charr area is my favorite. It has the Pre-Searing art take and I found the lake I used to always hang out in Guild Wars 1 in the Northlands. The same exact island was there too! On the island there was these crumbled buildings with a torch that I could activate. I hit "F" and a group boss; a Necromancer whose name escapes me (but he's was one of the trainers in Pre-Searing) popped up with his ghostly allies. Just stuff that like that in the environment makes me beyond happy and I can't wait to do this throughout all the areas. 

Good memories...

Exploring:

This can tie into the environment, but exploring is the most underrated feature in Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet awards you for finding waypoints or "points of interests". They are making you go out and find something to do, and not to move from questhub to questhub. I found the Ruins of Surmia ruins just by exploring. Inside the Ruins there was a crypt where a Mini-Boss was. Just little things like this, all put together, make the game that much more enjoyable. I've been reading people complaining about not getting enough experience to move onto the to the "next hub". They are completely missing the point of Guild Wars 2, and are still stuck in the old MMO mentality of moving from hub to hub. There are no hubs, there are places where dynamic events go off and there are nooks and crannies of the world where you find experience and hidden events (see: my island event experience above). Quest jumping isn't the sole way to get XP, and people are acting like it is. Exploring gives a huge chunk of XP. 

What to do...what to do...

Before I started exploring I found myself in areas that were higher leveled then my actual character. As soon as I started exploring more and more of the level 4 and 5 zone (instead of the 7-9) I soon found myself quickly out-leveling the 7-9 zone and was being constantly scaled down for everything after that point. Playing Guild Wars 2 without exploring is forcing you to miss out on half of what the game is. ANet has rewards for you, go out and get them. You don't have to be the "explorer" type of a player to enjoy this. What's not to enjoy about it anyway? Just don't come complaining on Guru when you having a lesser experience and "not enough content" then the guy who is in the corner of a map where he found a puzzle dungeon.


World vs World vs World (WvW):


This is a huge drawing factor for Guild Wars 2. Not since Warhammer has a game tried boasting a Realm vs Realm. Too bad Mythic failed terribly at Warhammer with it's 2-way PvP. Guild Wars 2 is going back to the RvR roots of Dark Age of Camelot with a three way fight out. It's the way to go, and it worked well in Guild Wars' Hall of Heroes and in every other game with 3-way PvP. 

Don't funk with this.

My experience with WvW was tremendous. When I logged in, the server just started up. I entered into a grey map and nothing was taken over yet. I had about 4 others traveling with me and we set out to capture some points. We took a tower, a supply camp, and then we started going towards a giant keep off in the distance. That's where I met my first encounter with fighting other players. It was an even fight and but we ended up stomping them. Being cocky, we kept forward. We ended up seeing a giant zerg ahead, we all got wiped and soon enough they took our tower and supply camp. For the next few hours we were skirmishing over the tower and supply camp. We finally got pushed back to the waypoint and we gave up. This is where Warhammer screwed up; with only 2-way PvP this would go on for eternity and wouldn't be fun. But soon enough the third team came in and we started making a push. By the end of the day all the servers were tied up and my team had the giant castle in the middle. It was such a great experience, and I had a ton of fun. This will be a game type where I will spend hours in and get lost in time. I wasn't even on Skype with my friends yet, I can't even fathom how much fun that will be. I might have a gaming heart attack.

Structured PvP:


I can't say I put a lot of time in this. I played about three games. They were tainted games with people afk'ing at the starting waypoint. The one fun game I had was really enjoyable though. I like this game type as a casual way to play. It's basically League of Legend's Dominion with a twist with environmental weapons or monster buffs. But that's just it for me; casual. I can't see myself sitting down for hours and playing it competitively like I did with Guild Wars 1 in Guild vs Guild. Maybe this will change with more experience, but the PvP of GW2 left me pondering the potential this can have. Right now it's very rigid. Maybe that will change, but for right now you can color me unimpressed.


Dynamic Events:

I've already touched on this, and it's true what ANet says. It just works. There are some problems, like some events repeat so fast. I swear if I have to escort that guard and defend him from centaurs, or fight the Charr Shaman, I'll turn my computer off. It's the best experience when you find a rare event. Like the boss I fought on that lake, or an escort quest where I had to help a Ash Legion Charr through the Ruins of Surmia so he can lay some bombs after I defended him from a ghost attack in the previous event.

I want that mask.

 Is it different then the old quest system? No, but it's all about context. In WoW you get a quest to kill 10 of those centaurs, but you and I both know they aren't going to do shit if you don't go out and kill them. Those stories quest really have no story, when I'm done with a quest in WoW, the world stays the same. In Guild Wars 2, I defended a horde of Harpies attacking an outpost, and afterwards I saw the little cubs that were outside before, run outside again. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen in an MMO. Later I was wondering around the same area and I saw those same cubs in a dynamic event, they ran off too far from home and I had to defend them from attacking ghosts! 


Crafting:


I knew nothing about crafting. This was the first thing I ever had to ask my brother how to do in Guild Wars 2 (keep in mind he knows all of his information because of me), because that's the only thing I never cared about. My brother was getting deep into crafting in this beta, and there's some really cool things about it. I had a fun time collecting materials and making recipes. I got a recipe for a bow that gave me an extra 100 hp! That bow lasted me my whole beta, quite easily. There's a large variety of things you can make, and it's a good time waster and you can get sucked into it. Apparently you can make "elite gear" or whatever with crafting also. So that I am stoked for, have my own set of gear that I made with my own hands. 


Although crafting isn't something that's amazing, I am pleasantly surprised by how good it is.

It's Rin!

Final Thoughts:


I really could go on forever but the fact of the matter is; Guild Wars 2 is whatever people "hype" it up to be. I've seen the failures that are SWTOR and Warhammer from a mile away. Rift is the only one of the recent MMOs that has survived (really, for such a small team it's really good WoW Clone). Just remember that Guild Wars 2 is still an MMO. it has it's quirks that all MMOs have. It's a themepark, it's not a sandbox. Guild Wars 2 makes a fun game that is easy to pick up and play, yet at the same time really easy to get deep into. It takes most of the stuff you hate about MMOs and makes it actually fun to play instead of a grind. If you don't like MMOs, I have a hard time believing you would like Guild Wars 2 (contrary to what the Manifesto said), but if there are minor things that make you not play MMOs anymore; Guild Wars 2 will probably be perfect for you. Just remember that even though "it's still an MMO" don't come in playing it like it's one. Melee can't be sustained all the time in a fight, there's a reason you have a ranged weapon on every class. There are no tanks, healers, or DPS. You can do it all. Just because you're a warrior it doesn't mean you can't run around reviving people and laying down banners and warhorn buffs. Come in with an open mind and I swear you won't be upset.

Guild Wars 2, it's almost here!

I'm working overtime on my writing today! My second blogpost I want to get out today has to deal with a game called Guild Wars 2. I was going to write a blogpost about this a long time ago, but now I'm finally get the time to do so. This post will just be a generally excited post, and explaining to old, and new, about why I love Guild Wars 2. 


I've been waiting for Guild Wars 2 since it's announcement way back in 2007. At the time I was really deep into Guild Wars 1. I was actually really angry at the time, because of Guild Wars 2, all expansionary content in Guild Wars 1 was being shut down and all focus was off it and onto a new game. I knew nothing about Guild Wars 2, and I just knew that I was getting excited for the next big content update, which was rumored to be Guild Wars: Utopia. Instead ArenaNet put out Eye of the North as an expansion that will link Guild Wars 2 to Guild Wars 1 through the Hall of Monuments. Fine, I guess, but I knew nothing of what the rewards would be, and why I should be interested. But I bought EoTN on release anyway. The story was pretty good, and it had a lot of hard content. A PCGamer article was released on what Guild Wars 2 is. It would have a fully persistent world, be a normal MMO, and would have it own unique twists. Hell, I even got the Minipet Asura that came with the magazine (which I wish I kept, but I sold it). But I wasn't sold, I like Guild Wars because of it's persistent element and having "hubs", it made it feel like a co-op game that I can play leisurely. 


As the years went by, there was no new information about Guild Wars 2. In early 2009 I was thinking "vaporware", I thought ArenaNet was just falling apart, and this game would never actually come into fruition. Nothing was heard, and all we had were a few vague NCSoft Quarterly Reports that had Guild Wars slated for 2010/2011 release. Around that time I was pretty upset that I would have to wait until 2011. That's two years away! But then the summer came, and nothing was heard until August 2009, at GamesCom.


A teaser was released before GamesCom. I was on GuildWarsGuru and was part of the discussion of the teaser. The Guildwars2.com website was up, but all that was there was the "2" that is the Guild Wars 2 symbol you see everywhere now. Just a floating .GIF that we all stared for hours at, waiting for something to happen. Then Martin, a Community Manager, released a teaser where he stared at us in the camera, and in the background the first trailer for Guild Wars 2 was going on. I went nuts. All the skepticism went away and become rabid fanboyism. That trailer was released, and to this day it gives me chills every time I watch it. And that's when I found the light that is Guild Wars 2.


Years have gone on, speculation and releases of information. It's really gone by fast, it's already 2012 and I'll be able to play in a week! Playing a game I've waited for since I was in 8th grade. That's unreal. I'll soon have the client on my desktop. It will sit proudly next to my most played game ever, Guild Wars 1. I'll log on, re-make my Warrior and go to World vs World and fight forever in the Mists as he returns to his glory days. Smashing a hammer in the face of his enemies. If only I could use Earth Shaker....


This is the only game I've ever followed this closely, and will probably be the only one ever again. I've put too much time into getting to know this game to hate it. I don't care how bad it may sound; but this game won't fail. There's too much innovation for it to fail. The worst it will do is hit a niche market like Guild Wars 1 did, but even that's underrated and is a top 10 best selling game on the PC. Even better then Diablo 2 in terms of sales! Yet ask any person on the street of what game they heard of, probably Diablo 2. 


I hope to see you guys on the Yak's Bend server fighting by my side in World vs World!

The Minnesota Vikings Stadium

Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, and Governor Mark Dayton are discussing the next moves for funding the Viking’s stadium. Pittsburgh Steelers owner also joined in on these meetings. The NFL has a sense of urgency for this issue. What’s the problem? The Minnesota Viking’s owner Zygi Wilf wants to get a deal done within the next two weeks, or else he threatens to move the team. A legislative committee voted down the plan to pay for the stadium, where 56% of the funding would come from taxpayers and the rest from the Wilfs on the proposed $975 million Metrodome site. "A failure to bring this to the floor is going to be perceived by the ownership and other cities as if it came to the floor and it were voted no," said Eric Grubman, the league's vice president. If it doesn’t pass this session, the league doesn’t see Minnesota as a viable place for the Vikings to stay, and expect big consequences.


The reason it has to be done this year is because the Vikings have been hearing “next year” for the past 5-10 years. They should hold no hope that it will get done next year, there needs to be a hard deadline or else they will threaten moving. "I think we've had this so-called warning around here for five or 10 years, so I'm not sure it's a threat," said Senjem, Rochester. There is a chance of relocation. Relocation process requires 24 of 32 owners approval, and they don’t like when popular franchise leave. But with this situation they may be forced to vote to relocate the Vikings because they have nowhere else to play. The Vikings are near the most popular team in the NFL, and haven’t had a blackout in 15 years. That screams how important they are to the state. The Wilfs can also sell the team. The Vikings are working against a state with economic troubles and an unwilling government.


My Opinion

The Wilfs have been way too soft as it is, and I’m glad the NFL is finally stepping in. The Wilfs have given into every demand and then some. They moved away from their Arden Hills deal to work better with the government, and now they can’t even accept their own idea. The Vikings have been waiting patiently since 2000, I remember seeing the debate on the news even back then. So the legislators can’t say they need more time, they have been given time and now they have to get it done. Teachers don’t care if you procrastinate your homework and can’t turn it in because of it, the legislators shouldn’t be held any less accountable. They’ve had 10 years to do this. Part of me wants them to move to show them how much the team meant to the state, then they can try to scramble to get a new team because of how much revenue the state has just lost because of tourism, a Super Bowl that will inevitably come into town, and what a team bring to local businesses.


I wouldn’t blame Zygi for moving this team, or selling it. Red McCombs was right when he traded Randy Moss for pennies to spite the stupidity that is the Minnesota government. The legislature needs to realize that the stadium helps this state, and stop worrying about if they’ll get elected this year. How about they do their jobs they are paid to do, and have their actions speak for them to get elected. Fun fact; around $50 million is brought in to the state for around 10 games of an NFL season, more so with a playoff game. On the other side it would take four American Legion major conventions to make up a whole season of Vikings football. I think what makes me the most annoyed is the response by the representative from Rochester, and his “they’ve threatened us before” comment. There will be no next year, this needs to be done now.

The Culture of CURLING!!

      Hey, Trevor Dardis here with an update on my blog. A co-classmate of mine, Andrew Meyer, and I have been doing research on a certain culture that many of you probably know little about. The culture is the culture of Curling. We've gotten the chance to interview a veteran of Curling, and visited a popular club where people Curl. Andrew and I will be posting two different blog posts on the subject and each with our own writing style, and our own observations at the same scene. There will be a link to it at the end of my blog post. Enjoy!


The beginning of my idea, and bias:

      I came into this subject of studying Curling after a seminar at the University of Minnesota, where the professor was giving a suggestion of topics that students can do. She briefly mentioned Curling, and that sparked in my mind that a friend of mine, Karl, has been Curling for many years. He always talks about it, but I never took the time to really understand what Curling meant, and what it was. I thought Curling was just some sport that Canadians played at the Winter Olympics, and a sport that old people play because they have nothing better to do. I also thought that the old building next to Dairy Queens, and a mall that hasn't been popular for 15 years, would never be a place where a bunch of people would meet to play this game called Curling. But I got a big surprise when I came to this place on a warm Tuesday evening.


The Basics: What is Curling?:

        So, what is Curling? It’s the first question I too asked myself. I came to this building to learn what Curling really is. So before I go into my observations, I will tell you the basics of Curling. Curling is played on an Ice Rink, there are lanes where each game is played, sort of like Bowling. There is a ring, which is called “the house”. Inside the house there is an inner circle called “the button”. Inside the house there is a line that cuts across it, and that’s called “the tee”. The goal is to get “the rock”, a 42 pound big black...thing that rides across the ice. There is a line that goes in front of the house called “the hog line”, and to score you have to go across that line. Closest rock to the middle of the house wins a point. But if the other team’s rock is in the same area, it cancels the point out. There are some violations for scoring, like you can’t hit the rock with your broom, which is an object I will get to later, and you can't touch the sidelines, you have to keep it in the lane. In professional curling, there is “ends”, which is how many times you have to go back and forth trying to get your rock to score. But where I observed they only played four ends because there isn’t enough time for a full game.
        There are four positions that Curling has. The person who throws is called the lead. The second person is called “second”, third person is called “vice skip”, fourth person is called “skip”, and fifth is an extra person. That part really doesn't make sense to me, and Karl really didn't go in depth on the description.
        The equipment they use is; a broom, the rock, and these shoes called the Gripper Shoes. The broom is used to melt the ice to make the rock move faster, but you got to be careful because you have to melt the ice just enough so it goes where you want it to go. There are different types of brooms, and they mostly use hog hair, and they also used to use horse hair. The handles can be made of wood, or fiberglass. They usually run around five hundred to two hundred dollars. And a rock usually costs around a thousand dollars, so don’t break it!
        That’s just the basics of Curling. This information will help you out when I start telling you my observations that I’ve made. The sport seems hard to learn, but I was surprised by how easy it is to watch and enjoy. Just takes a little bit of study power to learn what each part of Curling means.


Observations: Entering the Club:

        When Andrew and I entered the club, we were surprised by how crowded this place was. The parking lot was rather full, and there was even people outside who yelled at us and laughed in a manner where we didn’t understand what they just said. We walked into the club, and noticed how many fans there was. While it was mostly parents, it’s weird to see this many on a night where everyone was just practicing. There was even a concession stand!  We found a spot on the bleachers where no one was sitting, and I started typing up some stuff that I noticed. “Casual, Rubber soles on their feet, people look like they were screwing around, and fans are mostly parents” I said out loud as I typed it down. Andrew got up and read some of the safety tips.

-Warmup

-Shoe is called Gripper Shoe

-Never put slider foot on the ice

-Be careful on the ice

-Never stop a rock with your hand, because it can be crushed

-Not to use feet to stop, can slip and fall.

-Stop rock with broom

        They seemed like very basic rules, and this sport is pretty safe as long as you know what you’re doing. As we sat down more and watched what they were doing, we realized most of these people were just kids. This is the opposite of what we thought when we came in, Andrew said before we entered “This is probably just a bunch of drunken Canadians.” Well, he was wrong in that assumption, as there was no one above the age of 20 on that Ice Rink.

Observations: Meeting our interviewee


Finally Karl was done with practice and he came up to us and scared Andrew from behind. We laughed and had him sit down to answer our questions. He gave us a rundown on what Curling is. He also had a friend, who I didn’t get the name of, who also chimed in and told us some other useful tidbits. After we got the basic rundown of what the sport is I wanted to get to the reason we came here for; what is the culture?

Observations: What is this culture of Curling?:

        We walked over to a table, sat down, and had a talk with Karl on what the culture meant to him. There was a list of etiquette that is really important to them, it basically says “Be kind and don’t break the rules” Karl said to us with a good laugh. From what I understood, this sport is a clique sport, and it runs within the families. It’s not that popular, but at the same time it’s a very enjoyable sport. Best part is it is enjoyable for almost any age that can handle the safety precautions. Some stuff that really was “their culture” that Karl said is that his coach says “alright” after every sentence. There is no “social groups”, everyone gets along pretty well. The only divide is within skill level groups. There is no gloating when you win, everyone is very level headed on their sportsmanship, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t disappointed when they lose. What Karl said that really stuck out to me is their rival with a neighboring team from Oak River. They have poor sportsmanship, and like gloating their wins over everyone.
        “Like a politician [Oak River]. Insult you, but you don’t know it” Karl said.

The owner Karl’s club is not a person who tolerates stupidity, and isn't patient. But she is still a great person and is “lots of laughs”. Karl also points out we are probably the first new faces since the season started back in November. The club is really tightly knit, and it’s strange to see new faces. It’s probably why had someone yell something at us when we walked in. My final observations from Karl basically says that their culture here at their club is very tight, has great sportsmanship, and they are here to have fun, get some laughs, and enjoy the company of other humans. It’s a very casual environment, and I started to like it’s extrovert culture the more I stayed.

Final Thoughts:

        I came into this club not knowing anything. I came out a lot more knowledgeable, and I found a sport that is actually cool, pun intended. For a small club that was started by the Birr brothers back in the 60’s, it’s gone a long way since. It’s a great environment for parents to have their kids in, and if I was a parent, it’d be a sport that I would encourage my son and/or daughter to get involved in. It’s not as demanding as other sports, but it still teaches you the lesson of teamwork and meeting other people outside of your school. This is a sport that I would like to get involved in if I had more time, but sadly time is a limiting factor for me these days. Be happy I had time to get this blog post up!


     Thanks for reading, hope you’ve learned a lot about this small sport of Curling.

Andrew's viewpoint: http://meyerincarn.blogspot.com/

Christian Ponder: 2011 Lookback

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Viking’s Quarterback (QB).

Ponder has turned some heads in the NFL from the day he was drafted. He was drafted at #12 in the First Round, when he was graded as a Second Round pick. Some were shaking their heads, while others were praising the pick, accounting for Ponder’s superior intelligence, how pro-ready he is, and his injuries in his Senior year at Florida State lowered his draft value. But what’s done is done, and the Vikings now have Ponder as their QB, and I’m going to do my best at evaluating him now that the season is over.

Ponder was brought into the Bears Monday Night Game for an outmatched Donovan McNabb. He make a few great passes, and lead the Vikings down the field. He showed how clutch he is suppose to be by converting long 3rd downs. He posted 9/17, with 99 yards. This was the start of a new era in Minnesota with their new QB.

Ponder’s year was full of ups and downs, from almost beating the Packers, to losing to them a few weeks later 7-45. But there is one thing he’s shown me; how much mental toughness the guy has. After throwing a red-zone interception, Ponder marched the Vikings downfield to score a touchdown the next-drive. Ponder also would keep throwing at cornerbacks that have picked him off before, and a few times he burned them on big plays because how aggressive they were being. Those two examples show me he can lead the Vikings, and isn’t afraid to keep testing opposing cornerbacks, and making big plays happen.

Many Viking’s fans are used to the Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson dilemmas. From Favre’s great 2010 year, then to holding onto Tarvaris Jackson for far too long trying to hold out hope he would turn into something great. I would argue over message boards on why Tarvaris Jackson will turn into a Quarterback the Vikings need. I’d bring up points like Tarvaris not having a legitimate group of Wide Receivers to throw to, or the Offensive Line being bad, or how the Vikings defense wasn’t helping him in keeping the score low and forcing us to play catch-up in score. Vikings fans are used to disappointment, that’s why we don’t want it to keep on happening. But, Ponder has been dealing with all the things Tarvaris dealt with, but worse. We have arguable the worse group of Wide Receivers, Offensive Line, and Defensive Secondary, in the league. Oh, and a guy called Adrian Peterson has been out the last quarter of the year. But Ponder is still fighting, gritting out stats that he shouldn’t be putting up with this bad team, and getting injured. Viking’s fans haven’t had a rookie Quarterback since Fran Tarkenton way back in 1961. We aren’t used to young QBs, that have promise, making mistakes, we want instant results. It’s why Viking’s fans have gone out and got guys like Brett Favre, we want proven veterans.

Ponder has dealt with no OTAs, and limited Training Camp, so he hasn’t had time to develop like all rookies have in the past. The odds were against him in the beginning, and he’s still shined through. Give him time; he needs it.