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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Who's the most unlikely WoW player you've met?
by Phil Babby 
Jan 7th 2011 at 8:00AM
I first started playing WoW during the open beta right before launch. It was my freshman year at college, and I had eagerly awaited its release since reading a magazine article almost two years before, as I had been playing since the first Warcraft RTS game. While I was excited like a 6-year-old bound for Disneyland, however, very few of the people I knew even knew of the game's existence.
A few weeks after release, I came into my dorm room, which I shared with an international student from Malaysia. Although we were both computer science majors, the cultural and language barriers had yet to really be broken. Surprisingly, when I walked in, I noticed him at his computer, riding through Desolace on a human mage. While I was, am, and always will be a Hordie, WoW managed to break the ice for us.
A few years later, I was working at a pizza shop full of non-gamers. One of the guys working there, a mohawk-sporting gearhead, just so happened to be another fellow WoW player (albeit another Alliance). Shortly after returning to the game late last year, I was working with a person who was on work release from prison. While I was giving him a ride back to the jail one day, he revealed that he couldn't wait to be finished with his sentence so he could try out ToC, which had just dropped at the time. Even more exciting, he was another Horde player.
I've met some unlikely WoW players in real life, and it's made me some unexpected new friends. What about you? Tell us about some of the most unlikely WoW players you've met in your real life.
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 7)
Danzing Jan 7th 2011 9:17AM
I studied abroad in Greece 2 summers ago and there was this girl from Yale who came with us. She was very social and outgoing. I don't quite remember how I found out she played wow but I remember talking to her about warcraft lore and about the new Arthus book that came out. She told me she played an alliance mage and I was happy at the time since all the other irl players I met were Horde.
My roommate, without meeting him, played a tauren shammy. I played alliance at the time so there were some friendly rivalry between us. We also got our third roommate to start playing. At first, he made fun of us for our geekyness but he eventually joined in and played an undead rogue!
Nina Katarina Jan 7th 2011 9:25AM
We have two college professors in our guild - one in tax law and the other in Afro-American studies. They both have lots of alts but primarily play mages.
raisttlin Jan 7th 2011 9:30AM
I was on my work and received an sms, i have the "For the horde" ringtone. That day i forgot to put my phone on silence mode.
My big boss was so surprised and just said... "I'm gonna raise your salary FOR THE HORDE".
He wasn't kidding, next month i signed a new contract, was unbelievable :D
Ametrine Jan 7th 2011 11:37AM
Where do you work? I want a job there.
Rylka Jan 7th 2011 9:31AM
The air conditioning repair technician visiting our school caught me doing dailies during my lunch break and asked me what server I played on. Every time he comes by to service the units now we chat about WOW.
Flashdim Jan 7th 2011 9:34AM
My mother in-law: a Doctor of Marketing at Western Kentucky University.
Krethan Jan 9th 2011 3:57PM
!
I go to WKU. Which professor?
Darkprophet Jan 7th 2011 9:34AM
I work for a life insurance company and I have come across about a half a dozen of our agents who play. Some Horde, some Alliance. Not exactly the demographic I was expecting. Especially with ages ranging from mid-20's through 50's.
lazymangaka Jan 7th 2011 9:38AM
when I got stationed at my first air force base as an air traffic controller, I was amazed to find out that half of the crew I was assigned to was part of a high end raiding guild. I instantly felt right at home.
nancy Jan 7th 2011 9:39AM
This gal http://www.starrfuentes.com Starr Fuentes a personal friend and 72 year old world renowned healer and psychic. She kicks butt too in raids. Plays several hours a day.
gamerunknown Jan 7th 2011 9:40AM
One of my old guildies is currently in jail for robbing a pharmacy. Feel sorry for the guy.
shomechely Jan 7th 2011 9:49AM
Let's see...my 70+ year old Uncle who is a retired math/physics professor is probably the most surprising to me, but I am always fascinated to learn what my guildies and online friends do in their RL.
Mofogo Jan 7th 2011 9:47AM
I would say my high school trigonometry teacher. Mind you, I'm in high school, and this lady had taught my dad some 20 years ahead of that. Not only that but she was a country woman who we once bought a goat from. Anyways, at the time I hadn't ever played WoW but knew about it and she is just chatting with me and a friend in class talking about how she had to quit after summer break because the 7 hour raids a couple nights a week were just too much. She also played neverwinter and everquest.
Parrin Jan 7th 2011 9:54AM
My senior manager was the biggest shock. He’s 6’6” and played tight end in college. When my former manager started telling her team about this game that her sister introduced her to, we found out that another one of my teammates, and our senior manager played, also. When you find out your direct report, in addition to her direct report, plays a multiplayer game, you feel a little encouraged to try it out.
Amy Schley Jan 7th 2011 10:02AM
"Professor, I'm wanting to write my law school thesis on this thing called 'gold farming.' It's a big problem in this online game called 'World of Warcraft' ...."
"I have a level 70 Tauren shammy. What exactly were you thinking of doing with the paper?"
TheMedicine Jan 7th 2011 10:04AM
One of our guildies is 78m (ago, not level)... he isnt playing at the moment, he's been sick whole christmas and WoW would be too stressing now that he is still recovering, but he is returning very soon.
He ain't good at gaming (not neccesarily ''bad''), but he is very social & polite!
(sorry for my ''awesome'' spelling)
Tyr Jan 7th 2011 10:04AM
I recently found out one of my old guildies I used to do everything with (dungeons, pvp, alt leveling, etc.) is a radio star in his country. I knew he had a very pleasing voice on vent, but I would've never guessed he used it professionally until I met him at a guild meet a few months ago. :)
rice2007 Jan 7th 2011 10:14AM
I joined the marine corps and went to mos school. So many lan parties were held in the building and I saw how big of closet nerds marines really are.
So many marines have a nerdy guilty confession.
MW Jan 7th 2011 10:28AM
All these comments are a tribute to how wonderful the game is. It appeals to people from all walks of life and all ages. Being 61with a tremor disorder, I appreciate how easy the controls are to use. I did some ICC raiding last expansion, and look forward to raiding in this one.
I think that the broad appeal of the game is due to the timeless story content. The characters wrestle with the same issues as Hamlet, Oedipus, Faust, King Arthur in the Once and Future King, Willie Loman, and Tony and Maria in West Side Story. We see Arthas who succumbs to the obsession for revenge, and Bolvar Fordragon who rises above his needs and sacrifices himself for others. And the nobility of Thrall and Cairne Bloodhoof are unmatched.
I'm going to be here for the next expansion, and the next, and the next...
For all these reasons, we will continue to find extraordinary people playing, because the game is itself extraordinary.
MW Jan 7th 2011 10:29AM
BTW, great topic. :)