Britannia Rules: Birmingham Salvo, e-mythology and The Arrogance Factor

(GotFrag) - Only a lunatic in the grip of foaming dog fever would try and deny that Birmingham Salvo are, right now, the best CS:S team in the UK and - if CGS hype is to be believed - the world. They have been riding the crest of an all sweeping wave for some time now and have only lost a handful of games in competitions when they have been too casual in their approach. I hate to cling to the side of any overcrowded bandwagon like I'm riding an Indian train, but the facts speak for themselves.

For any Source fan it is a problematic love affair... They have put UK teams back on the map by sending out shock waves that have even reverberated in the US, but their 1.6 background also invites the same old arguments about where the skill lies. This is OK though as it fuels interest and keeps hack journalists like myself in work. Three cheers for them then. Let people speculate as to what their secret is, let people add to the mythology of a squad that will be deified in the same way the great fnatic squad was. Such adoration leads to emulation and that can only serve to strengthen the UK scene as a whole.

That's the theory anyway and as quick as it takes a pub bore to say "communism works... In theory" you can look at the current state of the UK teams being fed the scraps from the Salvo table and see that the knock on effect has yet to arrive. The players with the ability, the reputations and the potential to be the "next big thing" all seem to have got stuck in a loop, serially failing at events and wilting in the glare of the big occasion. This problem stems from the misunderstanding that Salvo don't work at it, that with enough knowledge the rest will click against lesser players. Salvo are happy for this myth to spread and play up to it with their cocky demeanor and theatrics. Much was made, as way of an example, of their lack of headsets, talking and playing solitaire during their triumph at i-series. While there's an argument that this is disrespecting their opponents, it is key that you appreciate that this is all part of the show, that when a serious game comes along they sharpen their focus. It is also probably easy to forget they are good enough to brush aside most teams with such an approach. They are that good.

To believe that this sort of behavior is the secret of their success is as delusional as believing - chicken nuggets not withstanding - that Usain Bolt simply strolls up to events and smashes world records. This is the part we see, the part we appreciate... But the daily training, strict fitness regime, sacrifice of all other pursuits that defines a true champion makes for far less interesting viewing. The same is true of Salvo. Such mind games are simply the icing on a very large and multi tiered cake. They have taken no short cuts to get where they are and they continue to push themselves at events, away from the prying eyes of those who want to bask in their e-glory.

I have been on the circuit for a few years and like to lurk in the background when watching teams prepare. Marc Mangiacapra and I have had a war of words sometime ago but at i33 my respect for him soared and I finally realized why he is so important to the Salvo set-up. It was early doors, so early I hadn't even got to bed wandering around in the boozed up fog that descends every i-series. Marc had his team awake and practicing while spitting out motivational sound bites. He had also reserved special treatment for Louis "Red" Nyberg, who he had said was playing below par. They went on to win the event and Red was lauded as one of the players of the tournament. This was done without a sign of their manager Michael "ODEE" O'Dell. It was a rare display of discipline, hunger and togetherness from a UK side that happened without any need for supervision.

There are only a handful of those that can come close to the levels achieved by Salvo and approximately fifty percent of those make up London Mint. It is those outside of CGS that have the most to do. Yet currently their appreciation of Salvo hasn't lead to a spate of hard work to make that final push forward. Instead they seem to be content to wallow in arrogance that they do not have any right to exude. Some of these players have even taken to not playing between tournaments, safe in the knowledge that reputation and skills will carry them through against the bulk of their opponents. In the event they do lose to one of these teams, rather than congratulating them on a fine game, the loss is simply brushed off with two token excuses: The first being "We weren't trying" the other being "We simply couldn't legislate for them doing stupid things so it caught us off guard". In their minds it is their own excellence that has led to their defeat, which while it might seem preposterous when laid out in such simple terms, is the default mindset of the better UK players.

I've cut my teeth in management and have been constantly frustrated when I come across this attitude, simply because of what it leads to. The amount of times I have heard "you have to un-learn this game to play against the likes of these" when a group of players with big reputations are being outplayed by teams that don't necessarily boast a glorious history in the game, is beyond belief. Anyone not willing to try and win on the grounds that beating the opponents doesn't prove anything will never achieve anything other than a few notable victories that history will put down to flukes.

It is the rot at the heart of the UK that precipitates the instability it is famed for. When one player labors under the belief, that despite results and under-performance, they are doing everything right they look to lay the blame at the feet of their teammates and the inevitable roster shuffle follows. All too often the blame is laid at the feet of one player, which even if there is some element of truth to it, in a team game it is nigh on impossible for one player to be the sole reason for defeat. Anyone who follows the UK scene will know the notable examples; I don't need to name anybody. This piece itself will burn enough bridges and induce anger, but you have to ask yourself "Just how many bridges does a man need anyway?"

The worse part of it is that it has distorted and twisted the whole scene out of recognition. These players are given opportunities and then subsequently spurn them for reasons that are beyond comprehension. This prevents other teams and players being afforded those opportunities and makes sponsors think twice about getting involved in the first instance... I mean, why should they if players of that caliber can't consistently achieve? Straight economics. It looks like the best players are taken. And they are, but that doesn't mean that everyone else has to make it easy for them.

It also has created a totally artificial level of expectation from players. It should be widely accepted that anyone can have a bad game, even a bad tournament, and it is not a true reflection of their ability. It should also be commonly held, as it is true, that the measure of a top player is not that they don't play badly, it's just about how good they can play when they are having a bad game. But now, if you happen to play in one of these teams, you are defined by how you performed in your last game only. One bad game at a tournament sees the player back to square one, while the people that believe they set the standards are free to ruin another player off the assembly line.

This situation affects the level of exposure that teams that perform above expectation receive. At i34 two teams absolutely blasted through the opposition and beat their seeds by quite a margin. Yet after a brief flurry of attention, things quickly dissipated. Their performances are quickly being accepted as over-achievement, luck and the result of catching better teams on a bad day. It's a spate of propaganda that detracts from players that deserve their day in the sun as well as support and encouragement to take it to the next level. Instead the more mundane things are likely to take over their day-to-day, reducing how much time they can practice. The only way a team can grow is if they are willing to stay together through thick and thin, no matter how long it takes to click. Every time new personnel come in the progress bar resets itself. No matter how many times this is said - and let's face it, it is a glib statement and is often repeated, a lot of the time by the same people who choose to ignore it - people still adopt the "kick a player, fix a problem" approach. Sometimes it even works in the short term, the boost in individual skill papering over the cracks in teamwork and communication. But ultimately the team has to be greater than the sum of its parts and that only comes with time. When three months equates to a year in CS:S terms (both in how often the big events come around and the average life span of a team) time seems to be the one thing no one is willing to put into something. Speed freaks display more patience than your average CS:S player...

Salvo are the benchmark and no one gets to say that unless the vast majority of their time is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. While players think it is merely enough to adopt their outward behaviors and none of their work rate, they are going to remain eclipsed by the current giants of the game. Part time players do not get full time rewards. UK players are just simply too keen to try and carve out individual reputations, but an individual has never won a team event. In any pursuit there is no substitute for hard work; chasing pack take note and re-prioritize. Until that happens, Birmingham Salvo will be the jewel in a very rusty British crown.