Samuel Lozano Fornari / Edge columnist
In the last years, eSports is obtaining more importance and is being recognized as one of the most watched world-wide events with thousands of viewers in their tournaments. The rising popularity of these competitions has started a long-lasting debate about whether they should be considered sports or not.
The word “sport” is defined as “a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job” by Cambridge.
The definition of sport does not match the eSports. The eSports are videogames, and videogames are played sitting on a chair. So even if eSports is a competition that requires effort and skills, it is not a activity that requires physical effort. On the other side, to play sports like soccer you have to use a great amount of energy, considered as a physical effort.
As Nia C. says in her article “should eSports be considered sports?”, “physical means vigorous or active, and eSports are the opposite of active.” Even if a player moves their hand 300 times per minute, it only affects a small portion of the body.
It is said in the article “How fast is fast? Some pro gamers make 10 moves per second” by Yannick LeJacq that a “pro gamer” has to do around 10 actions each second in a match, but even if that was true, it’s still a mental effort or training, not a physical one. Because of this, eSports do not match the definition of ”athletic”, and therefore does not fit the definition of “sport” either.
Nowadays a lot of companies are accepting the eSports as a sport, but if they consider eSports a sport, why wouldn’t they consider playing unprofessionally a sport too? When kids play football in the school, they say that they have done sport, but if they sit in their desks and play League of Legends, they don’t say that they have been doing a sport all day, they were “gaming”. That’s because playing a sport that requires you to run is not the same as playing a videogame, at the end, they are different things.
If playing “casual” videogames is not considered a sport, neither should the eSports, at the end is the same difference between playing football in the school and being the famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. One is played professionally, and the other is not, but both of them are the same activity.
Playing videogames is not a physical activity, so it shouldn’t be considered a sport, they are competitive games. But, at the end, being a sport is just a way of labelling an activity. Should card magic be considered a sport? Should speed typing be considered a sport? Does it really matter if these things are considered a sport? Even if eSports is not a sport, people who like it will enjoy watching their favourite competition, without caring about how it’s labelled.
Sources:
“Should video games be considered a sport? Yes! Here’s why…” by Ryan
“Is Esports a Sport?” Internet Forum by Angela Ruggiero
“In the War Room with Warfel: Esports is not a sport” by Adam Warfel
“ARE ESPORTS REALLY SPORTS? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW” by Roundhill team
“Should eSports Be Considered Sports?” by Nia C.
“Are video games a sport?”by sdmulgrave
“How fast is fast? Some pro gamers make 10 moves per second” by Yannick LeJacq
“ESPN Boss Declares eSports ‘Not A Sport’“ by Paul Tassi