Searching for lessons in the implosion of 38 Studios only brings Jake DiMare internal conflict and pain.
I’m a guy who cried into a bowl of popcorn, with a half-eaten English Muffin pizza hanging out of my mouth when the Red Sox blew it in ’86. After watching Curt Schilling bleed into his sock while pitching 7 innings in game 6 of the 2004 ALCS I remember having a couple of thoughts. First: The possibility the Red Sox might finally win a World Series was real. Second: Curt Schilling will never pay for a meal in this town again. Curt Schilling was a hero.
Sadly, it was not long before old Curt broke one of the biggest rules I have for heroes: Don’t be a hypocrite. At first, because of what the man did for Boston, I was able to ignore all of his conservative, political blather. I figured… Hey, he’s a hero. I guess he earned the spotlight and should be allowed to use it for whatever he wants. The same way I don’t get angry when Good Men like George Clooney speak out on the issues.
But then he accepted a 75 Million dollar loan, backed by the taxpayers of Rhode Island, and moved his young software company, 38 Studios, and its jobs, out of Massachusetts. To me, his actions proved he doesn’t really believe all the small government, free-market nonsense he’s spouting. To me, like his performance in 2004, his actions spoke much, much louder than his words.
Today we learned in the news, 38 Studios was unable to make payroll after trying to float a bad check past the state of Rhode Island… All under speculation of paying himself back with the loan money. Today, Curt broke another big rule I have for heroes: Don’t be a deadbeat.
The truth is, I honestly don’t believe Curt Schilling is a bad guy… More of a patsy really. You might even say, a ‘shill’. My image of Curt Schilling the hero has been completely destroyed. My most scathing criticism in this situation goes to whatever moron handed a baseball player 75 million dollars to run a software company in the first place. Next time someone tries to sell the public on such a ridiculous idea, here are some words of wisdom from a 15-year software veteran: There’s a reason why they call us nerds… And them jocks.
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Being both a gamer and a Sox fan, I was interested in his game, the Knights of Whatever (Alamur? I think that’s what it was?). He was apparently a huge MMO fan, and wanted to make a video game himself. I thought that was a good idea, but after doing some research, I was a bit turned off by the game. It’s hard to come out with a fantasy RPG after Skyrim, 2011’s Game of the Year, especially so by a freshman game developer. He clearly didn’t know what he was doing. I’m not surprised he failed so miserably. He… Read more »