GG has come to just mean "I enjoyed playing against you," or "this was an enjoyable experience."
Sometimes with the implied undertone "I enjoyed playing against you... because it was an easy victory." or "This was an enjoyable experience... for me, I don't really care that you're frustrated."
That's the problem, in a nutshell. GG has too many different connotations. It should be used more carefully. If it's used casually or inappropriately, you're reinforcing the negative connotations at the expense of the positive ones.
Magic players are the only people I have ever seen complain about people saying "good game" or something similar after a game. It's common courtesy in competition, even in a blowout. Have none of you ever played sports? Some of you read way too deep into something so simple. Unless they have a derpy look on their face I wouldn't expect any malice when someone is saying "good game" to you after a match. I mean come on.
Did you even read what they said? It's the way the opponent says it. What's the use of saying "good game" when it is very clear that you don't mean it? There's something to be said for even acting close to genuinely.
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I read the last few posts. Even then, the premise is the same. Sure, if the guy is being a douchebag that's a different case, but the vibe I usually get from these posts are people who just don't understand sportsmanship.
You both just played a game with eachother, it's common courtesy to say good game regardless of whether it was or not. If they're being obviously snarky or acting like a jerk, that's a different story, but you can't just assume that. I say good game no matter what the case whether I win or lose. It's something you just do after having played a game with someone.
After I've played someone, I usually genuinely wish them good luck the rest of the tournament. Most of it is just that they are cool opponents and some of it is also tiebreakers for me. Only in cases where a player tried to cheat or do something else to really push me, will I just say nothing at the end. I would rather say nothing than something fake.
On the other hand, I don't say good game to someone who has been mana flooded or screwed, but at the same time, I don't take offense when someone says it to me in that situation. I understand that many newer players won't think of something else to say, so they don't default to something else. I can tell when they don't mean anything malicious by it.
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Magic players are the only people I have ever seen complain about people saying "good game" or something similar after a game. It's common courtesy in competition, even in a blowout. Have none of you ever played sports? Some of you read way too deep into something so simple. Unless they have a derpy look on their face I wouldn't expect any malice when someone is saying "good game" to you after a match. I mean come on.
It's huge in basically every online game, too, for some inexplicable reason. People to this day assume you ragequit if you leave and don't say good game.
I read the last few posts. Even then, the premise is the same. Sure, if the guy is being a douchebag that's a different case, but the vibe I usually get from these posts are people who just don't understand sportsmanship.
You both just played a game with eachother, it's common courtesy to say good game regardless of whether it was or not. If they're being obviously snarky or acting like a jerk, that's a different story, but you can't just assume that. I say good game no matter what the case whether I win or lose. It's something you just do after having played a game with someone.
This is just silly. It's not good sportsmanship to say good game, particularly when it's not true, just because you're expected to. It's silliness that stems from the obvious fact that people just plain like to find things to be annoyed/angry about. If you get offended (or care in any way whatsoever) because someone didn't say what you expect them to after a game, that's entirely on you and you have no one to blame but yourself. Them being rude is another matter entirely.
Magic players are the only people I have ever seen complain about people saying "good game" or something similar after a game. It's common courtesy in competition, even in a blowout.
When you think about it, it can be rather insensitive or, alternatively, it can be, technically speaking, dishonest. If the game was absolutely horrible, saying "good game" feels like lying.
How about "thank you for the game"?
If you want to get technical about it, then I guess that's fine as well. If an opponent or I got mana-screwed in a match, I usually talk to them about it after the game. Sure the game could have been better, but still, thanks for playing with me anyway. That's what good game means in those situations. It doesn't have to be the most exhilarating game you've ever played or tightly contested (though that would be great).
I guess I just don't read too deeply into something so innocuous.
This is just silly. It's not good sportsmanship to say good game, particularly when it's not true, just because you're expected to. It's silliness that stems from the obvious fact that people just plain like to find things to be annoyed/angry about. If you get offended (or care in any way whatsoever) because someone didn't say what you expect them to after a game, that's entirely on you and you have no one to blame but yourself. Them being rude is another matter entirely.
Except it is, in any sport that anyone has ever played. You play a game of pickup basketball 5-on-5 at the park and your team gets destroyed 11-2. Maybe you feel bad for a bit, but you still say thanks for the game anyway and give daps to whoever you played. That's just being a polite person. I'm not saying that you absolutely have to say something after every game, but that it's common courtesy in most cases and you shouldn't just assume that they're being a jerk after a game that wasn't so great.
I don't get offended when people don't say "good game", but I also don't assume that they're being a jerk by saying it to my face afterward a game that was one-sided. "Good game" is the same as saying "Thanks for the game" in most cases and it's preferable to a person storming away right after a match or not saying anything after the game. That would just be plain rude.
GG has come to just mean "I enjoyed playing against you," or "this was an enjoyable experience."
Sometimes with the implied undertone "I enjoyed playing against you... because it was an easy victory." or "This was an enjoyable experience... for me, I don't really care that you're frustrated."
That's the problem, in a nutshell. GG has too many different connotations. It should be used more carefully. If it's used casually or inappropriately, you're reinforcing the negative connotations at the expense of the positive ones.
Seriously? You just assume that every time you get crushed your opponent is saying GG with an implied "ha it was so easy to beat you" tacked on? Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Have you never, ever played a team sport? After every. single. game. every non-immature, non-douchebag walks up to the other team and says "good game" to each of the other players. Even if it wasn't. Even if you got crushed/crushed them. Even if you're mad about something. It is the polite thing to do. No one is saying "good game" to you after a round of magic to rub in the fact that you were mana screwed. They are just being polite. There are no negative connotations to good game except the ones you make up in your own head.
You do because you were trained to and because people irrationally get upset when you don't. You don't do it for any actual reason. You don't do it because you're actually thanking them for the game or because it actually does any good for anyone. It's not politeness, it's pointless tradition that has no benefits. Don't be a dick when you lose. If you truly enjoyed a really good game and actually want to say something, go for it. Don't do it because you're supposed to and certainly don't think twice about it when someone doesn't say what you would have. That's 100% your issue.
You do because you were trained to and because people irrationally get upset when you don't. You don't do it for any actual reason. You don't do it because you're actually thanking them for the game or because it actually does any good for anyone. It's not politeness, it's pointless tradition that has no benefits.
Of course I do it to thank my opponent for the game. That's what good game means. "This game was good. Thanks for playing it with me." It's just been shortened to "good game" over the years. This thread is really not helping the stereotype of magic players as incredibly socially awkward. I never thought people were sitting around secretly stewing about that horrible FNM opponent who dared to say GG to them after they were mana screwed.
5- not looking me in the eye when addressing me. I know there are some people that are autistic that play, and i completely understand in those cases, but how am i supposed to know you are talking to me.
I agree with all of them but this one. As someone who finds it immensely difficult to look people in the eye (BTW, not autism, social anxiety.) I only feel worse to know that you dislike me for not doing so.
social anxiety on that level is not a problem to me, there is a difference between being uncomfortable looking at me and not wanting to look at me.
I want more people like shamizy and asmallcat at my FNMs. They seem to have this deranged vision that Magic, at its heart, is just a game that people play for fun and enjoyment. You know, because that's what it is.
And honestly, it's not that hard to size someone up after you've just demolished them and know whether saying GG to them would offend them or not.
I agree with all of them but this one. As someone who finds it immensely difficult to look people in the eye (BTW, not autism, social anxiety.) I only feel worse to know that you dislike me for not doing so.
I disagree with this one also. I find it incredibly intrusive for someone to look into my eyes when they are speaking to me unless it's someone I'm close with (family, girlfriend). I will look in your general direction if we are playing a game, but not into your eyes since I'm against it myself.
You do because you were trained to and because people irrationally get upset when you don't. You don't do it for any actual reason. You don't do it because you're actually thanking them for the game or because it actually does any good for anyone. It's not politeness, it's pointless tradition that has no benefits.
Of course I do it to thank my opponent for the game. That's what good game means. "This game was good. Thanks for playing it with me." It's just been shortened to "good game" over the years. This thread is really not helping the stereotype of magic players as incredibly socially awkward. I never thought people were sitting around secretly stewing about that horrible FNM opponent who dared to say GG to them after they were mana screwed.
You're clearly not reading what I'm writing. I don't care if people say it or not. Do you know why? Because I'm not socially awkward. I'm well adjusted. If you say good game to rub it in or don't say good game because you're angry, it has literally zero effect on me. That's my entire point. No one who isn't in need of at least some therapy cares, so why do it unless you really just want to? It's the obligation that I find absurd.
You do because you were trained to and because people irrationally get upset when you don't. You don't do it for any actual reason. You don't do it because you're actually thanking them for the game or because it actually does any good for anyone. It's not politeness, it's pointless tradition that has no benefits.
Of course I do it to thank my opponent for the game. That's what good game means. "This game was good. Thanks for playing it with me." It's just been shortened to "good game" over the years. This thread is really not helping the stereotype of magic players as incredibly socially awkward. I never thought people were sitting around secretly stewing about that horrible FNM opponent who dared to say GG to them after they were mana screwed.
You're clearly not reading what I'm writing. I don't care if people say it or not. Do you know why? Because I'm not socially awkward. I'm well adjusted. If you say good game to rub it in or don't say good game because you're angry, it has literally zero effect on me. That's my entire point. No one who isn't in need of at least some therapy cares, so why do it unless you really just want to? It's the obligation that I find absurd.
I explicitly said I don't care if people don't say it. What I don't get is people that are mad about people saying it. I was answering what you said that people saying "good game" aren't actually saying good game by saying that is, in fact, what it means to most people.
The statement about stereotypes was a more general response to people being angry about it.
I explicitly said I don't care if people don't say it. What I don't get is people that are mad about people saying it. I was answering what you said that people saying "good game" aren't actually saying good game by saying that is, in fact, what it means to most people.
The statement about stereotypes was a more general response to people being angry about it.
Its not just important "what" you say, but also how the receiver understands it.
You have a bunch of minutes in the normal case game to get a feeling what kind of human sits next to you.
If you feel they are talkactive, a GG will probably be fine. If you see they dont want to talk to you, dont force it. If the game was "bad" , its just stupid to say GG, or at least "some" people will not react positive to it.
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And its seriously ridiculous to read from "anyone" in this forum about "socially awkward", i mean cmon ... are you 6th graders ? (some of you might be, who knows ... )
Its not just important "what" you say, but also how the receiver understands it.
You have a bunch of minutes in the normal case game to get a feeling what kind of human sits next to you.
If you feel they are talkactive, a GG will probably be fine. If you see they dont want to talk to you, dont force it. If the game was "bad" , its just stupid to say GG, or at least "some" people will not react positive to it.
----------------------
And its seriously ridiculous to read from "anyone" in this forum about "socially awkward", i mean cmon ... are you 6th graders ? (some of you might be, who knows ... )
Getting angry about someone saying "good game" to you after a magic match is like, blatantly socially awkward. Also, it's not your opponents responsibility to figure out that you are abnormally sensitive to a phrase that is said after games in literally everything from board games to video games to sports. That's your hang up, and something you need to deal with, not expect society to warp to accommodate you. Unless you specifically ask me not to say GG, I am going to say it, no matter how salty you seem.
When people are saying "GG" or "Good game" when the match clearly wasn't close, they're either intending it as a putdown or they're saying it as thoughtless, meaningless, rote behavior. In either case, the implication is that it was not a good game. At best, it's disingenuous. At worst... Refusing to take insincerity at face value isn't a character flaw, and it certainly isn't indicative of some sort of social/behavioral disorder.
Say what you mean; mean what you say. I mean it when I say, "Good luck in future matches." Do you?
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Magic players are the only people I have ever seen complain about people saying "good game" or something similar after a game. It's common courtesy in competition, even in a blowout. Have none of you ever played sports? Some of you read way too deep into something so simple. Unless they have a derpy look on their face I wouldn't expect any malice when someone is saying "good game" to you after a match. I mean come on.
I've played sports quite a bit, and inevitably, the handshake at the end of the game comes *after* the final play, and *after* the celebration of the victory.
Magic players often don't recognize that the formality of the handshake in sports is important to taking any potential sting out of it. Saying "GG" before (or while) you're swinging for lethal, or saying GG before your opponent has conceded the game or accepted defeat, has become a normal part of the process and unfortunately, when "Good game" is offered quickly, perfunctorily and as early as possible, it no longer feels like an acknowledgement of a good game, but rather a formalism the player doesn't truly respect and by extension, doesn't respect the opponent, either.
There's also the fact that "GG" is regularly used as a taunt in online forums. That's a real problem, and Magic players in person need to be aware that there's multiple ways to take the phrase, so they need to make it as unambiguous as possible.
Seriously? You just assume that every time you get crushed your opponent is saying GG with an implied "ha it was so easy to beat you" tacked on? Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Have you never, ever played a team sport? After every. single. game. every non-immature, non-douchebag walks up to the other team and says "good game" to each of the other players. Even if it wasn't. Even if you got crushed/crushed them. Even if you're mad about something. It is the polite thing to do. No one is saying "good game" to you after a round of magic to rub in the fact that you were mana screwed. They are just being polite. There are no negative connotations to good game except the ones you make up in your own head.
No. I'm saying it *has* been used that way, is being used that way, and if you intend for your "good game" to be taken as the polite phrase you mean it to be, you'd better be aware that there's ways it could be taken the other way. Refusing to acknowledge the reality of the phrase doesn't make you more polite than anyone else, it makes you less polite. A truly polite person isn't going to insist that his or her opponent's feelings are irrelevant to the post-game pleasantries. A truly polite person isn't going to be totally unaware of the phrase's context and its misuse, either.
Also, in regards to the team sports analogy: See above. Formality and ceremony are important in the post-game handshake.
Unless you specifically ask me not to say GG, I am going to say it, no matter how salty you seem.
In other words, you're totally aware that saying GG isn't going to be received well by your opponent, and you're going to needle them anyway. That's not polite at all; in fact, it's using GG as a taunt, precisely as was described above. I don't see how this puts the phrase in a good light.
Something else that bugs me. When the guy goes, oh, yeah, its a fun cheap little brew, t1 crack a misty, thoughtseize, t2 goyf. In what world is that cheap?
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In other words, you're totally aware that saying GG isn't going to be received well by your opponent, and you're going to needle them anyway. That's not polite at all; in fact, it's using GG as a taunt, precisely as was described above. I don't see how this puts the phrase in a good light.
No, in other words, I am going to be polite no matter how immature my opponent is being. Magic is a game. Not nuclear war, not world politics. A game. It exists for fun, especially at FNM levels of play. It is never worth getting so upset you can't handle your opponent saying good game to you. Do I get frustrated by bad draws, lucksac opponents, etc? Of course. Everyone does. That doesn't mean you get to be a spoiled, petulant child about it. I will always, always say good game, because it is the polite thing to do, and even if my opponent decides they want to be rude, I am not going to let them dictate how I act. When my opponent says good game, even if I am frustrated about the way the game went, I will always reply with "good game, and good luck in the rest of your rounds." Same when I win. I am not taunting them. I am thanking them for the round and having good sportsmanship.
Also, we are apparently talking about two different things, as you seem to have a particular problem with the preemptive GG. Are you talking about online? (I only play paper.) I agree GGing before the opponent scoops or takes lethal is douchey, but I have also never, ever seen it happen in paper magic. In paper it always goes like this (whether I am losing or winning.)
"Swing for X/Cast spell for X"
"No blocks, blocks like this, no effects etc"
"So, that's lethal right You were at X"
"Yup, you got it."
Extend the hand "good game."
That is the scenario I'm talking about, and what I always see. If you think that there are situations where that is super rude, then yes, that is your issue.
Of course I do it to thank my opponent for the game. That's what good game means. "This game was good. Thanks for playing it with me." It's just been shortened to "good game" over the years. This thread is really not helping the stereotype of magic players as incredibly socially awkward. I never thought people were sitting around secretly stewing about that horrible FNM opponent who dared to say GG to them after they were mana screwed.
Lol, now who's the delusional one. Nobody's stewing. Nobody "can't handle" anything. Also, I don't recall anybody saying GG to Paul George after he cracked his leg open. Maybe because it wasn't. At least I'd like to think so. Is it really so hard to ask for magic players to have a little tact and sincerity. When I win in gross fashion, I can usually find an appropriate remark, such as "shame about the flood. Thanks for sticking it out though."
No, in other words, I am going to be polite no matter how immature my opponent is being
It's not "polite" to taunt someone, and it's not "polite" to needle someone, even if the words you're using are usually polite. The polite thing to do if your opponent is in a foul mood is to not provoke him or her further, or make of point of saying something you know your opponent is not going to take well.
How can it possibly be polite to intentionally irritate someone? Especially when you're doing it in a way that gives you the cover of social sanction - "Oh, I was just saying a polite pleasantry, it's my opponent's fault they didn't take it well."
If your opponent isn't participating in your idealized scenario, forcing it on them is rude, no matter how you slice it. If your idealized scenario is going down, then *you already know* they're going to take "Good game" well. What I'm talking about is the opposite situation - where you admit you know your opponent isn't going to take it well - and you go ahead and do it anyway.
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Sometimes with the implied undertone "I enjoyed playing against you... because it was an easy victory." or "This was an enjoyable experience... for me, I don't really care that you're frustrated."
That's the problem, in a nutshell. GG has too many different connotations. It should be used more carefully. If it's used casually or inappropriately, you're reinforcing the negative connotations at the expense of the positive ones.
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Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)You both just played a game with eachother, it's common courtesy to say good game regardless of whether it was or not. If they're being obviously snarky or acting like a jerk, that's a different story, but you can't just assume that. I say good game no matter what the case whether I win or lose. It's something you just do after having played a game with someone.
After I've played someone, I usually genuinely wish them good luck the rest of the tournament. Most of it is just that they are cool opponents and some of it is also tiebreakers for me. Only in cases where a player tried to cheat or do something else to really push me, will I just say nothing at the end. I would rather say nothing than something fake.
On the other hand, I don't say good game to someone who has been mana flooded or screwed, but at the same time, I don't take offense when someone says it to me in that situation. I understand that many newer players won't think of something else to say, so they don't default to something else. I can tell when they don't mean anything malicious by it.
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Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)It's huge in basically every online game, too, for some inexplicable reason. People to this day assume you ragequit if you leave and don't say good game.
This is just silly. It's not good sportsmanship to say good game, particularly when it's not true, just because you're expected to. It's silliness that stems from the obvious fact that people just plain like to find things to be annoyed/angry about. If you get offended (or care in any way whatsoever) because someone didn't say what you expect them to after a game, that's entirely on you and you have no one to blame but yourself. Them being rude is another matter entirely.
If you want to get technical about it, then I guess that's fine as well. If an opponent or I got mana-screwed in a match, I usually talk to them about it after the game. Sure the game could have been better, but still, thanks for playing with me anyway. That's what good game means in those situations. It doesn't have to be the most exhilarating game you've ever played or tightly contested (though that would be great).
I guess I just don't read too deeply into something so innocuous.
Except it is, in any sport that anyone has ever played. You play a game of pickup basketball 5-on-5 at the park and your team gets destroyed 11-2. Maybe you feel bad for a bit, but you still say thanks for the game anyway and give daps to whoever you played. That's just being a polite person. I'm not saying that you absolutely have to say something after every game, but that it's common courtesy in most cases and you shouldn't just assume that they're being a jerk after a game that wasn't so great.
I don't get offended when people don't say "good game", but I also don't assume that they're being a jerk by saying it to my face afterward a game that was one-sided. "Good game" is the same as saying "Thanks for the game" in most cases and it's preferable to a person storming away right after a match or not saying anything after the game. That would just be plain rude.
Seriously? You just assume that every time you get crushed your opponent is saying GG with an implied "ha it was so easy to beat you" tacked on? Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Have you never, ever played a team sport? After every. single. game. every non-immature, non-douchebag walks up to the other team and says "good game" to each of the other players. Even if it wasn't. Even if you got crushed/crushed them. Even if you're mad about something. It is the polite thing to do. No one is saying "good game" to you after a round of magic to rub in the fact that you were mana screwed. They are just being polite. There are no negative connotations to good game except the ones you make up in your own head.
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Of course I do it to thank my opponent for the game. That's what good game means. "This game was good. Thanks for playing it with me." It's just been shortened to "good game" over the years. This thread is really not helping the stereotype of magic players as incredibly socially awkward. I never thought people were sitting around secretly stewing about that horrible FNM opponent who dared to say GG to them after they were mana screwed.
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social anxiety on that level is not a problem to me, there is a difference between being uncomfortable looking at me and not wanting to look at me.
Shout out to commandercast for keeping me entertained.
And honestly, it's not that hard to size someone up after you've just demolished them and know whether saying GG to them would offend them or not.
I disagree with this one also. I find it incredibly intrusive for someone to look into my eyes when they are speaking to me unless it's someone I'm close with (family, girlfriend). I will look in your general direction if we are playing a game, but not into your eyes since I'm against it myself.
You're clearly not reading what I'm writing. I don't care if people say it or not. Do you know why? Because I'm not socially awkward. I'm well adjusted. If you say good game to rub it in or don't say good game because you're angry, it has literally zero effect on me. That's my entire point. No one who isn't in need of at least some therapy cares, so why do it unless you really just want to? It's the obligation that I find absurd.
I explicitly said I don't care if people don't say it. What I don't get is people that are mad about people saying it. I was answering what you said that people saying "good game" aren't actually saying good game by saying that is, in fact, what it means to most people.
The statement about stereotypes was a more general response to people being angry about it.
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Its not just important "what" you say, but also how the receiver understands it.
You have a bunch of minutes in the normal case game to get a feeling what kind of human sits next to you.
If you feel they are talkactive, a GG will probably be fine. If you see they dont want to talk to you, dont force it. If the game was "bad" , its just stupid to say GG, or at least "some" people will not react positive to it.
----------------------
And its seriously ridiculous to read from "anyone" in this forum about "socially awkward", i mean cmon ... are you 6th graders ? (some of you might be, who knows ... )
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Getting angry about someone saying "good game" to you after a magic match is like, blatantly socially awkward. Also, it's not your opponents responsibility to figure out that you are abnormally sensitive to a phrase that is said after games in literally everything from board games to video games to sports. That's your hang up, and something you need to deal with, not expect society to warp to accommodate you. Unless you specifically ask me not to say GG, I am going to say it, no matter how salty you seem.
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Say what you mean; mean what you say. I mean it when I say, "Good luck in future matches." Do you?
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I've played sports quite a bit, and inevitably, the handshake at the end of the game comes *after* the final play, and *after* the celebration of the victory.
Magic players often don't recognize that the formality of the handshake in sports is important to taking any potential sting out of it. Saying "GG" before (or while) you're swinging for lethal, or saying GG before your opponent has conceded the game or accepted defeat, has become a normal part of the process and unfortunately, when "Good game" is offered quickly, perfunctorily and as early as possible, it no longer feels like an acknowledgement of a good game, but rather a formalism the player doesn't truly respect and by extension, doesn't respect the opponent, either.
There's also the fact that "GG" is regularly used as a taunt in online forums. That's a real problem, and Magic players in person need to be aware that there's multiple ways to take the phrase, so they need to make it as unambiguous as possible.
No. I'm saying it *has* been used that way, is being used that way, and if you intend for your "good game" to be taken as the polite phrase you mean it to be, you'd better be aware that there's ways it could be taken the other way. Refusing to acknowledge the reality of the phrase doesn't make you more polite than anyone else, it makes you less polite. A truly polite person isn't going to insist that his or her opponent's feelings are irrelevant to the post-game pleasantries. A truly polite person isn't going to be totally unaware of the phrase's context and its misuse, either.
Also, in regards to the team sports analogy: See above. Formality and ceremony are important in the post-game handshake.
In other words, you're totally aware that saying GG isn't going to be received well by your opponent, and you're going to needle them anyway. That's not polite at all; in fact, it's using GG as a taunt, precisely as was described above. I don't see how this puts the phrase in a good light.
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No, in other words, I am going to be polite no matter how immature my opponent is being. Magic is a game. Not nuclear war, not world politics. A game. It exists for fun, especially at FNM levels of play. It is never worth getting so upset you can't handle your opponent saying good game to you. Do I get frustrated by bad draws, lucksac opponents, etc? Of course. Everyone does. That doesn't mean you get to be a spoiled, petulant child about it. I will always, always say good game, because it is the polite thing to do, and even if my opponent decides they want to be rude, I am not going to let them dictate how I act. When my opponent says good game, even if I am frustrated about the way the game went, I will always reply with "good game, and good luck in the rest of your rounds." Same when I win. I am not taunting them. I am thanking them for the round and having good sportsmanship.
Also, we are apparently talking about two different things, as you seem to have a particular problem with the preemptive GG. Are you talking about online? (I only play paper.) I agree GGing before the opponent scoops or takes lethal is douchey, but I have also never, ever seen it happen in paper magic. In paper it always goes like this (whether I am losing or winning.)
"Swing for X/Cast spell for X"
"No blocks, blocks like this, no effects etc"
"So, that's lethal right You were at X"
"Yup, you got it."
Extend the hand "good game."
That is the scenario I'm talking about, and what I always see. If you think that there are situations where that is super rude, then yes, that is your issue.
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Lol, now who's the delusional one. Nobody's stewing. Nobody "can't handle" anything. Also, I don't recall anybody saying GG to Paul George after he cracked his leg open. Maybe because it wasn't. At least I'd like to think so. Is it really so hard to ask for magic players to have a little tact and sincerity. When I win in gross fashion, I can usually find an appropriate remark, such as "shame about the flood. Thanks for sticking it out though."
It's not "polite" to taunt someone, and it's not "polite" to needle someone, even if the words you're using are usually polite. The polite thing to do if your opponent is in a foul mood is to not provoke him or her further, or make of point of saying something you know your opponent is not going to take well.
How can it possibly be polite to intentionally irritate someone? Especially when you're doing it in a way that gives you the cover of social sanction - "Oh, I was just saying a polite pleasantry, it's my opponent's fault they didn't take it well."
If your opponent isn't participating in your idealized scenario, forcing it on them is rude, no matter how you slice it. If your idealized scenario is going down, then *you already know* they're going to take "Good game" well. What I'm talking about is the opposite situation - where you admit you know your opponent isn't going to take it well - and you go ahead and do it anyway.