forum douchebag

Growing up is realizing the people who you at one time thought were cool are actually pathetic.

I was pretty poor growing up. I liked video games. Mostly had the old ones. There was a forum I would use. This guy was on there, kind of a smartass to everyone but I thought he was cool. He had a basement arcade, and he had a complete collection for the system I really liked and couldn't ever afford much for. I guess I wanted to one day have what he did.

Fast forward about two decades, I now realize how pathetic this guy must have been. He had to have been into his 30s or 40s, if not older, and he spent all of his time being a smartass while living on a forum. He showed off his basement arcade of like 10 machines (impressive at the time, not so much now given how many other jackasses have like a million games cramped into their homes) to people he didn't even know. Like anyone, in theory, couldn't have just bought what he did. He had like really common games too, something I didn't realize at the time. They all seemed rare to me, when this was in the days of arcades being dead in the US. Now with the renaissance of arcades, it's not really jaw dropping to see an old school Donkey Kong or Tron machine. Those were both very successful games mind you.

I can now afford arcade games, I don't own any because I think having more than one would come across as gaudy and showy. I've been replaying games for the system he had a complete collection for which reminded me of all of this.

The system in question really wasn't that high at the time. Most of the games were less than $50 each in the secondary market. To a broke ass kid it might as well have been a million dollars. To a grown man tho, especially one who clearly had disposable income, I'm just wondering now why he would have bragged in the first place? They really weren't THAT valuable, and why brag to begin with?

That guy hasn't been active anywhere in like over ten years. Probably honestly dead or in a nursing home if I had to guess. He had to have been around middle age, 20 years ago. I just think what a fucking loser he must have been.

In my adult life now, and I'm focused on just enjoying life and making the most of it. Showing the people I love that I care about them. Trying to enjoy my job. I'll buy a dumb little chotchke every now and then, but I don't brag about it. I like to think I'm humble.

Being able to have a stable life now for a change really diminished my interest in video games, and I've gotten rid of most of them. My point is, I'm not fixating on material things or boasting about it on the internet like this guy did. Which again, makes me think what a fucking loser he must have been.

At one time, when I was a kid, video games were my life and even then I wasn't greedy or an asshole like this guy. If I had to guess, he was probably some 80s rich kid who remained stuck in the past for the remainder of his life.

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Cameron Frye Other October 16, 2025 at 3:59 pm 0 0