Speedcubers Should Celebrate More
What Cubing Can Learn From Pickleball
Recently, I was at the Pro Pickleball Tour in Newport Beach with Dylan Miller and Manu Singhal, and a specific match caught my attention, not because of who was playing, but because of how they reacted.
Earlier in the day, the stadium was packed for the world number ones, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. But as the sun went down and the crowds thinned out, we stayed to watch a match between players ranked much lower, around 12th and 24th in the world.
The stands were nearly empty, but the energy on the court was higher than anything I’d seen all day. Every time a player scored, even on a messy or janky point, they exploded with emotion. They were yelling, fist-pumping, and showing exactly how much that point meant to them. They didn’t care that the crowd was thin; they cared that they were winning.
The Problem with “Stoic” Cubing
Watching that made me think about speedcubing. In our community, we have this habit of downplaying our achievements. When a top cuber gets a great time, maybe not a world record, but a solid result that puts them in a better position, the reaction is almost always a muted head-shake or a “it’s fine” attitude.
We’ve built a culture where showing emotion is seen as being “too competitive” or somehow disrespectful to the person you’re playing against. But if you look at the moments that actually go viral and get people excited—like Feliks’ 4.73, Max’s 3.13, or Dylan Miller’s 3.49—it’s always the ones where the reaction matches the achievement. The crowd goes nuts because the person on stage clearly cares.
Passion Isn’t a Personality Flaw
Through my production company, I’ve live-streamed countless competitions, and I see how much work goes into this sport. People put in thousands of hours to shave off fractions of a second.
Every other sport understands that passion is a good thing. Wanting to win and being visibly happy when you do doesn’t mean you’re “mean” or that you want your opponent to lose. It just means you value your own effort.
As speedcubing grows, I think the culture needs to shift. We should be able to own our wins. Just because you care doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it just means you’re actually invested in what you’re doing.