In the video attached from Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, the activity of eSports is discussed. During a short segment on a recent eSports event, a statistic was revealed that blew the minds of the Real Sports panel; that twenty million people watched the event or even the fact that it existed in the first place. Of course this lead into the discussion of eSports being considered as a real sport.
But before we get to that, there are a few other things we need to focus on that came up during the discussion. It's not long into it that the commentator labels the attendees and viewers of the event as nerds, which sure maybe we are. However, the connotation used causes the statement to seem derogatory. The woman speaking is in no way a gamer and doesn't know anything about the industry in general which makes her use of the word even less deserved. Like many other words that can be considered derogatory, only we nerds are allowed to call each other nerds.
Not too long after that, a member of the panel asks the question, "Do you have any statistics on how many of those people also go to Star Trek conventions?"
Really...? It's this kind of ignorance that is so frustrating recently. The VGX of a few weeks prior also echoes this. Stop making assumptions about the gaming population. We are not nerds in the sense that you are using the word. We are not socially inept, pimply, sloppy losers living in our mothers basement. We are most often adults with careers and families and friends. We go to the gym. We go to bars to be with friends. Most of all, our hobby is not childish or immature.
We do not all go to Star Trek conventions and dress up like Borgs, although I'm sure some of us do and should not feel embarrassed by the fact. The question should have never been asked in the first place. As if being someone that goes to a Star Trek convention is something to look down on? Another panel member at the end even goes so far to say that the people watching are even more insane than the ones participating, as if to say that the general idea of competitive gaming being an event is pathetic...
Let's state the obvious here: nerd culture is taking over the world. The gaming industry now makes much more than the movie industry. And the movies that are doing so well in the box office are most often inspired by comic books and nerd culture; movies like Star Trek, The Avengers, or even the new Godzilla coming next year. The times, they are a changing and some people need to catch up. Okay...rant over.
So now the central question: Should eSports be looked at as a real sport? I'm going to treat this as an editorial and give my opinion: No. It shouldn't be. And before you bite my head off...I'm not saying that they should never be considered a sport. I simply think that the competition needs more mainstream recognition before it can be considered a real sport. And maybe the perception of the mainstream media shouldn't even be a concern. However, it's going to be looked at as a game until these "cyber athletes" are treated at the same level of recognition as a football athlete or baseball athlete.
I have to wonder if this panel considers poker as a game. I would bet that they used to think that way. Online poker in particular is a video game in every sense of the word. It wasn't until recently when poker became an event televised on television that people started looking at it more as a sport. The top players at Full Tilt Poker can be looked at as athletes in my opinion. If eSports continue to grow at the rate they are now, these large events will begin to be televised, certain players are going to become well known or even famous, and then people will start talking about the competition more and more as a sport. It will happen eventually. It's only a matter of time.
What do you think? Should eSports be looked at as a real sport? If not now, how about in the future? Or maybe you think that it does not matter what it is labeled. All that matters is each individual's perception of the activity. Sound off in the comments below.
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