Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesFanTrev
I don't know, I guess it seems to me that the idea of sports is athletic in nature, and e-sports is actually the antithesis of that. Again, I actually have no problem with vids, or people that make a living doing that. Good on em. But this concept of calling a video game a sport, and the people that play them an "athlete" cheapens the term, at least to me.
I'm not a professional athlete, but I played football, rugby, baseball, and swam competitively as a kid. What I took from those activities was a sense of team work, discipline, fair play and dedication. I imagine that there is some of the same principles that could be derived from people competting in competitive gaming. I guess what I dislike most that it's possible to be a part of a team that never actually meets or competes in person and misses out on the social education that I experienced on actual sports teams. The long bus rides, the dirt being mashed into open cuts, sweat stinging your eyes as you go to war against your opponent. Supporting each other on the equally long bus ride home when you come up short. To me, specifically, thats probably the biggest part of my issue.
But now that I have my own kids, when they are of age, they will absolutely be enrolled in sports to learn those core beliefs that have carried me a long way in this life. When they come home with a permission slip to be part of their high school e-sports team, I will re-evalute my thoughts on the subject then. For now, all I can use to set my postion is my personal experiences.
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The idea of sports is athletic in nature, but your definitions don't negate it being a sport.
Do I consider sitting on my ass playing Splatoon a sport? Absolutely not, and I'm sure that E-Sport enthusiasts will be right there to support you in that.
Fishing was brought up and is a great example. There is a large group that consider it a sport, but will recognize that drunkenly drifting in a boat hoping to catch a carp isn't what they consider a sport either. It's the purpose behind the game that makes it a sport. Just because untalented people can do that same thing in their free time doesn't negate their athleticism doing the same thing.
But at the end of the day, if it's "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment" you're only asserting your personal definitions to argue against it being a sport. You like watching the videos, but can you say that your skill is a match to theirs? If it's not, how do you explain the differences between you two? I'm sure the answer will be 'practice', but what has their practice afforded them? It's higher skill, and that skill is a form of athleticism.
If you don't think people in E-Sports don't also see their sport as a sense of team work, discipline, fair play and dedication then you're not educating yourself well enough on what they do. There are a lot out there that are grinding through the ranks, travelling far distances and networking with people trying to build a team and make it to the bigs. By your definitions, what category should I put a privileged tennis player who rode in a Mercedes to every tournament and never made a single friend?
Speedwalking cheapens the term of athleticism and sport to me, but I still can't argue it isn't a sport. It's just not one that I value very much in the realm of great athletes.
I would encourage my kids (God help us all...) to get into sports for the same reasons you list. I will likely be a parent hoping to get them into some of the more high-tempo sports - but I recognize that is a preference of my own. If my kid is showing great skill at E-Sports, still maintains activities that keep their bodies healthy and are able to balance life outside of sport I really don't care what it is. I've seen kids let hockey take over their lives when it was pretty clear they weren't even touching the OHL just as I'm sure there are a ton of parents out there worried that their kids will fail at life aiming for an E-Sports dream.
I just don't get why it's so important that it's not a sport. It's not my idea of an athlete either, but neither was this:
