I’ve been a part of the OU ECCI News Team since my sophomore year of undergrad, but I’ve never felt more connected to the rest of OU Esports before this year.
Becoming the News Coordinator has opened my eyes to how diverse the titles in OU Esports are, from gameplay type to the people who play them. As a part-time caster, I’ve got experience with how the Marvel Rivals team plays and interacts with each other outside of the game.
The League of Legends team has a completely different dynamic, and it was an incredible one to witness during my time with them at the Mizzou League of Legends LAN this past weekend.
The News team hasn’t been to an out-of-state LAN like this, and it’s been years since the last time we covered a gaming event in person. I’m incredibly thankful that the News team received enough donations from friends and family that myself and my fellow News Writer, Patrick Woodley, could take the trip out.
The LAN wasn’t about me or Patrick, though. It was about the League of Legends team and what they could show off.
While we didn’t take home the championship, the League team took home valuable lessons that they can use to improve their play for the rest of the fall season and beyond.
The League team would have gone to the LAN regardless, but they wouldn’t have had as many eyes on them without the News team there. Reporting on what our esports teams do and shining a spotlight on them is the most important part of being a journalist for this organization.
I’ve never been more proud to be News Coordinator than when I was with the League team last weekend. I loved getting to know each of the team members and learning how they play League.
The coach, Brandon “PenguinArchitect” White, has a tough job keeping his team corralled, but he wouldn’t be the coach if he didn’t love League or OU. Players like Sean “odinsean” Ropp and Preston “GodComplex” Shepherd put in the work to improve and bring a sense of camaraderie to the team that I enjoyed seeing during the LAN weekend.
The team genuinely enjoys being around each other outside of matches (at least enough to survive a weekend in the same house) and gets up to shenanigans that bring White a little grief. Without that chemistry, though, working as a team in-game would be difficult, if not impossible.
I spoke at length with White and the team about League, and as someone who hadn’t watched much gameplay until now, I learned a lot about the game and gained an appreciation for it. I’ll definitely be tuning into their future streams to watch them kick butt.
It’s so easy to forget that there are player personalities behind the characters and gamertags we watch in-game, but that’s why telling their stories and sharing their experiences is so important. I’m glad I can support them and show others what makes OU unique.
Becoming so involved with making the News team stronger than ever made me lose sight of the fact that OU ECCI is made up of more than one group. Without our esports teams, I wouldn’t be here.
By learning about League of Legends, Marvel Rivals and our other titles, I’ve become more connected than ever to this community. I’m so happy I got to watch our team compete in Mizzou and grow as players, and I’m so proud of the League team.
If you’re interested in supporting the League of Legends team, watch their match streams on Thursday evenings on Twitch.
