The folks behind r/StreetFighter’s online tournament series pride themselves on providing streams that go beyond rote recitations of sponsors and matchup knowledge. But this laissez-faire approach to commentary recently bit them in the arse when they decided to pepper their broadcast with farts rather than insightful conversation.
During last night’s tournament, the winners final came down to two players: Dee Ancer and FGC Jesus. Both play F.A.N.G, a Street Fighter V newcomer whose wacky moveset doesn’t always translate to wins in serious competition. The character is so technical that even top players have a hard time making him work, so it should have been a fun moment to see two F.A.N.G users meet so close to grand finals.
But that’s not what happened. Instead the commentators decided that playing fart sounds over the match would be better than enjoying what was happening on-screen.
The fighting game community has a problem with respecting playstyles or matchups they don’t find legitimate or exciting. This mentality most often rears its ugly head when a zoning character — that is, a character who relies on heavy fireball usage and hit-and-run tactics — sets the tone of a match, because it often means spectators are in for a slow fight with little engagement. F.A.N.G might not be a pure keep-away character, but his kit encourages enough of those tactics to make him a groan-worthy sight for some fighting game players.
This behaviour didn’t sit well with FGC Jesus, who swore off the subreddit’s tournaments after listening to the fart-filled commentary live during the match.
“I don’t like being treated that way,” FGC Jesus wrote on Twitter. “I’m not any different than anyone else who works hard in this game. Sorry my character is annoying to play and you don’t know how he works. But like, I made it to winners finals. I was proud of myself. I get that it was a joke and stuff. I forgive you guys, I just legitimately got hit where it hurts in my feelings.”
r/StreetFighter organiser Joe Munday immediately reached out to FGC Jesus and apologised publicly, saying that the decisions made during commentary were his and acknowledging that both players were treated disrespectfully.
I’ve always loved that the fighting game community doesn’t take things too seriously. We’re playing video games, after all, so why mimic sports to such a degree that everything is sanitised? But sometimes a joke can be taken a little too far and end up discouraging someone who deserves recognition. I’m happy that, in this instance at least, folks were willing to examine their inappropriate flatulence and apologise for making a fellow player feel less than.
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