Bobblehead figurines have been a staple of professional sports ever since they were first introduced in to the world of baseball fandom in the early 1960s. So naturally, esports are attempting to emulate big brother once again by borrowing the idea for this weekend’s Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in Oakland, California.
The figurines are being given out to attendees who purchased the premium package. Currently there are three total, each depicting a different CS:GO legend including Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač.
One tournament-goer posted a picture of the one they received on Reddit, at which point other posters proceeded to mock the image because 1) it’s Reddit but also 2) the figurines do look like they might come to life in the middle of the night and murder you in your sleep.
It seems the players themselves have chosen to use the merchandise as good luck charms in their bids for first place at this weekend’s tournament. And with $300,000 in prize money at stake, who wouldn’t? Unless, that is, you think the little guys are more likely to steal your soul than boost your kill death ratio.
Unfortunately for anyone who might want to purchase these satanic little sculptures for themselves, it seems like they are only being give out with premium ticket purchases and aren’t being sold separately.
We can only hope that in due time CS:GO and other games will have bobbleheads made not only to honor their top players but also to memorialize the weird moments that happen in any sport which help us escape ourselves and the burdens of every day life. Like that time they made Marshawn Lynch injury cart bobbleheads, for instance.
In an Oct. 21st win over Washington ten years ago last month, the then California bear running back celebrated by driving a medical cart around the field like a kid on Christmas morning. Just a few weeks ago, thousands of bobbleheads created to immortalize the serendipitous event by virtue of their own absurdity were given out to attendees.
If we’re going to measure the value and maturity of different sports relative to the number, variety, and creativity of their bobbleheads, and why the hell shouldn’t we, than it’s clear professional gaming still has a long way to go.