Embarrassed to be a gamer? Still?

I remember a time in college when I was semi-embarrassed about playing video games. This was back in '01 until around '03. I got over it officially when Halo 2 arrived. Why? Everyone was playing it! Even the girl I was dating at the time played it...decently too!

What I'm getting at is this: In an era with Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the Wii, hasn't gaming become mainstream? It's hard for me to find someone that doesn't own at least one of those games and/or system. Why would someone be embarrassed about doing something entertaining?

I started thinking about this during the Rock Band tournament a few days ago. Walking around the restaurant with a buddy of mine, we were asking the restaurant patrons if they have played Rock Band. Two tables pointed at one person. Those people said they didn't have the time. That's fine.

When I asked two other tables, people pointed at the Rock Banders. These Rock Banders looked up at me in fright and denied they played! Why? Is it embarrassing to acknowledge games are fun? No. Probably not. They still feel like it's socially unacceptable to game.

I remember gamers being viewed as loners. People pictured us ranging from nerds to the morose. This was difficult for me to understand. I game. And, I have a social life. I'm also a Christian. One might say I'm pretty normal and healthy.

Anyway, I hope this dies soon. I hope people can admit they play games. In a culture where these social games are becoming increasingly popular, that needs to happen now.

I almost went back to being embarrassed. That is until I realized these people who refused their gaming hobbies were now, "socially unacceptable."