Name:
Jon Corley

Position:
Writer

About The Author
Jon Corley is a failed professional gamer who currently heads 3D.NY's Website Staff

It seems a new fad is sweeping the CGS by storm, no it's not bell-bottoms or pet rocks, rather it is sandbagging! What is sandbagging you might ask, well it's just as silly as the term used to describe it! Simply put, sandbagging is throwing matches in order to make your opponent look better. The term originated from poker slang, and is described as the act of playing your strong hand as weak in order to lure opponents into betting into a pot which they cannot win. In case you haven't figured out, I'm adamant about sportsmanship and am pretty disappointed over the matches being thrown or "sandbagged" if you prefer that term.

However, I'm not an unreasonable man and I entirely understand the strategy and reasoning behind this practice, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. Sandbagging in poker is good practice and by not doing so you are asking to lose money. However, sandbagging in the CGS is a whole different animal. By participating in this practice, GM's are not only toying with the emotions of their taxi players, but also with those of their fans. I for one am an advocate for believing that the fans deserve better treatment than this. CGS should not have to offer prize money in order to get franchises to play at their peak ability, they should naturally want to do well and try their damnedest. Not only is this disappointing as a viewer, I also think that it is potentially damaging to people who were already on the fence about the CGS. Why bother to watch a match if it is just two players who are mindlessly mashing buttons in order to get it over with.

Also, this seemingly senseless substitution of taxi players at times is getting out of hand. In theory, it seemed like an excellent idea, allow the GM's to try out their newly drafted players and if necessary call up a proven performer who got passed on in the draft. However, it is being exploited as nothing more than another way to sandbag by benching an obvious Season 2 starter and substituting in a taxi player who has no chance of making the final roster. Again, let me reiterate, I am not an unreasonable man. I can understand if someone needs to take a week off or GM's want to try out a new combination, but when teams superstars are being benched week in and week out, it is not only damaging the teams reputation, it is an act of poor sportsmanship.

Not only does sandbagging reduce the pre-season to nothing more than a necessity, it also doesn't give the fans a good representation of what they're seeing. Like any television show, CGS exists to please viewers and expand their audience. That being said, they should treat the pre-season as a means to attract new viewers and keep last season’s viewers interested and excited for Season 2. Although it is virtually impossible to determine when sandbagging is occurring and when it is not, there exist several relatively simple solutions to alleviate this quandary.

One recommendation of mine would be to make the preseason play a bigger role than it does. Currently it is being used as a tune-up of sorts for the franchises and let’s face it, they aren't taking it all that serious. CGS shouldn’t have to throw more money at these guys to make them play their hardest, they can motivate them in other more abstract ways. One suggestion of mine would be to make the preseason final placing the draft order for say Round 3 of next year’s draft. This would not only make teams play their hardest in hopes of improving their draft order, it would also punish those squads who think it necessary to sandbag. Another such suggestion would be to let teams who place well in the preseason select game order for their matches, picking which divisions play in which order. However, both these suggestions rely on the concept that GM’s would be doing their best to win the preseason, thus making taxi players all the more irrelevant than they already are. It is a double edged sword, by making the preseason count for something, you are making it nearly impossible for a GM to bench a player, only in the most dire of situations would a taxi player be called up.

All things considered, I consider sandbagging to be a poor show of sportsmanship by those who indulge themselves in this practice and thank those players who have played to the best of their ability during the first 3 weeks of the preseason. There is no easy solution, and maybe nothing is wrong with the preseason as it is and I’m just ranting, but nonetheless I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts and suggestions on the matter.