The thing that really gets to me is how overflowing with seemingly shameless pride SP is right now. What are they so proud about?! It's gotten so bad that whenever the discussion comes up around them they are starting to say things like "you didn't have the skill to beat us", and today someone from SP even mentioned "win a ladle and I'll listen to what you have to say". I think their reactions indicate that they might feel a little ashamed of being the first team to shamelessly dominate using the tactics they employed. However, someone had to do it eventually right? We've all known about hiding and holing for a long time... I feel like the Ladle has been on the cusp of sinking to this level for a long time.
I feel that, like their defense, SP is hiding in plain sight right now. Let's just get this out there. Using a completely closed and hidden defensive tactic and using holing as a primary offensive tactic is effective and won them the Ladle!
But does SP's win truly embody what the Ladle represents? Are all Ladles going to be won by the team who uses the best closed defense and the best holes? I can tell you one thing, Plus does not think that. SP's tactics are nothing special and while they have skilled players, this win didn't demonstrate that. It was like Capture the Flag fortress style. And maybe that's the direction the Ladle is going in.
A few players today spoke of what's most important in these competitions: teamwork, skill, organization, fun. That's cool; I'm all about sportsmanship and healthy competition. But even more, I think it's awesome when people get angry about this stuff because it makes the competition more aggressive and interesting - just like how real world sports rivalries are so interesting and entertaining. That's why today when I finally broke into ~*insa*~'s closed def I congratulated myself by making fun of him

I'm talking to all of you/us: Unk, CT, TX, Pru, ID, open teams, SP, Plus! Regardless of what we think about SP's win or, in my opinion, how much they are acting like sore winners, what are the rest of us going to do about it?!