Gizmodo writer dates ‘Magic: The Gathering’ world champ, nerds get mad

Writer Alyssa Bereznak went out on a date with a guy from OkCupid and decided to report on it for her day job interning at Gizmodo. But her take on her big date got her in all sorts of heat with readers around the Internet for her having the “audacity” to mock the guy she went out with.

According to Bereznak’s write-up, she signed up for the popular dating site drunkenly one night. One thing led to another and, after encountering a barrage of the usual creeps you see in online dating, she ended up going on a date with a guy who struck her fancy enough primarily because he seemed normal.

But during their drinks date, Bereznak found out the guy was Jon Finkel, a world champion “Magic: The Gathering” player.

Like most women, Bereznak was not so in love with the idea of dating a world champion “Magic: The Gathering” player. But she went on a second date with him to do more reconnaissance.

At dinner I got straight down to it. Did he still play? “Yes.” Strike one. How often? “I’m preparing for a tournament this weekend.” Strike two. Who did he hang out with? “I’ve met all my best friends through Magic.” Strike three. I smiled and nodded and listened. Eventually I even felt a little bit bad that I didn’t know shit about the game. Here was a guy who had dedicated a good chunk of his life to mastering Magic, on a date with a girl who can barely play Solitaire. This is what happens, I thought, when you leave things out of your online profile.

Commenters across the Internet, even on the Australian Gizmodo sister site, have called Bereznak everything from an asshole to a predator.

But what exactly did she do wrong? I learned a long time ago that airing personal stories on a largely read site can lead to no good, but beyond that, she’s only guilty of thinking the exact same thing any other woman would. Don’t believe me? Go up to a girl, any girl, and tell her you’re a “Magic: The Gathering” world champion within the first four sentences of your chat. I don’t care how great you are at witty banter, that makes you undesirable. Girls may like lots of odd characters, but a guy who collects cards that pretend to cast spells for a living with a bunch of other man-boys who reek of Cheeto dust tend not to fit the “desirable mate” vibe most women are looking for.

Either way, Bereznak’s biggest mistake was thinking that this was appropriate for Gizmodo readers. That’s like if I go on Cosmpolitan and expect the readers there to take my side when I recount my frustrations about trying to “oopsy” my way into anal. Haters gon’ hate.

UPDATE: Finkel himself is currently answering questions on Reddit about the experience. His summary was that he’s “creeped out” but “it was just one of those things where the conversation isnt [sic] really flowing.” He seems like a swell enough guy.

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