My name is Jared (my twitter is a throwaway - hence the Kevin in my handle) and I live in Swansea in Wales, though I grew up in Bath. I am currently studying Computer Science at Swansea University full time, am the 6th of 7 siblings, and an uncle to 7 nieces and nephews. Pets wise, we have a Pig called Ginger, in my opinion the greatest pig in the world. We also have a lot of chickens, and three sheep, who are all far less happy to see me, and as such, don't get to have their pictures included.
I first got into LoL in Season 2 (late 2011) as one of my close friends at the time was spending a lot of time playing. He was a fan of a team called Moscow 5 - one of the biggest teams of the team, that disbanded in their prime due to a lack of funding - while I rooted for TSM. These days I rarely play the actual game, and most of my league content is in the competitive scene these days.
What the LoL community means to me is an interesting question. Most of my close friends stopped following the scene over the last 10ish years, usually due to either marriages or work, whereas I took a gap year (or 5) which means the only interactions I have are either in game or on the subreddit. In both cases, the kind of people you meet can be very diverse. I think because the game is so big, and played by so many different kinds of people, the variance in maturity can really show. Reddit somewhat eases this by having a sort of filter, but as with all social media it can form a hive mind very easily. To be honest, I usually mute when I get in a game, and I find myself spending less time on the reddit. That's not to say the whole community is bad - in fact I think its less toxic than people seem to think - again, possibly owing to the hivemind where one person hears how toxic the community is and then echoes it. Personally, I try to do what I can to make the atmosphere more welcoming, and to lighten the perception of the scene, though whether or not that is making a difference I don't know.
I think a big part of the community is how much they love the game, and how keen they are for other people to get involved too. Quite often you'll see a celebrity mention league, and their replies will be flooded with comments (something I think you've been on the receiving end of, as a pseudo celebrity) and that is one of the more predominant things I see in the community - love for the game, and a hope of seeing it continue to grow.
The majority of my spare time is spent with Uni work to be honest, although I do play some instruments and watch more than my fair share of films. I also have a father who is unwell, so the rest of the time is spent with him.
A massive thank you to Jared, or @KevinRe37539484, as he is known on Twitter. Some of you may have seen his interactions with me, he has taken a lot of time to explain the basics of the game to me. He also has a big pig - WHAT A GUY!
Love LeicesterLadyPerkz
If he has that pig and does not main Sejuani, what is he even doing? Good article Emily!