By Keegan Ohta
In the world of sports, most will not think of video games being a sport. But if you live in the realm of video games, you always think that esports is a sport.
Now I get it, how can playing video games be considered a sport? How can someone sitting down at a computer or sitting on their sofas playing video games be considered an athlete? Well in some cases, esports is better than sports. And no, not everyone of these athletes are sitting down on the sofa or chair every day, every minute of their lives.
There might even be some cases where esports is better than sports.
Take a look at some facts we know right now. The League of Legends World Championships were held in Beijing, China in the Bird’s Nest. The stadium filled with 40,000 people wanting to watch if Samsung Galaxy or SK Telecom would take the biggest trophy in the world of League of Legends.
But it doesn’t stop there. In total all over the world, there were more people watching this championship game than there were in the Super Bowl.
In the Overwatch League, the first ever Grand Finals was a success, having sold out the Barclay’s Center in New York and amassing millions of people to watch the Overwatch League’s biggest game.
Ok I get it; you aren’t impressed yet. There’s the hype of a real sport, yet you still can’t consider it a sport.
According to Oxnard dictionary, sport is defined as, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment.”
Those playing esports will tell you playing the game involves exertion of the brain and having the need for fast reflexes and dexterity in operating a controller or mouse and keyboard. There’s also the fact that you compete against individuals or other teams for entertainment. It wouldn’t be a sport without competition, and esports fits the bill on that.
So maybe you’re still not impressed. Yeah, the dictionary is right but my explanation could make no sense.
Maybe this will get you to try looking at it in a different perspective: Try playing an esports game.
Now I’m not forcing you to do it, I’m just saying give it a shot. Play a game or two with your child, or your friends.
If you’re a sports fan playing Madden 20, NBA 2K, FIFA 20, or any sports game, congratulations. You have immersed yourself into the world of esports because yes, there are esports competitions for sports games. Or maybe you’re playing a game of Tetris from a long time ago. That’s great because that also puts you into the world of esports since there is a Tetris World Championship.
Anybody can be in the world of esports and I mean everybody.
In the world of Counter-Strike Global Offensive, there are all-women teams. In the Overwatch League, a girl name Geguri plays for one of the best teams in the league.
Even in the University of Hawaii’s teams, there are about the same numbers of girls and guys on the team total.
There is no, “Carli Lloyd can’t play because she plays Soccer and because she’s a girl,” or “The US Team that played in the world cup should get paid equally because they won more than the men.” There is no controversy of men or women in esports. The only controversy that everyone thinks about is, “Who’s going to win?”, or, “Why did they make that play?”
There are so many reasons why I love esports. But the biggest one doesn’t include the viewership and hype, not the definition or the inclusiveness.
No, I love esports because it’s still growing, and I can grow with it.
It’s still growing in a way that no one ever expected it to. It’s going to be a part of the 2020 Olympics. It’s going to be on its own TV network. It’s going to be on national television.
The way it’s shaping now, esports will be growing non-stop. And this fabulous world of esports is why I’m in the game.
Check out our first show dedicated to Esports!
*there were some technical issues and audio starts at approximately the 7:13 mark*
Watch Squad Up! – 9/24/19 First Show! from espn_hnl on www.twitch.tv
Tune in Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. HST on 1500 AM and the Sideline Hawai’i app.