Video games are often criticized for trapping kids. They
trap their users in these fantasy worlds
and simulations, therefore limiting our interactions with the real, physical
world. These allocations are not completely wrong, as many people do become
overly obsessed with video games. However if it weren't for video games, I would
not have discovered my interest for Liverpool Football Club.
Although I had played soccer all my life, I didn't truly
follow it until four years ago. I would go to the occasional Revs game at
Gillette, but my extensive knowledge of
real, European football pretty much boiled down to a handful of the mega clubs
and two players named Messi and Ronaldo. This all changed when I got an Xbox for Christmas four years ago. The first game I got was FIFA. As soon as I got it, I
started a career mode and had to choose a team.
I don’t remember exactly why I chose Liverpool in the first place, I
didn't know a single player on the team. However it happened, Liverpool was my
team and together we made a rather impressive career.
I didn't start following the real life team until the start
of the next season. It was fun to watch all the players that I had played as in
the video game, but now in real life. Luckily for me, Liverpool were having an
incredible season that year. They were scoring a ton of goals and were firmly
cemented in the title race. Everybody in England was wrapped up in the
excitement and I suppose I got wrapped up in it as well. It was going to be the
first Premier League title for Liverpool in their history(They started calling
it the Premier League in 1992) and I definitely got caught in the excitement. They
were top of the league with three games to go, but a crushing loss to Chelsea
and a draw against Crystal Palace saw the title slip through Liverpool's
fingers. Although I had only known about Liverpool's existence for about a year
and half, I had the same gut wrenching feeling that every lifelong Liverpool
fan that spring. Although it sucked to see Liverpool loose the title, I didn't
just hop off the bandwagon and jump on next year's contenders. This is due largely
impart to my successful career on FIFA. While the real Liverpool were fighting
for the title, I had turned my virtual team into the best club in all off
Europe. I wanted to see the same thing happen to the real life team.
So 3-4 years have gone by, and I'm still waiting for that
"best club in Europe" thing to finally come true. It hasn't been the
best couple years for the club by any stretch. But things are looking up. It’s crazy
to think that 4 years ago Liverpool were not a part of my life. I watch as many
games of theirs that I possibly can, and a day doesn't go by where I don’t read
about them, or soccer in general, online. It's funny to think that this
obsessive passion started on FIFA. I wonder what would have happened if hadn't
picked them to start my video game career.
I went through pretty much the same thing when I first started playing Fifa a few years back. I quickly learned most of the players, but decided I needed a team to stand behind (much like you and Liverpool). I gravitated towards Tottenham Hotspur, as they had my then favorite player- Gareth Bale- playing for them. Bale has since moved to a different team, but I have continued supporting Tottenham since then.
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