I am sure that to many people, the idea of classifying competitive video game play as a sport would be an absurd idea. I understand that at first glance it might look like esports, the organized competitive play of video games, has nothing in common to what most people would consider traditional sports. However, if you look closely, you could be surprised at the similarities between what we might define as a sport and what goes on in an esport. To play at a competitive level a massive amount of dexterity is required, among other things. But does the dexterity required to participate competitively in esports make them actual sports? I believe that a sport is an organized display of strength, stamina, dexterity, and/or, in some cases, strategy, between two or more competing parties, therefore an esport is a sport.
There are many people who disagree with my idea about the legitimacy of esports. The president of ESPN, John Skipper is one of these people who, when asked whether he was interested in hosting esports on his channel, stated that “it was not a sport” and that he was “only interested in real sports” according to Tassi, P. (2014) ESPN Boss Declares eSports ‘Not A Sport’. John skipper is not alone on this stance, as many of the hosts of the show HBO Sports also believe that esports cannot possibly be a sport, as mentioned in my previous post Esports, the Opposition, who openly mocked people who watch esports, saying that they were crazy. Even a professional snowboarder, Tim Warwood, in the aforementioned post, “sport was all about getting outside, getting wet, muddy out of breath” and that he doesn’t see esports that way, according to Dirs, B. (2014). Is Computer Gaming Really Sport?. I think that most of these people have a very limited view as to what esports actually is, thinking its just some teenagers wasting their time playing video games .
I personally believe that these people are wrong, and that the dexterity and reflexes required to participate in esports at a competitive level classifies it as a sport. Dexterity can be defined as readiness and grace in physical activity; especially: skill and easing in using the hands, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. The different things a professional esport athlete does definitely falls under this definition. For example, in one of my previous post I showed how different players could perform hundreds of actions per minute (APM) for extended periods of time, which I believe is a great example of physical dexterity. Physical dexterity aside, playing these games also requires the skill to stay calm under a lot of mental stress. Ryan Turk from Collegiate Times believes that esports is a sport because of the strain on the mind, like for NASCAR and horse racing, according to his article Turk, R. (2014) Skill required for eSports merits greater recognition. I believe these two aspects along with some others such implementing strategy or proper team communication all come together to support the idea that esports is an actual sport.
Now I ask you, the reader, do you think that it is possible for the competitive play of video games to be considered a sport, the same way basketball, archery, horse racing, or even pool? If not, where do you think the line is that determines whether or not something is considered a sport?
references
Tassi, P. (2014, September 7). ESPN Boss Declares eSports ‘Not A Sport’ Retrieved February 23, 2015.
Dirs, B. (2014). Is Computer Gaming Really Sport? Retrieved March 10, 2015.
Turk, R. (2014) Skill required for eSports merits greater recognition Retrieved April 5, 2015
Esports and English 