Monday Tip-Off: A Webmaster Looks At Forty
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on my 23rd anniversary as NLSC webmaster, with the age of forty looming on the horizon.
Today marks 23 years since I took over running the NLSC! I feel like I say it on every anniversary, but it’s been an extremely fun and interesting ride with its fair share of ups and downs. There have been some unpleasant moments and challenging times, but at the end of the day, I’m glad that I accepted Tim’s offer to take the reins. While there are some things that I might’ve done differently given the benefit of hindsight, I’m proud of the work that I’ve done, grateful for the friendships I’ve made, and awed by some of the opportunities that I’ve had. I’ll never regret taking the gig!
With that being said, 23 years is a long time to do anything, especially an online endeavour such as running a website. I didn’t create the NLSC, but at this point, I’ve been maintaining it for about four times as long as our founders! Of course, neither I nor the site would be here without the work of the original NLSC trio, so I’ll always give them credit for tipping things off way back in 1996. To that point though, unless you’ve been around since the black background days, you may not be aware of that era! Along with turning forty in about six weeks’ time, it only further emphasises just how long I’ve been the NLSC’s webmaster, and how quickly the years have gone by.
Although there are things that undoubtedly give me away as an Elder Millennial – especially my opinions on basketball and basketball gaming – it may still be surprising to hear that I’m only just now turning forty when I’ve been webmaster of the NLSC for 23 years. I’m sure that I don’t need to do the maths for you, but I took over the site about six weeks before my seventeenth birthday. As such, like an NBA player that made the leap out of high school, my tenure as webmaster has been able to reach two decades and counting before the age of forty. Then again, back in the early days of the site, many of us tried to be coy about our age, not wanting to be dismissed as kids.
I don’t want this to be a maudlin occasion. It’s a milestone worth celebrating, and forty isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things. Indeed, even when I do hit the big four-oh, I’ll still be younger than the oldest players in NBA history; at least for a few more years! However, with another milestone birthday on the horizon – one that’s frequently classified as officially middle-aged, no less – I do find myself feeling reflective (more so than usual, anyway). I’ve often said that I don’t know how long I’ll run the NLSC for, except to say that I’ll continue to do so as long as I’m capable of it and it remains fun. I am still capable and it is still fun, so this is by no means a retirement speech!
All the same, when I reflect on 23 years as webmaster of the NLSC and turning forty, I do wonder where this journey will take me. There have been a few times when I could’ve walked away, from an incident with some Forum members rebelling that was rather stressful, to strongly considering joining the NBA Live development team back in 2008. When we had to find a new host in 2016 and I wasn’t sure if I was willing or able to assume financial responsibility – our previous host had generously given us a free home in exchange for advertising space – I thought that things might be coming to an end. Fortunately they didn’t, and I’m glad that both the site and I are still around.
One thing that I’ve learned in 23 years as NLSC webmaster, and also in reaching the precipice of forty, is that you don’t let age dictate these matters. The notion that you must give up on video games or content creation as an adult is something that Dee and I have repeatedly pushed back on in several episodes of the NLSC Podcast. As long as you’re taking care of your responsibilities and it’s not impacting your quality of life, there’s no rule that gaming can’t be a life-long way to unwind and also be creative. A popular quote from C.S. Lewis comes to mind: “When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up”.
It’s all too easy to fall into the mindset of “Well, I’m grown up now. I need to give up on these hobbies and interests, because they’re not adult enough”. I can attest to that! When I finished high school, I forced myself to stop watching professional wrestling, believing that it was the grown up thing to do. 22 years later, it’s enjoyable escapism, not to mention a way to connect with friends and have a fun night out taking in a local show! Burnout ultimately ended my NBA Live roster updates, but I’ll admit that as I was approaching thirty in 2014, I did ask myself whether I still wanted to be making mods at that age. Ten years later, I’m considering modding ideas for old favourites!
And so, turning forty has no bearing on my future as NLSC webmaster, or hitting the virtual hardwood in general for that matter. Of course, I need to balance that court time with work and other obligations, and the kind of content that I’m most interested in creating is probably not always going to be blessed by the algorithm. That’s OK, though. I’d rather create what interests me, and a loyal audience of fellow basketball gamers. Fun as it might be if this were my full-time gig rather than a creative outlet, achieving that would most likely involve creating content that I can’t be passionate about, even if it’d be more successful in terms of clicks, video views, and viral reach.
Passion is essential. I wouldn’t still be doing what I’m doing with the NLSC 23 years later if I didn’t enjoy basketball video games, and creating content for and about them. Breaking out of a rut has once again allowed me to really enjoy my time with various games, and I hope that’s always obvious in my articles, videos, and commentary on our podcast. I’ve established the original content that I always wanted to do – what Tim and I talked about when he handed the site over to me back in 2001 – covering topics that I truly care about. Over the years, I’d like to think that I’ve matured as a writer, honing and evolving my style, and getting more creative in the topics I cover.
To that end, there’s still much to talk about! There are games that I still need and want to cover for Wayback Wednesday, as well as other nostalgic topics. I want to continue advocating for my fellow gamers, helping to put issues into words that we can all use when we have the opportunity to provide feedback. Dee and I are proud to bring you a weekly show about basketball and basketball gaming, one that involves community participation and will always provide honest analysis. The fun isn’t going to stop just because I’m turning forty, and certainly not because some jaded older person believes that gaming is childish, or some kid believes that no one over thirty knows anything!
Something that I’ve grown to care much less about is the ability to break news, or have exclusive scoops and interviews. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not against it, and I do make a point of posting the news, especially during the preview season. However, times have changed as far as getting and maintaining access. Fansites are looked upon as old hat now, but beyond that, anyone who is critical or provides feedback that the developers aren’t interested in is prone to being blacklisted. It’s unfortunate, because the community programs at EA and 2K used to be so much friendlier and better. Still, I’d rather forego those perks and access if it means shilling and being disingenuous.
There was a time when it would’ve bothered me more, of course. When the old guard began getting the cold shoulder from a fairly newly-installed NBA Live community manager, it did sting. When a couple of people I’d met at the last community event I attended got gigs at EA Sports and joined in that shunning – knowing very well what it was like to be in my position – that hurt, too. In hindsight, it was a clear sign of the direction the relationship between content creators and video game companies was headed. As long as that’s the game that has to be played to get access, I’d rather stick to original content that’s honest, interesting, and something that I can take pride in.
Also, while I’ll always be critical when it’s warranted, I ultimately want it to come from a love of basketball gaming, and real hoops as well. There’s nothing worse in an online community or content creation than the jaded person who’s lost their passion and interest. They’re the creators who are always scathingly negative, never pivoting to a topic they enjoy. They’re the veteran members who will waft in like a bad smell to ruin the vibe of a community they’ve mostly moved on from. They’re the folks that only post snarky attempts at humour, and never seem to like anything. I may have a few Grumpy Old Man tendencies, but I never want to be that jaded and miserable!
Granted, a smidge of cynicism – and certainly scepticism – is inevitable with age. The preview season will probably never be as exciting for me as it once was, until such time as we have competition back in the space. Still, I’m interested in seeing what new games are like, and hope that I’ll enjoy them. If not, well, there’s no question that there are plenty of ways to have fun with and create content about our old favourites! At the end of the day though, I always want the NLSC to be a place that basketball gamers can enjoy, with resources that enhance their time on the virtual hardwood. It’s what our founders did, and it set an example that I’ve strived to follow these last 23 years.
You never know what the future will bring. In 2001, I couldn’t have envisioned still running the NLSC in 2024; just trying to imagine such a futuristic year was difficult enough! At the same time, outside of a couple of rough patches where I considered it, I’ve never truly envisioned stepping away from the NLSC, either. Therefore, as I mark 23 years as webmaster and look ahead to turning forty, I won’t make any declarations except to say once again that as long as I’m capable of running the site and enjoying myself, I’ll keep doing it. Thank you to everyone who’s been a part of this journey so far! However long it lasts, here’s to having even more fun on the virtual hardwood!
(And yes, the title of this column is a reference to a Jimmy Buffett song that hits a little different than the first time I heard it as a teenager, all those years ago.)
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