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Imagine if football players were ranked entirely based on the performance of their team

mrchipopo·4/6/2017, 4:02:14 PM·8 votes·1,600 views

They would quit, whine or riot every game, because their very livelihood was based not off their own merits, but that of a team that was only very minutely in their control. It would be chaos, and it would ridiculous to boot.

Obviously there are really terrible players on good football teams, and they make much less money than the very good players on terrible teams, because even in a team sport, a persons own skill is what matters.

So why are we content with leagues ranking that is based ENTIRELY, 100% off of the performance of an entire team? I get all the arguments why a good player can win games but does anyone really believe this to be a superior model? Does riot and the community really believe that the BEST way to rank someones skill is to rank the performance of their entire team alone?

**Furthermore, ranking people based off the performance of others is inherently frustrating ** How can you expect people not to get salty when game after game they know that the performance of 4 other people impacts their ranking more than their own performance?

This isn't a post to complain about ranking, it's a post to enquire why we're satisfied with a system that is flawed at best, and totally broken at worst. Surely, since every team sport in the world has a way of ranking players skill without undermining the team play itself, league can find a system to do the same.

The current system is tedious, nonsensical, and inherently frustrating, and the worst part, to me, is that nobody seems to think it's a problem at all.

Edit and right on queue, the downvotes happen with people saying "but football is different" and the classic line of "ranking personal skill is toxic and mean!!!!"

It's a flawed system that needs changing. Literally every single person I used to play this game with got tired of having to play 1000 games per season to offset having to put up with teams that don't want to win.

Yep... lets just pretend the ranking system used by literally no other team game/sport is the best model. I must just be the crazy person that doesn't see the light.

48 Comments

Maximum Morde4/6/2017, 4:05:31 PM11 votes

Imagine if football players only got a championship ring if their team won. Oh wait, that's exactly what happens.

Anonagon4/6/2017, 4:20:52 PM6 votes

to have rank somehow take into account personal performance will cause degenerate playstyles and uncooperative teammates

If I think the game is going to be a loss, why would I not take as many cs and kills away from the team as possible so that I get the best score? Why would I make a risky play that could turn the game when it could make me die and ruin my score? Why would I ever pick any tank or support when I can pick a snowball champ?

Football players can be judged as individuals specifically because they are part of a set team. When a player has to play with the same teammates week after week, they cannot afford to screw over the team for personal gain.

Lil Lewd Witch4/6/2017, 4:06:34 PM3 votes

Whats your alternative?

LyingOnLine4/6/2017, 5:04:05 PM3 votes

You're comparing pro football players to regular league players when the actual best comparison is to pro League players.

So you're stupid and your premise is bullshit.

Stevev454/6/2017, 4:35:26 PM2 votes

there are 1000's of pro football players with 10's of Millions on the line for ranking their individual performance correctly. Potentially 100's of Millions for some key positions. League by contrast has 10's of millions of players with maybe millions on the line for ranking individual performance correctly. That means you need a computer to do it, not human analysts. That means you have to write a performance assessing algorithm. Algorithms that assess performance only based on win/lose, rating difference, and rating uncertainty are attractive because they already exist (ie, almost free), and they are the most difficult to game.

One could imagine a very advanced A.I. "noticing" a skilled player on a losing team. But, that would be very difficult to implement well. Like you would need human geniuses in large quantities. So big money, low chance of working, low pay off.

byakugan1234/6/2017, 4:18:00 PM2 votes

i kind of agree, but lets say you had a great KDA like 17/0/5 as a top laner, but you never pressed your advantage to other lanes. You satyed in top lane the entire game and because of that, your team loses because you decided farm was more important. At the end of the game you say "gg ez noob team i cant carry."

Otherworldz4/6/2017, 6:28:07 PM2 votes

As much as I hate it truly deserving players in both football and league are able to carry their teams and their games. The only difference between the two is that you play with random people in solo queue, where as you have a constant team in football.

Tom Brady has carried the Patriots to countless superbowls despite changing rosters and teams. The only consistent thing around him has been Bill Belichick.

Another example is Allen Iverson who is one of the best pointguards in NBA history, and arguably on the level of someone like Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan in terms of skill. Yet Allen Iverson never won the NBA finals with any of his teams. Great player, just not great enough to propel his team to winning when it mattered the most.

Aptest4/6/2017, 5:53:59 PM1 votes

Football teams don't pay for losses. They will pay for a crowd favorite that sells tickets, but if the team loses, they start looking for people to replace.

And generally, they know if a player is contributing to the win, or stat padding.

Linna Excel4/6/2017, 6:06:33 PM1 votes

Actually, it's very tough inside of the locker room of teams with bad records. Just because people aren't always going public with it doesn't mean things are easy.

Dreampod4/6/2017, 7:57:06 PM1 votes

I too look forward to only getting to play League twice a week, at a pre-determined time, with my consistent team since we can't rate anyone without their team. Sounds fun!

Mizuki Zahra4/6/2017, 4:07:18 PM1 votes

not ranting but agreeing with u

I was in a flex game where we had 4 bronze and 1 silver and enemies had 4 bronze and 1 plat

he was plat in solo/duo but bronze in flex and not even he could carry that team

I guess in league you are only as good as your teammates/weakest player

Great Muta4/6/2017, 4:18:09 PM1 votes

Yep, never liked this games elo's system. Was Kobe suddenly less of a player because he lost all of his good teammates? No, but in the LOL system, he would have been demoted.

Dynamiku Entry4/6/2017, 4:31:14 PM1 votes

This. This is why ESports is not real. Video games are not sports. Gamers are not althetes. Because they are not held to the same standards as real competative sports. Encouraging the system to give every player a 50/50 win loss rate is bullshit. Its pandering so everyone feels useful and pays riot money.

MysterQ4/6/2017, 4:39:04 PM1 votes

Imagine if a 33% three point rating was good enough. Or an 80% free throw was considered great.

Then try to apply those standards to real life. Surgeon - I have a 33% chance of doing the surgery well. IT - Your internet will be up 80% of the time.

ZT Xperimentor4/6/2017, 4:41:27 PM1 votes

You mean football isn't ridiculous? They have several referees that can't remember the rules, lol.

Power Cosmic4/6/2017, 5:28:01 PM1 votes

If a player stands out on an underperforming sports team they can get transferred, traded, or sign with a better team. At the very least they will get paid a ton bc the public and league notices they play well. In LoL, good, consistent, perpetually far above average performance isn't respected, recognized, or even matters; it is your rank. For a good player, their rank is a product of how much weight or help they get on their team. In other competitive activities, if you are good, you are recognized as good, regardless of others or teams. This community values rank over everything, that is really what is frustrating; being good doesn't matter.

tl;dr - If you are the best silver player in NA, but eternally stuck there, you are undoubtedly an amazing high elo quality player. But to this community, you are just silver.