Get Your Head(phones) in the Game It’s a Friday night. You’re in the living room with your friends, sitting on the couch, watching TV. On the screen are two teams competing against each other. They all have on bright, unique uniforms, and are in the middle of a filled, loud, brightly lit stadium. But they’re on a stage. And they’re sitting down, each in front of their own monitors. This is the world of competitive video gaming. This profession is commonly known as ‘eSports’, but I would argue that it qualifies as a regular professional sport due to demands on the human mind and body, the viewer base, and player as well as team sponsorships. “But they’re sitting down!” you might say, “its just a game!” you might say. But rowers sit down.
…show more content…
There are always the haters. But video-gamers still put in long hours of practice and teamwork building like all the other sports. But that is one of the biggest arguments. Are professional gamers athletes? They certainly are observed in large amounts. In fact, in a recent Forbes article looking at the popularity of video-gaming by Roger Groves titled “America 's Growth Sport Is Not The NFL It 's Video Games And Implications Abound,” with the help of his source Newzoo, cited and stated in reference to video gaming viewership “there are already 32 million such volunteers, and that the viewership of people watching people play sports videogames will grow to 50 million in 2017. And that is just the US market.” That is a huge figure. And a huge growth. “56.25%” (Groves) to be exact. So there is no doubt not only tv coverage, but also viewership. That narrows us down now to our last kink in the …show more content…
Writer for The Odyssey Online Gabriel Smith would argue against that. In his article, “eSports on ESPN: Why Videogames Are Not Sports,” he makes many arguments as to that mainstream classified sports are very different from videogames. But football is completely different skillsets than those for golf or hunting. He continues to argue “gamers are not athletes as much as cashiers are not investment bankers.” (Smith) Well, of course not. Investment bankers go through a large amount of training, education, and experiences for their career. Cashiers put on an apron and collect payment in the till. But are professional video-gamers athletes? Smith would also disagree, looking at the dictionary definition (one that he didn’t cite). But I found a definition myself that is very similar to his. Here it is; “of or relating to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina” (dictionary.com) And through Smiths analysis of this definition, I think he is, sadly, correct. So perhaps video-gamers aren’t athletes. But I do believe that, regardless, they are competitors, playing a legitimate game. And they get paid. And they get watched. By millions of people. So, yes, I still hold true to my guns, it is a sport. A professional one. And though those competing aren’t necessarily athletes, so be it. Athletes don’t shoot zombies in the face in front of millions of
There are always the haters. But video-gamers still put in long hours of practice and teamwork building like all the other sports. But that is one of the biggest arguments. Are professional gamers athletes? They certainly are observed in large amounts. In fact, in a recent Forbes article looking at the popularity of video-gaming by Roger Groves titled “America 's Growth Sport Is Not The NFL It 's Video Games And Implications Abound,” with the help of his source Newzoo, cited and stated in reference to video gaming viewership “there are already 32 million such volunteers, and that the viewership of people watching people play sports videogames will grow to 50 million in 2017. And that is just the US market.” That is a huge figure. And a huge growth. “56.25%” (Groves) to be exact. So there is no doubt not only tv coverage, but also viewership. That narrows us down now to our last kink in the …show more content…
Writer for The Odyssey Online Gabriel Smith would argue against that. In his article, “eSports on ESPN: Why Videogames Are Not Sports,” he makes many arguments as to that mainstream classified sports are very different from videogames. But football is completely different skillsets than those for golf or hunting. He continues to argue “gamers are not athletes as much as cashiers are not investment bankers.” (Smith) Well, of course not. Investment bankers go through a large amount of training, education, and experiences for their career. Cashiers put on an apron and collect payment in the till. But are professional video-gamers athletes? Smith would also disagree, looking at the dictionary definition (one that he didn’t cite). But I found a definition myself that is very similar to his. Here it is; “of or relating to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina” (dictionary.com) And through Smiths analysis of this definition, I think he is, sadly, correct. So perhaps video-gamers aren’t athletes. But I do believe that, regardless, they are competitors, playing a legitimate game. And they get paid. And they get watched. By millions of people. So, yes, I still hold true to my guns, it is a sport. A professional one. And though those competing aren’t necessarily athletes, so be it. Athletes don’t shoot zombies in the face in front of millions of