I don't get "esports" and I probably never will. It's people sitting around playing video games! That's literally all it is. Yet there are professional teams, and they sold out the Barclays Center a few weeks ago for the finals of the "Overwatch League", which was televised on ESPN. A number of colleges have started varsity esports teams, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's NCAA-recognized at some point.
It's gotten to the point that parents are hiring private coaches to tutor their kids in the game Fortnite. To repeat, parents are paying people to teach their kids how to get better AT A VIDEO GAME! And if that's not enough, one of the reasons these parents are doing this is so their kid could potentially earn a college scholarship. That's right. A college scholarship for playing video games.
People can do whatever they want on their own time. And I understand that a lot of people enjoy playing video games. But to call them a "sport" is beyond a stretch. Which is why giving the same college athletic scholarship to a Fortnite player that you'd give to a soccer player is wrong on so many levels. Yet that seems to be the direction in which we're headed.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to the idea of gaming clubs or teams or tournaments. But the idea of sanctioning esports as a varsity "sport" and awarding scholarships for it just seems to go against everything sports are supposed to promote. After all, how many athletes waste how much time playing these games in their free time?
The whole idea of athletics is to get off the couch and do something physical. Esports is exactly the opposite. You're not encouraging kids to get off the couch, you're encouraging them to stay on it. For hours upon hours. And now that there are professional leagues and college scholarships are available, more and more people are going to view video games as more than just a hobby.
Gamers will tell you that there is a certain level of physical fitness required to be successful. Which definitely is true. Your hands and wrists certainly get a workout, and I'm sure sitting in the same position for too long isn't that comfortable, either. Meanwhile, the mental fortitude is equal to that of a poker player. You need to be able to focus for hours and days, which requires intense concentration. And I'm sure there's also film study and scouting reports just like there are in mainstream sports.
But there's still a big difference between esports and mainstream sports. Which is why you can't put them at the same level. I'm sure there are plenty of people who disagree with me, but classifying esports as "sports" is a stretch. At least in my eyes.
Yet, as crazy as the idea sounds, it seems like varsity esports teams is just the beginning. We could see esports make its way to the Olympics in the not-too-distant future. Tokyo's too early and Paris probably is, too. But LA 2028 doesn't seem like that much of a stretch. And while possible Olympic inclusion is still a while off, esports will be a demonstration sport at the Asian Games (which begin next weekend in Jakarta) before being elevated to full medal status in 2022.
Last month, there was an "Esports Forum" between Olympic officials and leaders in the esports and gaming industries at IOC headquarters in Switzerland. The Forum was more of a dialogue so that the sides can better understand each other, but the message behind it was clear. The IOC is desperate to appeal to a younger demographic, and they think esports is the way to do it. After all, what's the age range of the vast majority of people who play video games regularly?
Olympic inclusion wasn't the goal of the IOC's Esports Forum. There are still a lot of steps that need to be taken for that (for starters, there's no international federation governing esports), and there are a lot of justifiable concerns about the complete lack of doping control in competitive gaming (among other things). But the dialogue started the ball rolling for what seems inevitable.
After the Forum, the IOC and GASIF (the umbrella international federation for those sports without one) established an "Esports Liaison Group," which will continue that communication between Olympic and esports/gaming stakeholders. The Liaision Group will be the IOC's guests at a forum just prior to the start of the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires this October.
And, seeing as that's the target demographic, I wouldn't be surprised to see esports appear on the Youth Olympic program in either 2022 or 2026. Hopefully that's where it stays. Although, I have a feeling that would be just the start. Like it or not, it seems inevitable that esports will be making its way to the Olympics at some point. Just like it's probably headed to the NCAA, too.
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