TSM’s WildTurtle hits the century mark for the first time in League’s North American History. With this huge accomplishment under his belt, I wanted to find out more about the Man, the Myth, the Turtle. Jason WildTurtle Tran is 22 hailing from our neighbors to the North.  Just by looking at that friendly smile, you know he’s a warm blooded Canadian. Currently he’s the starting Attack Damage Carry for Team Solo Mid, in what looks to be a glorious return from a year abroad.

That’s great, but I want to know about Jason WildTurtle Tran.  What’s his story? What does he do for fun? What does the future hold? OK. He might not be able to answer that last one.  But my point is I want to know about him as a person not just what he does as an ADC. The stats from his League career caught my interest, and that lead mean to research him as a person. But as much as I wanted to learn, I could only scratch the surface oh my new found hero.

Think about your favorite traditional sports stars, these guys get to tell their stories. For example, I ‘ve heard about Kevin Durant’s childhood, and I still see his mom being interviewed on his behalf. That might be taking it too far, I have no need to be introduced to Jason’s mom.  But I would love hear about hobbies, or what he does for an escape, since video games are used as an escape from so many people. What was high school life like for him? We all know the story of the high school jock, so is this that story again with a modern day twist, or is this the story of the kid who went from a zero to a hero.

The coverage for e sports is incredible, the announcers never miss a beat, and the camera men know exactly how to capture each intense moment. But no one is taking the time to personalize it.  I want a little more information about the starters on each team, the game stats are great, but I would love to get to hear their personal story.

Let’s spend some time and get to know our e heroes, who go into battle with twitch movement so quick it seems automated and who put their virtual lives on the line every day. Let’s stand up and give back in the most minimal way possible, let’s learn about them as people and root for them not only because they’re great at the game we love, but because we can connect with them on a personal level.

Flickr / Photo by coniferconifer.