In the War Room with Warfel: Esports is not a sport
August 21, 2019
SIU unveiled their new Esports Arena this weekend, but why is it called ‘esports’ if there is little to no physical effort put forth in video gaming?
Electronic gaming, or ‘video gaming’ as it’s commonly called, is not a sport.
Sports are defined by Merriam-Webster as a physical activity for pleasure, which I would consider as the recreational side of sports, which is something different entirely.
Advertisement
Sports, as we see in the MLB, NHL, NFL and the NBA, require physical activity plus skill in a competitive setting.
While sitting in front of a computer monitor racing your fingers across the keyboard or even using a gaming system and a computer does require skill, there is no physicality behind it whatsoever.
According to the New York Times, Kyle Giersdorf, who won the Fortnite competition recently, had been playing the game for six to eight hours a day.
Skills in video games are completely different than those needed in sports; in video games, to be good you really only need good coordination in your fingers and quick reaction times.
Sports require not only good coordination and quick reaction times, but your whole body moving in a fluid motion, not just your fingers.
Almost anyone with enough screen time can become good at video games, especially if you’re playing six or more hours a day.
The same can be said for sports as well; if you are playing basketball, hockey, baseball or football six or more hours a day, you should become an expert in those games.
No matter how much natural athletic ability you have, if you want to be successful at baseball, you have to work out to improve your game.
To improve in video gaming, all you have to do is play more; you don’t have to go the gym, run on a treadmill, or lift weights.
Instead, you can sit in front of your television or computer monitor munching on Cheetos and chugging Monster as you roll into your eighth hour of Overwatch.
While ESports do have competitions like sports, it is the way they practice and the physicality that defines an actual sport.
Competitive gaming is taxing on the mind and body, but not in the same way that sports are.
If you have ever played a sport either recreationally or competitively, your whole body is tired after you are finished, especially if you choose to go at the sport with all your energy.
Anytime I have played video games for hours on end, I simply have a headache and feel groggy because all I have been doing all day is staring at a screen.
Some might say there is strategy involved in video games, but the same can be said for chess or checkers and no one calls them sports.
Everyone calls those board games; they are simply games and not a sport.
So, if you are a competitive gamer, please for the sake of your health and my sanity, turn off the screen.
Go outside see the thing called the sun, and if you are like Howie from the Benchwarmers and are deathly afraid of the sun, I’m sorry.
I encourage everyone to find an actual sport to play that requires physical activity; embrace your nerdy side and join a Quidditch team or go the rec and box.
Adam Warfel, Sports Editor, can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @warfel_adam.
To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois sports news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
Advertisement
Ok sorry but youve got a lot of things wrong here. The worst sentence must have been “Skills in video games are completely different than those needed in sports; in video games, to be good you really only need good coordination in your fingers and quick reaction times.” because that just isnt true at all. Pro gamers need to think about so many other things durning a game and it is said that a pro gamer makes around 3 decisions a second. Those decisions also have to be right mind you. I think this article needs a little more research of what eSports truly are
I know the word “sport” originally comes from disport. Considering the meaning of the word, playing video games seems to be one of sports. However, The problem is not whether it is sport or not. Calling playing video games competitively sport is extremely weird. the author who defined video games as one of sports at fault. Take “simulation convention” for instance, is a word I made already obviously better than “esports”(Don’t take it so seriously, just one example). No one would have argued about this topic like this article exists if the sponsor had not made the noun “esports”.
I agree with the previous comment. This is a very biased article. Based on the way you are speaking it sounds like you feel like video games are overweight kids sitting on the computer all day in the basement but that just isn’t it. People for 8 hours a day are practicing working on their mindset and their skills as the games generally change every week. There are other people working in an office 8 hrs a day on a computer but no one seems to have an issue with that. Gamers are not like vampires. Bugha who won 3 million dollars goes outside to play basketball all the time and has no issue. One more thing. “Almost anyone with enough screen time can become good at video games, especially if you’re playing six or more hours a day.” That is not true at all. There are people who play 8 hrs a day EVERY day. But unfortunately, they suck at the game that they play. Playing video games isn’t just about hand-eye coordination but instead is about having a good mindset and the ability to not freeze and throw the game, and even great communication skills. “To improve in video gaming, all you must do is play more; you don’t have to go to the gym, run on a treadmill, or lift weights. Instead, you can sit in front of your television or computer monitor munching on Cheetos and chugging Monster as you roll into your eighth hour of Overwatch.” I find that to be disrespectful and untrue. There are 150 Million Fortnite gamers across the globe. Only 100 of them could qualify for the world cup. Do you think those people were chugging monster and eating Cheetos? No. The people chugging monster and eating Cheetos are the rest of the Fortnite gamers that couldn’t make it into the world cup. Also, about chess. Chess is a sport. The International Olympic Committee considers it to be a sport. I feel like before you make a post like this you should do real research.