Why Are You So Angry About E-Sports?

I just can’t figure it out.

People are actually legitimately angry that E-sports are being broadcast on television. Specifically the Heroes of the Dorm tournament championship on ESPN2.

Twitter and Facebook are proving to be a breeding ground of keyboard warriors just completely bashing the fact that teams of people playing a video game is being shown on television.

Personally, I love it. There is serious skill involved in playing any of these games, and if you want to be at the level of competition these guys are on, you better be putting in some serious work.

When it comes down to the anger people have been exhibiting, I think it boils down to the fear or uncertainty associated with change.

Why does physical activity have to be a requirement when talking about a competitive event for it to be considered “real”? Are you saying that chess isn’t real? Are you saying that poker isn’t real? These are some of the most competitive things you can participate in, and both of them never require you to even stand up. Hell, you can play both with only one hand if you wanted to.

Why does a video game automatically draw such angst out of the casual viewer? My theory revolves around the the same anger and confusion associated with both the industrial revolution and the introduction of computers to modern day society.

People were afraid. Afraid they’d lose their jobs. Afraid that things were going to change and nothing would ever be the same. This is what is happening now.

What happened to the good old days when ESPN showed sports and not these stupid video games?

Guess what: they didn’t go anywhere. The good old days are the good current days. Sports is on ESPN 24/7 except for maybe 2 or 3 nights out of the entire year where they show an E-sports event for 2 or 3 hours.

That form of thinking is the same as someone saying:

What happened to the good old days when people did math by hand and didn’t use these fancy schmancy calculators?

Listen up: People still do math by hand. It’s just that technology has introduced something new to help us. It’s foolish to ignore that as a truth rather than an opinion. Advancements in technology are not going away. Things will continuously be enhanced with computers, and competition is no exception.

So, if you are going to continue being salty about ESPN showing E-sports on TV, do us all a favor and keep it to yourself.

Or you can go on your computer, log into your social media accounts, and broadcast your opinions to the world with the click of a button about how you wish things could go back to how they used to be.