♠️Should video games be considered as sports?♠️
Written by- _LibraChild_
Well, they are called e-sports for a reason, aren't they?
I know, I know. Sports require you to be out there, doing physical work, training yourself till you pass out from exhaustion, the nerve-wracking pressure of the opponents and the competition, planning strategies and tactics, quick thinking, team building and requires dedication, concentration and actual hard work. And the most important one - a cheery live audience watching every move of the players with bated breath.
Isn't that right?
Well, I can assure you all this is an integral part of e-sports or video games as well.
Here's why,
→ Physical activity or strenuous exercise might not be a part of a strict regime of an e-sport player BUT it requires coordination to synchronise your techniques with commands, the acute reflexes and responsiveness of almost unpredictable challenges and the stamina to sit and battle till they outlast their opponent. These activities require a tremendous amount of energy, enough to exhaust a grown man in a few hours.
First one to blink, loses.
→ Another important part of the video games is 'muscle memory'. If you're not aware of the term, let me enlighten you. Muscle memory is training your muscles to do something time and again till it becomes a reflex and your brain doesn't have to comprehend much. For this, e-sports players resort a huge part of their day to meditation, yoga to centre their balance and clear their mind and to train themselves in such a manner.
Amateurs practice till they get it right, professionals practice till they can't get it wrong.
→ Competition runs through the world of games, whether you are playing on a screen or on a horse. Even the simplest games of Ludo can turn real competitive, real fast. Flip them boards if you lose! It is needless to say that if you're behind a screen playing an assassination game or racing, be it a sword fight or snipers' test, the competition and challenges to beat your opponent or entire team comes as easy as sledging in cricket.
→ This brings me to my next point of plans and tactics. If you want to make a plan, work your brain muscles. As much strategy is required to plan a chess move or taking advantage of that one weak bowler in a T20 game, all video games require a plan. Without a plan, you're as lost as Columbus finding America instead of India. With the appropriate tricks, hours of planning, choosing and training your team, preparing for the plot twists in the games and the quick change of plans if things go south — sounds pretty much like ANY sport we can think of, am I right?
→ The Audience. The Viewers. The Spectators. Video games can't have an arena full of people rooting for their favourite team to win gracefully. Wrong! They do! Thousands of people have started to gather to watch live games, played on screens and telecasted on a large screen.
According to a recent survey, it's been said that on an average, young gamers ages 18-25 spend 3 hours and 25 minutes online watching others play video games. In 2018, in total, esports tournaments and live streams drew 258 million unique visitors. It is a growing platform that the world will adopt sooner or later.
→ The Covid pandemic has left us all stuck inside our homes with our gadgets and internet to entertain. Lockdown has been hard enough as is. Most of the physical sports had been cancelled or had to be conducted without many people as audience. We had to catch most of it on TV. This gave a major boost to the field of online & video games.
They have served well for entertainment purposes and have provided young minds with the ability to build focus, concentration and certainty.
To conclude, I will say, there is no substantial reason why online gaming or video gaming shouldn't be considered as a real sport. Let's embrace this new addition and area of sports giving opportunities to many youngsters as they come.
Love and hugs
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February 22, 2021 (Monday)
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