eSports is a booming industry that has been growing in popularity worldwide in these most recent couple of years. Certain video games such as Call of Duty, or League of Legends are almost being known as common knowledge when it comes to recognition in the modern world. In the sports world video games are looked upon as a “black sheep” for many reasons. eSports should not be looked upon differently from other “traditional sports”, but instead accepted as one of them in the modern day. 

eSports is in many ways just like “traditional sports”. eSports teams (game dependent) have coaches, managers, salaried players, backup roster, Sponsors, scheduled practices, team uniforms, etc. eSports goes the extra mile to try to be as similar to “traditional sports” as possible so that it can garnish more respect and one day possibly be seen as “just another sport”. one big event was when eSports first aired on live television, but many people were upset about “video games” being played on television and caused that specific tournament to not continue to be aired even though thousands of people tune in to watch the “World Series of Poker” each year on a sports network even though Poker is far from any traditional sport unlike any eSport game. A fact like this reason why I believe that eSports should be accepted by the “traditional sport” community. Unjust actions like these that cause a booming industry to lose out of many possible fans just because of some negative responses from uninterested viewers should not be tolerated in a world that is undergoing so many changes.

eSports has always been a tricky situation when it comes to how people should associate with it. Some people are anti-videogames and that causes a huge rift to form between them and eSports simply because it involves someone playing video games for a competitive purpose instead of for a recreational purpose. Others are all for eSports and are willing to support the growing industry to help it move forward in the future. “traditional sports” refers to the likes of Basketball, football, soccer, etc. Many of these “traditional sports are starting to support the eSports industry but that does not change the popular belief that playing video games competitively should not be considered a sport.

The question “Why should eSports hold the same merit as “Traditional Sports”?” is very important in the grand scheme of things when it comes to eSports. It helps everyone recognize that “traditional sports” hold the higher value of all national and international sports in the modern day, but also lets everyone know that there may be something that eSports brings to the table that should also allow it to carry such value that other international sports have. Learning about said differences will help others realize why eSports should not be looked upon as a “black sheep” to sports but instead accepted as one of them.

Audiences play a key factor when it comes to any sport. Sports Leagues (NBA, NHL, NFL) would not be able to fund their collective teams and players if they did not have a well-funded financial backing. A large portion of these funds come directly from fans buying tickets to attend games and support their favorite team and players. eSports operates the similarly when it comes to their fans and ticket sales, but also try to go above and beyond when it comes to fan-to-player interaction. “MLG 2012, separated as players were by soundproof booths…MLG 2012 offered a range of diversions for attendees during down time—visiting sponsors’ stalls to try out and buy new gaming peripherals, lining up for autographs, and visiting concession stands.” (Taylor 11). Big gaming tournaments not only try to maintain a high level of professionality when it comes to keeping their players in a solid maintained environment where they can concentrate and focus, but they also try to schedule times for fans to meetup with their favorite teams, organizations, and players to make their experience unique and unforgettable whereas in bigger sports when teams win/lose big championships players more often than not turn a blind eye to the fans that paid a lot of good money to see them do what they do best. I’m not saying that popular players and organizations of most “traditional” sports do not appreciate their fans, but most do not have huge fan meetups during their biggest tournament that they have been preparing for all year.

One argument that will always be brought to the table is the definition of a sport. when sports come to mind, most people default to this description: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. However, just like poker and chess which are played competitively as sports “eSports are mind-based sports with limited physical activity. Some definitions use words like “usually” and “or” when talking about physical activity involved, which makes the case that sports don’t always need to be physical athletic activity” (Semler). eSports may lack the involvement of physical activity but it gravitates around many other elements of “traditional” sports which allow it fit in the same category. eSports is rapidly growing in popularity and even gaining a lot of attention worldwide. “After eSports were broadcast nationwide on ESPN at this year’s X-Games, the chances of eSports becoming Olympic sports increased. It’s theorized that eSports could be an Olympic Sport as early as the 2020 summer games.” (Semler) With all 35 of the of the benchmarks needed to quality as an Olympic sport not having anything to do with physical activity it is very possible that eSports could earn a spot on the 2020 summer games lineup which is very important when it comes to determining the total value of the sport and comparing it to other sports. When comparing skills between the athletes of eSports and athletes of “traditional” sports the eSports athletes usually get overshadowed because people just assume “anyone can play a videogame, but not everyone can run super-duper fast”. Small overlooks like this one completely nullify the facts that just like “traditional” sport athletes eSports athletes have to spend large amounts of time developing new skills (Semler) and train for many hours in a day to continue to play at the highest level and not lose their jobs “Out of game, players are constantly going through different scenarios that may come up in a game and calculating their reactions. Preparation can only take you so far, gamers also need to have very fast reaction times and a brain that can keep up with the pace of the action.” (Semler).