Sportsmanship in Magic

Claim: There is little to no sportsmanship in competitive Magic.
Claim: This is bad.

I used to think I was a good sport. In high school and my first year of college, the only time I got to play Magic competitively was at FNM and weekly tournaments, I didn't have the heart or the means to start PTQ'ing to the extent that I do now. I had a habit of shaking hands at the end of every match. I guess people at my store thought I was a class act, since I wasn't that good. (All Fun 'N Games in Apex, NC and Phantom of the Attic in Pittsburgh, PA for the random plug/Google hit.)

Then one FNM in college, I'm playing this guy from a group of friends from the dorm I lived in. I didn't particularly like this group because they were weird and just wasn't my kind of crowd, and I guess they didn't like me either because a friend who was invited to draft brought me along and I played the role of the ringer. Nonetheless, I'd like to think I was still respectful at the table. Anyway, it's Constructed and he's playing a Stuffy Doll-burn deck (before Skred), and I'm playing Dragonstorm. Game 3 he basically gets manascrewed and I get there. I extended my hand, and he gives me an absolute stink eye. "It's not fun to get manascrewed!"

To me, I offered the handshake gesture to thank him for playing the games of Magic with me, because I really like playing Magic, so I was offended. It wasn't like I just typed in "GG" before the winning play. But whatever, I don't like offending people, so from then on, I never offered my hand after a win but only after losses.

But there are people that don't even do this! They just acknowledge the end of the game, sign the slip, and leave. Maybe they think they didn't deserve this? Of course they deserved it! Either A) You made mistakes to cost you the game, or B) their draw was supposed to beat your draw, regardless of whether they made mistakes or not. Sure, people don't like losing to worse players or people who make mistakes, but it happens, and Magic will never change to the point where this cannot happen. Now I can understand at an FNM or friendly draft not extending the hand if the stakes are not particularly important, but at a PTQ or GP against strangers, for god's sake, offer your hand when you lose at least!

Another thing I hate is people complaining way too much about games they lose. I don't know that anyone likes listening to people complain about things as petty as Magic cards. So don't complain about bad draws or bad plays your opponent makes. The worst I've heard:

- After a game I played in a tournament that I won, my opponent turns to his friend next to him and says "I love it when my opponent still wins after he misplays." Apparently I didn't deserve this win, but I obviously did since my draw was so good. I got lucky? Sure, but that's why we shuffle the cards.
- I beat someone in a draft who got flooded. Sorry bud, I've been there. He went on about how his deck has so much removal, and even later on, he fans his deck out and shows me all the removal in his deck that would have ruined me. I get it, you flooded. But again, my draw was supposed to beat your draw that game. It would have been more injustice for me not to win that game with that draw.
- We went back and laughed this situation off in recounting, but a player in a Limited PTQ lost a match but decided to berate his opponent and tell him "You do not deserve this win." Honestly, if someone said this to me, my hand's going up for the head judge and I'm going to ask him why I should have to endure this kind of verbal abuse, especially when the match is over? If this isn't unsportsmanlike conduct, what is?

There are some things to be said for tilting your opponent in match, and there are some tactics for tilting that I don't think are very sportsmanlike than should be ruled as such. Magic should be about casting spells, attacking and blocking, and tight technical, not about being surly and witty. If I were a level 80 DCI judge, I'd make an effort to raise the level of sportsmanship in Magic, because I'm not particularly happy with it.

The best Magic compliment I've received wasn't for any kind of tight technically play, and I don't think I'll ever receive a comment for tight play that will top this one. In college I was back home at All Fun 'N Games drafting, and I played against a guy I played once back when I was in high school. When I first played him, he was a new player and wasn't very good, and I can remember him mulliganing to 6 being very upset, mulliganing to 5 being very upset, and looking at his 4 and just deciding to go on to Game 2. I just thought he was bad.

Fast forward to now, and he's gotten much better to the point of competency. We go to Game 3 and I'm mana screwed and he wins. After I shake his hand, he does the whole "Sorry about that" thing, and I tell him the obligatory "It happens". He then tells me that he was impressed with my composure and how years ago and maybe even then he would have thrown a hissy fit in the same situation, but that I was able to brush it off as part of the game.

Best. Magic compliment. Ever.