Intro:
So I will just preface this crazy and random post by saying that this is completely farfetched and I am not sure has ever even been broached in other similar competitive video game scenes, but, what if there was some kind of event organized where there was some kind of fighting tournament where anyone 18+ in the comp community willing to fly out would be able to participate?
Reasons it would be cool:
Again, I know this is pretty ridiculous, but, if it were to somehow happen, I imagine there would be lots of callouts, potential beefs that could be squashed, friends having fun etc.
In fact, as crazy as it sounds, it could even give some kind of publicity towards tf2 that it so desperately needs, as it could very well gain some level of online coverage in being marketed as one of if not the first video game fighting tournaments irl. There would be lots of memes, and definitely lots of people making fun of the amateur fighting, but I think a lot of people online would laugh at the "nerds" trying to fight, be surprised by anyone potentially able to put on a good show and so on.
The community being so close knit as it is, there could also be lots of great commentary provided as much if not all the details of the individual fighters would be well known by said commentators, like experience and personalities, which could even be accompanied throughout by certain guests such as players or perhaps even real fight analysts.
Fight structure:
It could be organized by weight and or age, have players of new and old able to participate, and it could even be something other than a tournament format.
Similar to how the UFC conducts their main events, it could perhaps be organized in a card format, presented in some kind of prelim and main event structure, where fighters could be placed on the card according to skill level as well as the level of hype a fight may receive that could have some aforementioned beef, or just have 2 very well known players etc.
Ufc Tangent:
The UFC has also experimented with other formats for their events in the past that have been very successful as well though, so not entirely sure on that but I would think either a card or tournament format would be the best way. The UFC for anyone unaware by the way is the premier fighting league in the world that has taken off especially in the last 2-3 years, basically considered the NBA/NFL for fighting/mixed martial arts.
Would this go viral (market analysis):
It could simply just be a boxing event instead of having to worry about any kind of rulesets or serious injuries, but I would just say whichever would go more viral. Although, I am not sure there is any real way to do a kind of market analysis in order to gauge whether either would be more successful than the other in the first place. Perhaps numbers could be pulled from recent boxing events featuring lower level online personalities, and any other similar fighting events of that caliber, which could help going into establishing how realistic the event even is or what to anticipate in other aspects.
Complication to running a fight event:
Obviously, there are a ton of factors, like instilling a ruleset, having a few judges and other employees or likely volunteers, proper equipment, and worst case scenario the possibility of having to officially sanction the whole thing as a fighting event, as it may not be so easy to just book a venue for an actual fighting event, which would then entail drug testing (for steroids/peds) and other major obstacles.
Hope/Cope/Inspiration/Doomer/Hope(pt. 2):
Despite the ridiculousness of this post, after seeing the savetf2 hashtag recently that I initially thought was just a troll, and personally finding myself coming back to comp after a second or third break of about 1-2 years, I really would just like to be able to organize or at least propose something unique in the tf2 comp scene that could be successful or at least fun and interesting. The current lans going on are great and all, but I would not say that they really have the ability to help grow the scene in a major way, and valve and steam are certainly not doing shit to support their game anymore either, but that's old news.
Best case scenario, it could take off and be a real major event that is covered on social media or other online forums that help out the game tremendously in terms of recognition and could even perhaps lead it further back in the direction of a real esport, worst case scenario it gains no traction at all, falls through and is probably seen as another example of the game being dead and toxic. But honestly, is there anything else going on in this game nowadays that makes you believe it will ever maybe one day have a sort of renaissance, or ever even be considered a respectable video game again let alone an esport?
After 15 years now of the game being out with mostly the same maps and formats, it is quite obvious the game has been going nowhere for a while, and I don't know, maybe people don't really care enough to do anything or are satisfied with the ways things are, but this would be something completely different and even a bit controversial, which is of course good for publicity. There hasn't even really been any major marketing for tf2 done in the past, the most significant thing I can recall in all my years being a commercial that aired for a short time on adultswim with robot chicken very late at night or some twitter posts I guess. Again, valve and steam have given up a while ago and it is really just on us as a community to help revive it, and this is far too great a game as I am sure we all agree to simply sit idly by and let rot away. I still believe tf2 has potential to be remarketed, and who knows, a unique and crazy event like this could be just what a crazy and unique game like this needs. I am sure there have been many attempts in the recent past to somehow reinvigorate the competitive scene or just the tf2 scene in general, but regardless, I am hoping this post/idea could lead to interest in a real, mostly funny but unique event happening that could help take the game take off again.
TLDR: tf2 fight lan, if u hate ur a pussy, pull up bitch