The first time I met Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer was in a small park in Santa Monica — he was participating in a workout routine for Team Ember, and one of the exercises was some kind of push-up. Goldenglue was by far the most adept at it, and it was then that I learned why one of his nicknames was Goldenglutes. Through the years he would acquire more nicknames, and each successive one would also feel like a giant meme. First there was Vault Boy, which is still something Twitch chat spams, and now — going into an NA LCS Final where he should be expected to play — there’s Goldengod.
Goldenglue has been a journeyman player for his entire career — never holding the starting position on an LCS team for much more than a split. Even now, he’s the substitute behind this split’s 1st Team All-Pro mid laner. But the Semifinals turned all the jokes around him and his “swole bro” partner Svenskeren into something real — that they reversed a 1-2 deficit against TSM was every bit the dream-come-true scenario. It was the proverbial “big break” that could come to redefine his entire career.
The perception around Glue was he’s a good scrim player but he always chokes on stage. And yet, there he was rising to the occasion to salvage Cloud9’s season from the brink of defeat. He didn’t carry them, and he didn’t crush his counterpart — Bjergsen. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But he did win by playing his role. Against a team full of superstars in TSM, maybe there’s something to be said for having a player or two who doesn’t demand resources.
Goldenglue’s story should be very relatable to us fans. We have a tendency to imagine ourselves as our heroes — everyone wants to be Faker or LeBron or Serena. No one watching wants to be Goldenglue, but the reality of it is his career trajectory is more akin to what most of ours would or could look like.
I’m reminded of a scene in an anime called Food Wars where the main character’s father talks about why people love to jeer at his kid. The main thing that separates them is the amount of work they’ve put in — not some natural aptitude or predispositioned fate to be better.
Last weekend could still end up being an aberration. There’s no guarantee that he won’t shit the bed in the Finals, and then again in the gauntlet — thus ending C9’s season. That’s what it means to be a player riding the peripherals of pro play. There are few guarantees in this sport, let alone from a player that’s historically been a bit of a laughing stock.
But as we approach Oakland, I find myself relating very much to his career. It is, I think, particularly inspiring to see someone stand after they’ve crawled through the mud for so long. And to watch a joke develop into something serious is a skill I’ve always admired in the best comedians, and here is Goldenglue embracing another series of memes. He’s one of the swole bros, yeah. And maybe he’s embodying the idea of the Goldengod, too.
He’s persevered through all of the vitriol thrown his way, and I think by now he realizes better than anyone else he’s not Faker. And he never will be. But he kept trodding forward when everyone else seems to be telling him he won’t make it any further. For nearly five years now, he’s taken an inch here and an inch there. How much criticism does it take to deter you from a goal? Anyone who has ever wavered in life — and I think that’s all of us — should be able to see a little bit of ourselves in Goldenglue. Goldenglue is not Faker, but maybe he is us.
And if he steps onto the stage this weekend and delivers a Championship to Cloud9 — then what? Well, the jokes will still continue — we will say Worlds is not prepared for the Swole Bros. And we’ll say the likes of Caps or Maple or Xiaohu won’t stand a chance against our Goldengod. It will be said in jest, yes, but if he keeps winning, it will become less of a joke. And that’ll be the cue for all of us to look at ourselves — at that point, maybe it’ll be time for us to stop laughing and joking about our own lives. And maybe it’ll be time to take Goldenglue seriously.
Kien Lam is a writer for Lolesports. You can find more awful great jokes and commentary on his Twitter.