Starship hook "It ain't over till it's over."

I've been enjoying league since I bought the original box release at my old local best buy. Since then I have migrated from the rift to dominion and I currently play exclusively on ARAM, I can competently play around 140 champions and I excel at a few dozen. I'd be embarrassed to know how many thousands of games I have played at this point, It's an addiction for me, I LOVE league...

That being said, we all have things that stick in our craw...

One in particular I'd love to discuss, instead of just stewing in my head about, is players that quit prematurely. We've all been there for sure. We all have some sense of when a game is heading south. As the number of our played games grows we fine tune that ability to sense the ebb and flow of a regular game and when its assuredly hopeless. A good amount of players at this point set up a surrender vote.

**My supposition is that surrendering is always wrong. **

That is a lot to take into account. In no particular order and without concern of being authoritative

1. Different champions have there own unique power curves. Some champions peak early, some late, power spikes are laced throughout this process. Knowing how 10 different champions power levels will interact with each other over the course of a game in load screens or retrospect is a daunting prospect, much less in real time. That being said I am astounded by the large percentage of players that will attempt a surrender vote as soon as its an available option in a game where they feel like they are on the losing side, regardless of the fact that half their team is still ramping up in combat potential. If confronted about this most players will understandably be rather defensive of their choice, making rather succinct arguments such as "shut up, f%*k you nub."

2. There is a psychology to winning. I suspect most people know this intuitively. God knows I learned this experientially playing sports when I was younger. The notion has only been reinforced since that time. SImply put, feeling like you are losing and "knowing" you're going to lose are two different mindsets, that can lock you into two very different outcomes.

3. Losing can be demoralizing, its sucks, it is painful... and there are few things as instructive in life as pain. Pain is informative, life altering, its shapes us, guides us. Pain with the right dose of mentoring or tempered examination will sharpen us, hone our skills, refine our styles. Avoiding that game loss to save 5-10 minutes on a game that "we can't win," or playing as if its already occurred, throws away a real and substantial opportunity that over time adds up and creates among other things, an "I quit when the going gets tough" attitude.

4. If comebacks were the norm, everyone would wait for theirs. Fostering a never die attitude, makes us a force to be reckoned with, a player that can turn the tide, surprise an over confident team, slow an encroaching enemy and turn the momentum. Winning happens in the mind then the field. If you hit the quit button, then you've decided it's not worth playing further, time to start a fresh game with a fresh team. You've given up before you've lost. You've decided to lose. There's a strong chance it will happen anyways, but you'll be just a little bit better for sticking it out, for tempering your ability to handle it with grace, you'll tilt less, you'll start to foster an I don't quit attitude and it will affect gameplay... AND it will affect your teammates gameplay as well. Not to mention the elation we get from a down and out comeback.

A Kenny Rogers Song I enjoy "The Gambler," proffers this advice "you gotta know when to hold, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, and know when to run... Every gambler knows that the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep, cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser..."

Those lyrics may sound ambiguous to some in light of my previous comments, but it's about the long view. You'll have tough games where your have to hug towers, hide in bushes, use the minions like the pawns they are, and perform strategic retreats covering your allies most of the game. But if your patient and endure, there are many times an unseen window of opportunity that will arise, and If you wait for it, even the worm will turn.

Don't hit that surrender button