My Problem With eSports
https://basementmtl.blogspot.com/2014/10/my-problem-with-esports.html
Holy shit, do I feel like an old man. I played street hockey
for about 3 hours yesterday and my joints feel like shite. The second day is
always the worst after heavy exertion though, so I anticipate being alright
tomorrow. What I'm really anticipating though is the start of the NHL regular
season this week! I love sports and I'm up to play anything. I'm also a huge
fan of watching many sports, and I watch Sportscentre nearly every night...but
why is it that I can't get into eSports? I've played many a game of League
of Legends, and while I can hold my own, I am nowhere near the quality
of play these pros possess. I was a fan of the game, and it's the epitome of
competition, much like any other sport I might watch on TV; but for some reason
I just can't bring myself to watch any of the world championship.
I'm not going to sit here and argue if you can even consider
eSports real sports. I think you can. While they aren't a game of physical
activity, they are definitely a mental game along with some fine dexterity. And
if you can call poker a sport, I don't know why you couldn't call League of
Legends one. The head honcho over at EPSN might disagree with me and this guy
over at Forbes does a good job arguing for eSports' cause: Youshould go check it out. But enough of this, I said I wasn't going to argue.
I think the real reason I can't sit there and watch an
eSport is because I don't have any actual tie to any of the teams. The main
draw of professional sports—in a league form at least—is that each team
represents a real place. You live practically anywhere in North America and you
will have a team to support. In eSports, all the teams are random abstracts
with nothing behind them to give me a reason to care. At least this is my
rationale.
I know that Campeau likes to watch professional League of
Legends but not for the reason you might think...well, maybe he does just like
it. From my understanding however, at least from what he's told me before, he
likes to watch it because he uses it as a learning experience. Watching the
pros is a pretty legit reason, heck I even do it when I watch the NHL (not that
it improves my hockey game much). Maybe that's just it though; you have to be
really into it to care. Campeau is a huge MOBA fan, and has played countless
hours of League of Legends over the years; he even started playing during its
beta. Me on the other hand, I enjoyed the game, but not enough to invest
outside time to it further.
