Here's some stuff that I put together earlier on today. Not included Geth or Shadeys comments in yet.
Editting suggestions required please...
Full Clan Name:[grrr]
Founding date/year:The tags first appeared in 2005, but we only became recognised as a clan from 2006
Founder Names & Nicknames:Jonno “s3xy_j0nny” Wickwar and Gethyn “Megageth” Gilmore
Total Members:Currently about 18 – I can’t recall the exact number
History behind the clan - if there is anyI guess that the beginning is the place to start. GRRR was founded by J0nny and Mega as a means of showing people that they knew each other. As keen Battlefield 2 players, they often found themselves playing separately in squads on public servers, where their squad members would bad mouth their friend, unaware that they knew each other. They added the tag [grrr] in front of their names not so much as a clan tag, but rather as a way of letting the world know that they were mates. And that they didn’t appreciate it when their mate was accused of being a haxxing mutha****er or some such insult.
Imagine their surprise when, about a year later, someone approached them in-game, and said that of all the clans playing on the local servers, [grrr] was the one that most suited his personality. Astounded that they had actually received an application to join their band of misfits, they accepted the new member, Lawrence “gr@v1ty” McKelvin, and posted on the SGS forums that, after a year of rigorous screening, [grrr] had finally recruited their third member.
A flurry of member invitations and applications followed. Soon to join the clan were Lee “SlipperyDuck” Logan, Jarrod “Dragonne” McElhinney, and Mike “Flycatchr” Fletcher. All were identified as likeminded individuals, who enjoyed the social aspect of online gaming as much as the competitiveness of playing for a clan.
All was not sunshine and roses, however. The informal and easy to manipulate application policy had resulted in the acceptance of Paul “Candidate” DuPlessis, before it was realised by the general membership that he was, in fact, a chimp masquerading as a human being through shaving his palms and temporarily suppressing the urge to hurl dung at everyone he met. Once this catastrophic error in judgment had been realised, and with no recourse for removing Paul from the clan once he had been accepted, it was decided that a significantly more rigorous application process must be followed going forward.
Since that day, members are no longer invited to join the clan, they must first apply in writing on our forum. On application, the potential recruit is subjected to a period of interrogation by all existing clan members, where they are obligated to answer all sorts of questions, from the completely inane, to the downright incomprehensible (thanks again, Paul!!). Only after all members are satisfied that the applicant is a good fit, will they be granted entrance into the hallowed halls of [grrr].
Over the years, we have admitted a number of new members, and have lost a few too. The core of what is [grrr] however, has remained the same. We are a bunch of good friends that meet up on a daily basis to indulge ourselves in our favourite hobby – playing PC games, and enjoying each other’s company. Whether it’s a competitive Battlefield clannie, a psychopathic session of Worms, or some co-op Left 4 Dead or Titan Quest, we all agree; it’s far more fun gaming with close friends.
Games played:Originally founded as a BF2 clan, nowadays we dabble in all sorts of games and genres. We are more about being a group of online ‘family’ playing games together than being a hardcore competitive clan. That said, we do compete, currently being involved in the Bad Company 2 DoGaming league (although that has now concluded for this year)
Teams per game played:We only have one team enrolled in the DoGaming BC2 league. Due to the fact that we are an older bunch of gamers (most of us being in our thirties) it is difficult for us to commit to the rigorous plying schedules that the young ‘uns are able to manage – real life, after all, takes its toll. As nice as it would be if our spouses could rear our offspring without our input (particularly between 7pm and 1pm on weeknights and all day Sundays), this is not likely to happen any time soon!!
We have dabbled with competing in other leagues in the past, most notably Call of Duty (both COD4 and World at War). Despite our initial enthusiasm when founding a new team, we have found it difficult to sustain an interest in these games. At the end of the day, Battlefield 2 was the first love for all of us, and we tend to gravitate towards the BF style of play. Having said that, we’re always on the lookout for something new to play, and if a competitive community springs up around it, we’re game to give it a go.
Management staff teams:[grrr] Management is a real challenge. One of the reasons why our clan works so well is that we are all a bunch of mature individuals. Unfortunately, with mature often comes being opinionated, set in your ways, and stubborn (not to mention the incontinence!!). Managing this group is much like herding cats.
As such, it was decided early on that clan leadership would be rotated between members, on an annual basis. Every year, prior to our annual rAge gathering, we vote in the next clan leader. The only stipulation is that the current leader is ineligible for consideration. Thus far, we’ve had five leaders elected:
2006/07 – Megageth
2007/08 – s3xy_j0nny
2008/09 – SlipperyDuck
2009/10 – Dragonne
2010/11 – Sheri “NiteShade” Buchner
The most recent election of NiteShade as clan leader is notable for two reasons. Firstly, as she is (as far as we know), the first female clan leader in South Africa, but also she has had to overcome the handicap of being American!! Something that she’s done extremely well so far J
Sponsors:[grrr] has flirted with sponsorship a few times over the years. This sponsorship has typically manifested itself as contributions towards our annual pilgrimage to the Mecca of South African gaming – rAge at the Dome. These sponsorships have never been large in terms of monetary value, and are most often supplied by employers, clients and or friends of clan members, or raised through contributions of the members themselves.
In 2010 however, we attempted something entirely more ambitious. We were approached by the publisher of a technology magazine, they were looking for a clan to represent their brand – a group that demonstrated an electronic lifestyle, rather than being ultimately competitive. This was an exciting prospect for us. The prospect was there for us to showcase our clan identity, through blogging, product launches, video making and general interactions with technology. Due to our age and demographic profiles, we slotted quite nicely into this magazine’s target market. It was a chance to change the perceptions of the public in South Africa about online gaming.
Unfortunately, after long discussion lasting several months, the magazine in question ceased production. It was a terrible letdown to us, after all of the effort that had been expended in attempting to take the [grrr] brand one step further.
As it stands now, all of the ideas that we had for showcasing a technology lifestyle within a gaming clan still exist. We’d love to talk with any content provider that has the foresight to recognise the potential that there is within such a brand.
Results from previous eventsAs previously mentioned, competitive results and achievements are not the primary focus of [grrr]. That said, we have still worked very hard to be as competitive as possible an any competition that we enter. Our bet results in the BF2 arena came in 2008, when we finished 2nd in the AGASA league, and 3rd in the rAge competition. Considering that the competitive BF2 community was entirely dominated by FiB for the last four years, coming second in the league was, to us, a tremendous achievement. Until that time, [grrr] had been seen as the party boys and girls of the community (and of course the coolest clan to be part of), but at this time other clans began to take us seriously as competitors.
Photos of various teams and members (logo included etc)Website address:www.grrr.co.za The name - how did you come up with it, does it have any particular meaning?The origin of the name [grrr] is simple. It’s the sounds we make when another player is consistently beating the snot out of us in-game. It could be because of bad luck, or the other player’s inherent l33tness. It could be that the other player is using illegal assistance to improve their performance, or it could be that our beloved wife, child, girlfriend, dog, cat, goldfish or pedigree Siberian hamster just jumped on us from behind causing us to miss that ultimate humiliation kill. Whatever the cause, the result is the same: GRRR!
Future idea's for the team/clan - where do you see the team/clan in:1 Jan 2011
1 Jan 2012
1 Jan 2013
Your outlook on your team and what you've achieved so far. Are you happy with this?[grrr] has developed a reputation amongst the BF community for being fun loving, sociable, competitive and a good bunch to hang out with. And this is exactly where we want to be. One of the best comments that is heard from various community members during and after rAge every year alludes to the fact that [grrr] are always there, and we’re always leading the party.
That's as far as I've got so far...
[/td]
