Atlanta Reign's Kodak: "I love the fan interaction...don't be shy, just talk to me."

A picture is worth a thousand words. For Steven "Kodak" Rosenberger, playing in front of thousands of people in the Overwatch League means a lot more. Kodak is an up and coming player for the Atlanta Reign, who is part of the reason why Atlanta is currently in 3rd place.

The Atlanta Reign support shared a Kodak moment with Inven after Atlanta rained on Paris Eternal’s parade in the 3rd week of Overwatch League.

Photo by Robert Paul


We're currently in the 3rd week of the Overwatch League. Have you got used to living in Los Angeles and adapting to the Overwatch League schedule?

I think I got used to things really fast and good through the differences in living in Germany and the United States like the food and people. The people are way nicer here. The team house is nice of course, so it's great and comfortable to live there. Everything feels great so far.

 

Were there any difficulties when you first arrived?

The immigration things at the airport was grueling. I had to wait like 3 hours. It wasn't a good first impression in America. My flight was about 14 hours with 1 layover in London. It was alright. I was just tired.

 

Who helped you get settled?

I think our coach Brad helped us a lot since he's American. He showed us everything and told us everything we need to know.

 

Can you tell me examples of what he showed you?

He told me what food is good around here, how to behave around the area, and how different it is compared to Germany. In Germany, everyone does their own thing. They're more reserved to themselves.

What else? He said just act normally and we'll be okay.

Photo by Robert Paul


What kind of food have you tried since living here?

I tried everything I think. We ate a lot of Korean food, Mexican food, burgers, sushi, and I think that's it. We have a cook too so he does everything.

My favorite food place is probably Shake Shack. It is so good. I think it's better than In-N-Out -- it's overrated. I like Five Guys too but it's really greasy.

 

Speaking of different foods, Atlanta has players coming from different sides of the world. With all these international flavors, how did you fit in with the rest of your team?

At first, the hardest part was for the Western and Korean players to connect. Korean players come from a different culture than we do. There's also a language barrier since they can't speak English well. They're trying to learn it right now and they've been improving since we all got together. But, we figured things out in terms of how we talk to each other. Like in game, we’re able to call out ults and where the enemy team is.

 

What kind of team bonding activities has the team done, especially since the team is performing well right now?

We've actually done a lot of things together. We go out together, we go shopping together, and we actually went go-kart racing together. Nobody does their own thing. We're always hanging out in the living room at the house. It feels like we're family.

 

 


Can you name one experience that brought you all together?

Probably the first weeks of scrims. Everybody didn't know each other that well, then we did really good and everybody had fun. Our team synergy felt really good and really fast. The go-kart thing was what really brought us together. Everybody had so much fun.

 

So who won the go-kart race?

Dafran won the race. He gloated a bit about his win after.

 

You've got to live in Los Angeles for quite some time now. What's something you did not expect when living here?

I expected great weather right when I arrived. But, it's been shit. I hate the weather so far, it feels like Germany. It might be even worse here.

 

Are there other activities you want to do with your teammates?

To get in that competitive mindset, we also got into ping pong. We play pickup games in between our Overwatch games. I feel like it's helped a lot when we prepare for our Overwatch scrims and practices. Another thing I want to do with our team is play paintball. It'll feel like playing Overwatch, but IRL. If we end up doing that, we'll probably do a video.

 

Since coming into the Overwatch League, how is the fan experience?

Everyone has been positive. I didn't see much negativity, but it might come through the season if we perform bad. Right now, we're not thinking about any negativity since we’re doing good. I think like the most overwhelming interaction was during the World Cup. I had a great moment during that time and felt really hyped after.

Then, bam! A lot of fans came up to me after the match and more fans were congratulating me through Twitter.

 

 

I love the fan interaction. I hope I get to meet a lot of fans here in the Overwatch League. Don't be shy, just talk to me. Let's have a good conversation and be friends!

 

What's something that most fans don't know about you?

A lot of fans don't know that I am half German and half Ghana. Also, I used to play soccer when I was young. I don't play it anymore. I'm actually more interested in the NFL and NBA nowadays.

 

Thank you for taking the time for talking to me. Is there anything you would like to say to the fans out there?

I'm really thankful that the fans are supporting us. I love all the support we're getting right now. I think out of all the expansion teams, we've gained the most fans, and I think that's crazy.

The fans can reach me on Twitter and Instagram: @KodakOW on Twitter and @kodak_ow on Instagram.

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