Can "e-sports" be considered true sports?

[C2Ultima]

After reading this [(http://www.destructoid.com/esports-defenders-the-reason-why-esports-can-t-be-sports-208512.phtml)], I was surprised that there's such an opposition to something like Major League gaming being considered a sport.

Personally I see no reason why e-sports couldn't be considered real sports, apart from the fact that these competitions seem very limited to FPS games and Starcraft.

So tell me fellow Escapists, do you think "e-sports" are real sports, or that they aren't and/or will never be.

 

[number2301]

No they aren't. Sport is sport, it involves running around competing with people. Same way motorsport isn't a sport, it's motorsport.

Why take two really useful terms and combine them into one much less useful term? Why does calling games Esports make them more valid?

How about just calling it professional gaming, or even competitive gaming, or tournament gaming?

 

[Rawne1980]

I think people can call it whatever they want but I highly doubt they will be recognised officially as a real sport any time soon.

Then again, stranger things have happened.

Personally I see games as a way to relax. If people have taken it so seriously they want it to be classed as a sport then I think they are doing it wrong.

I used to masturbate a lot, never once classed it as a sport ..... and that did give me forearms like Tyson.

Conversation down the pub..

"I play sport"

"really, what sport is that"

"Starcraft"

*insert saracstic comeback and right hook for being a nipple here*

 

[AlternatePFG]

I can't take e-sports seriously myself. I tried to watch the Starcraft videos but it just feels really awkward. They aren't sports in my opinion. It's competitive sure, and they can call it whatever they want, but I don't think e-sports nor racing for that matter are sports. They are under their categories.

 

[Arisato-kun]

Even if they aren't sports they're a hell of a lot more interesting than most sports.

 

[funguy2121]

I'm OK with considering this a sport, so long as they don't start calling the participants "athletes" like they do with Nascar.

 

[SageRuffin]

Probably not, but it won't stop me from watching major fighting game tournaments.

 

[Irridium]

When their supporters get so damn riled up and defensive when one random person on the internet claims they aren't real sports, no, no they aren't.

Because the heads of real sports don't give a shit when people say they aren't real sports. Either that or they're too busy with said sports to say anything back. And if they do, they won't go batshit insane like the eSports people did.

Honestly, Jim Sterling said it better than I ever could.

http://www.destructoid.com/esports-fans-are-the-reason-why-esports-can-t-be-sports-208512.phtml

 

[w9496]

Where's the physical contact in E-sports? There is none? then it's not a sport.

Maybe if it were some kind of virtual NFL game.

 

[Eric Staples]

If they were true sports, then they wouldn't be callin' 'em e-sports, amirite?

 

[AlternatePFG]

When their supporters get so damn riled up and defensive when one random person on the internet claims they aren't real sports, no, no they aren't.

Because the heads of real sports don't give a shit when people say they aren't real sports. Either that or they're too busy with said sports to say anything back. And if they do, they won't go batshit insane like the eSports people did.

Honestly, Jim Sterling said it better than I ever could.

http://www.destructoid.com/esports-fans-are-the-reason-why-esports-can-t-be-sports-208512.phtml

Yup, just read that article. He makes a really good point, and that could probably be said about gamers in general, they're just way too defensive when it comes every slightest criticism about gaming.

 

[esperandote]

Why not, they are competive, they require skills, there are professionals on them (people get paid to play). They require a digital media so it's ok they call them e-sports but start take it seriously and why not make a league.

 

[thenamelessloser]

They are as real for the spectators as regular sports. lol Both are boring to me to watch so I don't really care either way. =)

 

[Jerubbaal]

Where's the physical contact in E-sports? There is none? then it's not a sport.

Maybe if it were some kind of virtual NFL game.

Like golf, and tennis, no physical contact. Totally not sports.

That being said, I'm not a big e-sports fanboy and don't really care what they're considered to be. Just don't go using arbitrary definitions of sports that would exclude dozens of established sports from being sports.

 

[Keava]

Bridge is considered sport by IOC, chess is considered sport by a lot of people, can't see why eSports can't be really. We are moving on from the "athletic" requirement that defined sports for so long, and if you ask any pro-gamer they will tell you that keeping your body in good shape is as important as practising virtual strategies.

All the other elements are already in, skill based, entertaining, clear winner and looser, competitive nature, organization... If people writing blogs or making vlogs can call themselves "gaming journalists" then pro-gamers can call themselves sportsman. Simple.

 

[OliverTwist72]

No. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport

A sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner and loser can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism. Activities such as board games and card games are sometimes classified as "mind sports," but strictly speaking "sport" by itself refers to some physical activity.

Chess, Checkers, Madden, are not sports. They are fun and entertaining, but they are not sports.