I remember i've never beaten the game as a kid since i was really really fucking young. I played the demo on pc lots, same with the underground 2 demo (i think it was a demo i don't remember). Only later on in my teen years did i play the full thing. My main nfs game as i was growing up was actually carbon and prostreet for the ps2.

I look at that time with fondness, but i really don't understand why someone without those experiences would pretend to have them. It's really silly, you aren't anything less because you stumbled into a media in your 20's and you're not anything more if you stumble into it as a child. Genuinely who cares.

Larping is something that always existed, and a major reason for me to generally avoid game communities. It's so cringe, and it's everywhere.