Its only a game, so put up a real big fight.

Tomorrow I am going to a local doubles tournament and for the first time I am aware of, the prizes will be cold hard cash. I really don't know how to take this, is it a good thing or is it the route of all evil? We are all aware of "Nerd Rage" a week does not go by when there is a thread of some sort on the myriad of forums, that incites an unnecessary or angry response. Why is this? As gamers we are an intelligent and artistic bunch and interaction with other people isn't just an optional extra, so why do some of us resort to anger? Is it because we are intelligent and artistic, that we are more emotional? Is it because we become so immersed in our own particular wargame that we become the Space Marine or Werhmacht Infantryman? Maybe that is the answer but how is that relevant to the interwebs? When you are a million miles from the original poster perhaps you dont need inhibitions, I know I dont, I quite happily argue my way through a thread, I will slate other peoples decisions and wherever possible I will troll other users to the end. Yet I don't succumb to "Nerd Rage". Some people blame it on the 'Big' questions such as, Did Han fire first? (I know the answer) or Which is better Star Wars or Star Trek? Others blame it on the actions of the manufacturers (as that is what they are), maybe because they increase prices, maybe because they change rules, who knows? The question still remains will tomorrow bring out the "Nerd Rage" in people when they realise there is cold hard cash up for grabs. Only tomorrow will tell and no matter what tommorow brings I will take it as it comes, as we all know it is only a game.

Why do I game

15 years ago a friend introduced me to the world of WH40k and I was hooked. Maybe it was because I was dragged up in a world of Asimov and Tolkien, but the idea of a world where, rayguns and aliens could be acted out on a tabletop was to much to refuse as well as seeming cool. (At the time.) My parents refused to support my chosen hobby so I funded it alone, maybe that is why I am the gamer I am today.
 But back to the original topic. Why do I game? I have always seen it as a sociable hobby, a hobby where interaction with other people is paramount and a hobby that is artistic and requires a certain amount of intelligence.Yet it is always the social part that springs foremost in my mind, I go to my local club to game against other people, I go to tournaments to play strangers and always it is sociable, not always freindly but always sociable.However as I have grown up I have found that whenever I game alcohol seems to play an increasingly more important part, culminating in the recent ETC where drinking seemed to start well before the first game, yet seemed to continue well after. Maybe it is an age thing but nowadays drinking is as much a part of  gaming as rolling dice, perhaps I could be just sat in a pub yet it is still all sociable and maybe thats the point.