When someone uses a sob story to win one. And then it pisses me off even more when they actually win.
They do it on American Idol. They do it on YouTube. They do it just about everywhere.
"Hi, my name is [insert name] and I would really like to win the prize. Oh, BTW, I'm going through [insert terribly dramatic hardship here]. Thanks!"
Watch this:
Now, don't get me wrong, what she's going through is very unfortunate and I'm thankful I didn't have to endure things like that. But, her condition has nothing to do with the contest. She could've just said "Hey, I like all your videos, and I really hope I can win the contest because it's boring in my town and I need something to do!"
Instead, she purposely used sympathy to get what she wanted. She told us about the poison, the shots, the chemotherapy, her wig and how her hair is still thinning. It's really obvious what she was doing.
I'm sure she could win tons of contests like this. And she isn't the only person who has won a contest simply because of sympathy. I'm going to invent a story for myself so I can start winning things around here. Here is what I have so far:
"My name is Empirez and I suffer from schizophrenia and explosive bowels."
Does that bring tears to your eyes, or do I need to work a bit more at it?
In this case, it's fine. It's not like it's a contest of skills or talents or whatever. The contest is basically "Give me a reason why you should win and I'll be the judge if that reason is the best."
