With today’s generation being more interested in technology than ever before, video gaming has become a huge part of today’s world. Playing these video games (now known as E-sports) is just a hobby for most people. But, for some, it’s very competitive and some consider it a sport. Well that’s the question, can E-sports really be considered a sport?

Here’s some reasons why or why not: people say that it’s not a sport because you’re not engaging in any physical activity, you’re just sitting on the couch or in a chair in front of some sort of screen with a remote control in your hand. But on the other hand, gamers will argue that it is a sport because if people will watch other people play hockey, basketball, baseball or other sports, and still watch people play video games, then they should be allowed to call E-sports a sport. The viewership from the broadcasts E-sports championships is just as high if not higher compared to that of professional sports leagues, which means it makes just as much money, which some people say is a motivating factor for professional athletes. Also, the talent that a video gamer has in E-sports can be equal to what another athlete has in his/her respective sport.

Lack of physical activity

Firstly, the biggest argument towards E-sports not being considered a sport is the fact that you’re not getting any physical activity out of it. But if you compare it to other sports, for example, baseball. In baseball, you’re just standing around most of the time. The same can be said for football, where there are so many breaks for players from the ton of commercial breaks to when the offense is on the field and the defense is off the field. In basketball, there’s a lot of breaks and timeouts as well and so many substitutions that players get a lot of rest time. Those players aren’t getting any physical activity at those times either, so this argument can be considered invalid most of the time.

People watch it

Next, if enough people will watch people play video games that they make leagues and championship tournaments out of it like other professional sports did years ago, then why can’t it be considered a sport? There are lots of leagues out there for E-sports but one of the most common ones is the ‘League of Legends World Championship,’ which is held annually, and started seven years ago. This championship awards a trophy and 1 million US dollars to the winner(s). Over 60 million people watched the finals of this tournament in 2017, which is more than any other championship finals of the four major sports leagues. The numbers prove that a lot of people are interested in this and will watch it, so that should be a part of making the argument that E-sports is a sport.

All about the money

Money is a contributing factor that motivates professional athletes to make it to the “big leagues.” With the 1-million-dollar prize with the tournament that I mentioned earlier, maybe that motivates video gamers to qualify for an E-sports tournament, even though it’s not quite as much as most professional athletes make.

It’s not as easy as it looks

Lastly, even though people say video game is easy, and shouldn’t be considered a sport because there’s no physical activity, the talent required to “make it” in the E-sports world must be equivalent to the talent that major professional athletes have in their respective sport. Playing video games at that level is much harder than it looks, unless you’re just playing casually or for fun.

To summarize, the reasons I just stated are reasons why or why not E-sports should be considered a sport. People who say there’s a lack of physical activity should look at other sports and see that there’s moments in those sports where there is no physical activity. Another thing is that people will watch, in fact more people watched the finals of an E-sports championship tournament than the NBA Finals, and the NBA is the most popular league globally out of the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL. The numbers don’t lie. Since people will watch other people play video games that they could just as easily play themselves, just like people do with watching professional sports, then why not make them the same and consider E-sports a sport? Also, the talent required to play E-sports is just as much as the talent it takes to make it to any professional sports league in the world.

What do you think?

Finally, the word ‘sports’ is directly in the title, so maybe people have already decided that E-sports is considered a sport. But, what do you guys think? Should E-sports be considered a sport?

Sources

Photos courtesy of Pexels.com

Some info retrieved from Wikipedia