Great Debate: Are eSports sports?

**Goofle** · 07-17-2013, 04:18 PM

Have my assistant buy me a tablet while he's at it.

djchameleon · 07-17-2013, 04:20 PM

No need to. My office is sending a tablet your way to your assistant.

hip hop bunny hop · 07-17-2013, 04:40 PM

How unfortunate immigration made this mistake. Certainly, encouraging the notion that competitive sedentariness (which is all 'eSports' amounts to) is a sport will do nothing to lessen the obesity epidemic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuna

Explain to me how racing or hunting, or fishing requires more athleticism than eSports.

It boggles the mind that some people honestly think the athleticism required for hunting is similar to that required for sitting in your parents attic in front of a keyboard. Walking among the Badlands hours before dawn, avoiding prairie dog burrows & rattle snakes (among other hazards), setting up on a vantage point. Waiting for hours if not days until the proper Pronghorn presents itself within range. Then, there's the small matter of accounting for wind and the drop of the bullet, and placing the bullet in a vital organ of an animal that can run over fifty miles an hour. Should all this go well, one then must field dress the animal and carry the carcass back to the vehicle.

:P

djchameleon · 07-17-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hip hop bunny hop

It boggles the mind that some people honestly think the athleticism required for hunting is similar to that required for sitting in your parents attic in front of a keyboard. Walking among the Badlands hours before dawn, avoiding prairie dog burrows & rattle snakes (among other hazards), setting up on a vantage point. Waiting for hours if not days until the proper Pronghorn presents itself within range. Then, there's the small matter of accounting for wind and the drop of the bullet, and placing the bullet in a vital organ of an animal that can run over fifty miles an hour. Should all this go well, one then must field dress the animal and carry the carcass back to the vehicle.

:P

That sounds exactly like gaming imo.

Forward To Death · 07-17-2013, 04:47 PM

Uhh, I'd say the percent of hunter/fishers who are overweight is about equal to the percent of gamers who are overweight. It's a stereotype that isn't accurate at all really, a lot of gamers are skinny ass nerds, or even just normal people with social lives who play as a hobby.

Hunting and fishing doesn't require any athleticism, it's mostly waiting and drinking beer/relaxing. Kind of like playing video games.

FETCHER. · 07-17-2013, 05:17 PM

I was only teasing dj

.

I don't legitimately believe that they are sports though, considering that athletes need to be in top physical condition and put themselves at severe risk of injury during a game. Something that is not a concern when playing videogames. They're just two totally different ball games. I'm a sports coach, therefore I'm never really going to change my opinion.

GuitarBizarre · 07-17-2013, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FETCHER.

I was only teasing dj

.

I don't legitimately believe that they are sports though, considering that athletes need to be in top physical condition and put themselves at severe risk of injury during a game. Something that is not a concern when playing videogames. They're just two totally different ball games. I'm a sports coach, therefore I'm never really going to change my opinion.

Likelihood of injury doesn't really have anything to do with sport though, does it?

Even if it did, I can name plenty of injured pro-gamers. Carpal tunnel of course being the most common, but wrist injuries amongst progamers are very very common. To use nicknames: MVP, Taeja, Naniwa, Sheth (Currently retired due to injury in fact), Day9, Scarlett, TLO, Gumiho, etc.

Injury when playing videogames is a concern - even without playing the 14 hour days a lot of the pros are playing, wrist injury from overuse is a definite risk of playing any game at a high level for a prolonged period of time.

Also we went over all the stuff before about athletes, definition of athlete, whether that means peak physical or mental condition, dexterity etc.

As for HHBH - Get lost, your particular brand of spiteful trollbaiting isn't welcome here.

~~butthead aka 216~~ · 07-17-2013, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hip hop bunny hop

How unfortunate immigration made this mistake. Certainly, encouraging the notion that competitive sedentariness (which is all 'eSports' amounts to) is a sport will do nothing to lessen the obesity epidemic.

It boggles the mind that some people honestly think the athleticism required for hunting is similar to that required for sitting in your parents attic in front of a keyboard. Walking among the Badlands hours before dawn, avoiding prairie dog burrows & rattle snakes (among other hazards), setting up on a vantage point. Waiting for hours if not days until the proper Pronghorn presents itself within range. Then, there's the small matter of accounting for wind and the drop of the bullet, and placing the bullet in a vital organ of an animal that can run over fifty miles an hour. Should all this go well, one then must field dress the animal and carry the carcass back to the vehicle.

:P

hunting definitely takes more physicality than gaming, i agree with that. its obvious. i think you should at least have to stand up at some point for it to be considered a sport LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

That sounds exactly like gaming imo.

i dunno if serious or not

i hope sarcasm from the chameleon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Likelihood of injury doesn't really have anything to do with sport though, does it?

Even if it did, I can name plenty of injured pro-gamers. Carpal tunnel of course being the most common, but wrist injuries amongst progamers are very very common. To use nicknames: MVP, Taeja, Naniwa, Sheth (Currently retired due to injury in fact), Day9, Scarlett, TLO, Gumiho, etc.

Injury when playing videogames is a concern - even without playing the 14 hour days a lot of the pros are playing, wrist injury from overuse is a definite risk of playing any game at a high level for a prolonged period of time.

Also we went over all the stuff before about athletes, definition of athlete, whether that means peak physical or mental condition, dexterity etc.

As for HHBH - Get lost, your particular brand of spiteful trollbaiting isn't welcome here.

those injuries come from prolonged play. most activities result in injury if done long enough, thats just common sense. there are certainly athletes NOT in top phyiscal condition BUT they have to at least stand up or move in their sport lol

GuitarBizarre · 07-18-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 216

hunting definitely takes more physicality than gaming, i agree with that. its obvious. i think you should at least have to stand up at some point for it to be considered a sport LOL

i dunno if serious or not

i hope sarcasm from the chameleon.

those injuries come from prolonged play. most activities result in injury if done long enough, thats just common sense. there are certainly athletes NOT in top phyiscal condition BUT they have to at least stand up or move in their sport lol

You're not really arguing anything here we didn't cover in great detail 20 pages ago. It really would be worth reading the thread through from start to finish so that we can avoid doing the same points about physicality to death. There's already been a lot of back and forth over whether physicality actually defines what is and is not a sport.

For sake of a position being put down in this reply - My position is that the difference between a game and a sport isn't the physicality or even difficulty of the thing - What defines a sport is the framework of competition. Games are played for fun. Sportsmen/women play to win, and there will be or should be a framework in place to determine that victor on a more broad level than simply that game. Best of 5, tournament play, playoff brackets or points rankings based on consistent performance and defeat of the competition - thats what sports is to me. Anything else, be it football or rugby or counterstrike or starcraft - If you're just playing for fun or recreation, thats a game, and the people involved can't call themselves sportsmen/women until such time as they engage in a competition of commensurate scale.

Also, not gonna lie, if you're here to discuss, cool, if you want to mock, take it elsewhere. You've made your opinion clear already. If you think you can back it up convincingly then do so, but the jabs and snide remarks are really not the way to contribute to this, or any other discussion on any topic.

FRED HALE SR. · 07-18-2013, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 216

hunting definitely takes more physicality than gaming, i agree with that. its obvious. i think you should at least have to stand up at some point for it to be considered a sport LOL

i dunno if serious or not

i hope sarcasm from the chameleon.

those injuries come from prolonged play. most activities result in injury if done long enough, thats just common sense. there are certainly athletes NOT in top phyiscal condition BUT they have to at least stand up or move in their sport lol

Most people work up more of a sweat masturbating then playing video games. Hunting is a far more active sport then eating cheesy puffs while hitting some keys. You have to actually hike to get to a spot to begin the process of hunting. While I don't care what anyone wishes to call a sport, i'll never see gaming as a sport at any point in my life. I'll waste more energy in a day surfing then I will playing games for my entire life. And I'll be all the better for it also.

My position is that sport does require physicality, its everything that sport has ever been based on.

07-17-2013, 04:47 PM	#235 (permalink)
Forward To Death Trolier Than Thou Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,336	Uhh, I'd say the percent of hunter/fishers who are overweight is about equal to the percent of gamers who are overweight. It's a stereotype that isn't accurate at all really, a lot of gamers are skinny ass nerds, or even just normal people with social lives who play as a hobby. Hunting and fishing doesn't require any athleticism, it's mostly waiting and drinking beer/relaxing. Kind of like playing video games.