HBO Sports have a laugh at the expense of gamers

So they had a question to the guys that were on the show if esports is a real sport, a legit question. Yet they don't take this stuff serious

http://kotaku.com/sports-experts-on-hbo-laugh-at-esports-1486477124?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

First off what does Star Trek conventions have to do with anything? Plenty of nerds and Star Trek fans in pro sports, trust me on that one. They are all in denial because they were surprised at the popularity of the SPORT from the video. I liked how that one chick said "I didn't even know this existed." but then freakin 20 seconds later she says "it's a game not a sport." Lady you didn't even know it existed before how can you determine anything that fast? They didn't even have an argument for why it wasn't a sport. They all just lol'ed and acted like they were funny. I usually like to take sports advice from good sportscasters and intelligent retired coaches and players. I don't the background of these clowns they could have sports but you would have fooled me. So I make Bryant Gumble look like Malcom x huh mofo? ~ Wayne Brady

Why is it every time I see these naive news commentary segments, it has the overtones of 'Ah yes...the 'NERDS' what shall we do about their kind? why are they here?'

Not that we haven't had the same amount of disagreement on whether e-sports should be called athletes on here, but At least NPR treats discussions regarding games with intellectual seriousness .

I am a gamer and even I facepalm at the "E-sports" name, I know it's technically correct, but I think "competitive gaming" would have prevented a lot of arguments.

It's like the "football vs. football" debate: why would americans call a sport "football" and spark an argument, especially when it was clearly based on rugby?

Call it handegg.

Playing video games competitively is not a Sport.

That's a freaking joke to think they could be

Yeah. It is cringeworthy. But anyone can have a 'competitive gaming' session. Where no cash is involved. The phrases "Pro tournament" "pro-gaming" "pro-gamer" should've been the go-to industry term instead of 'sports' . Since thats all it is whether RPG, Fighter, Multiplayer FPS etc. but anything to get the Korean talent visas for tourneys right? Oh well.

It's the old "acception vs. literality" argument: from a literal point of view "sports" means 'anything that people find leisurable', from a common acception standpoint it means 'physical activities practiced at a competitive level'.

Who's more correct? Definitely the former, but then again: if you choose to defy the common perception people have of something, incorrect as it may be, the least you can expect is for your definition to be unpopular and for people to object.

A bit like when the "what's an RPG" debate comes up, lol.

ESPN (the S stands for sports) aired the World Series of Dominoes.

Anyway, it's one of these family resemblance issues that drives humanity nuts at every turn. We love to lump things into categories, and when we can't or someone wants to argue about the imaginary lines we've bound our arbitrary taxonomy with, we get upset. Is X a sport? Is Y an athlete? Is Z a punk band? And so on and so forth. It's a petty discussion, but then it's sports journalism, so what do we expect? Personally, I love watching sports but hate watching people talk about them for this reason.

not a sport. and i believe there was already a thread about this.

Yup, they really look down at us even in this day and age

End of the day alot of people have this stereotype for gamers and that's all it is and anyway gaming isn't a sport, its gaming, and if your getting cash for it, its pro gaming, I wouldn't call sitting on your arse using a controller joystick keyboard and mouse a sport lol but I guess they have to call it something I mean if tidaly winks is a sport then why not

many would make the same argument for chess

Nascar drivers sit on their ass, but don't dare say they're not athletes, as Donovan McNabb found out recently.

But again, who cares? Whatever you want to call or not call them or their professions, they have a skill and they make lots of money with that skill doing something fun. Respect.

The body of an f1\ nascar driver goes through a hell of a lot more than that of an "e-athlete".

hehe, but Esports is not a real sport, A sport is

• an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

So NBC sports are correct and Kotaku is a bunch of morons, just because a LOL final can draw in a full arena doesnt make it a sport.

Also i don't see a problem here, everyone know its not a Sport, its a hobby, a videogame and those people competing is certainly not athletes.

First yes a nascar driver might sit on their butt during the race, but do you have any idea the physical strain and fitness a driver has to have? because there is a reason motorsport is considered a sport. In competitive gaming there isn't anything at all that could count as a physical exertion, unless you count the mouse and finger movement and then its just getting ridiculous.

Also its the same reason why Chess is not considered a sport and that can also fill an arena.

So? The body of a football player endures more than a nascar driver. Does that make the nascar driver less skilled at his profession? Does that make nascar not a sport because there's other activities out there that are more physical? Of course not. You can't settle sport/not-a-sport with a sliding scale. And posture while engaging in an activity doesn't determine whether or not it's a sport. There are some Olympic sports we'll see this winter with a bunch of guys laying down in a tube.

My main point, however, is that this kind of labeling and back-and-forth comparisons between sports is asinine. If I was making hundreds of thousands of dollars playing videogames, I'd be worried about how to invest my money, not what a cast of clowns on a sport show somewhere is labeling me. I didn't understand why nascar people got so upset at McNabb, and I don't understand the fuss over this, either.

I don't like nascar, I'm just saying I think its a bad comparison.

Descriptive linguists would say that a "sport" is whatever is most commonly accepted as being a sport, and I think the common person would probably agree with the meatheads on that tv show.

again, so what? We see people firing rifles in the Olympics. Where's the physical exertion there? Yet we call them "sportsman" and they're competing in the Olympics. What about DDR tournaments? Are those sport? Evidently "physical exertion" is not a necessary or sufficient condition for sport - try again. Or don't. Because like I've said a bunch of times already, who cares what category you cram it into? What changes?

It wasn't a comparison. Poster says "I wouldn't call sitting on your arse...a sport." But that's just what nascar drivers do and it's considered a sport, showing that posture by itself isn't a criterion for calling something a sport. I wasn't calling gaming a sport; I was merely saying you can't say it's not a sport because of the posture of a person while playing a game. And, honestly it was intended as a bit of tongue-in-cheek over the sensitivity people have when they're not considered "athletes" by other people. I wasn't initially trying to be argumentative.

As to that definition. It's what I was getting at by linking family resemblance above and the point of everything I've wrote in this thread. You can't nail down any set of necessary and sufficient conditions for calling something a sport. Any time someone tries you can pull up an example that lacks the criterion but is still conventionally referred to as a sport.

Again there is some physical exertion in shooting and archery, they stand up the entire time, they move and that is physical exertion, but its on the edge of what would should be considered a sport. But lets humour the idea, what physical exertion is there in gaming?

Also another thing why is it important for anyone that gaming becomes a sport? because if people run around with the notion that gaming would suddenly become more accepted, it will take more than just it becoming a sport to do that.

They stand up? Did you really say that? Well here you go.

Athletes.

And I agree with your second paragraph. Who cares if gaming is a sport? Some categories matter - like being in the category protected by the First Amendment. This category really doesn't and I don't understand why people get upset over the athlete/non-athlete debate.

Edit: vid not showing for some reason, so here's the link: athletes

Apparently, the people in that show are disconnected from mainstream society. I guess that their connection with the internet is not as terribly so as the average gamer and younger. I wonder how many of them even watched the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Saying everyone interested in video game tournaments are the same attendees of Star Trek conventions was definitely a comment meant to generalize hardcore gamers, gaming enthusiasts, and Star Trek fans as people who are focused on niche lifestyles. The man who said that did so mockingly which was rude. The wrong part of that which I know of is video games at least are mainstream now and that means everything about them is. If anything, the marketing and public relations of video games and video game companies, respectively, are evidence of that. If not for good public relations, Sony would not have sold one million PlayStation 4 consoles on its launch day in the United States. If not for repaired public relations then the Xbox One would have sold much less than the one million times it did worldwide throughout November this year.

It's pretty embarrassing that they're ignorant to how popular e-Sports is getting, but it doesn't really bother me. Who cares what a bunch of talking heads on a sports show think?

Y'know what ish? I just saw the segment again this morning and one of the same ones that said 'its not a sport its a game' went and said for Extreme Sports' that its a 'Stunt' not a sport, and even bryant had to step in and challenge her. Technically doesn't that make the 'high dive' a 'stunt'. Folks that have never experienced or witnessed competition on that level won't understand, but its not that hard. Anyone in their life that's even been utterly crushed at street fighter or mortal kombat by some one experienced enough to play mind games in their lifetime or dared never to do half-pipes in the snow can understand, the level of investment that Snapdragon or Shaun White put into what they do. They know this isn't something that anyone can do.

They shouldn't take that question serious.

I don't understand why some gamers really care if competitive gaming is considered a sport or not. Even if it's not a sport that doesn't diminish how fun or rewarding games can be. Who cares?

So what defines a sport is how popular it is? if thats the case why not call a concert with One Direction or Justin Bieber a sport, i'm pretty sure they can fill a few concert/arenas/stadiums.

i think it is personally, i wouldn't personally make the argument for it being a sport. But it's a debate worthy of discussion instead of this ignorant crap

Chess, snooker, dart? Those are all that aren't really a sport either you could argue.

Chess is not a sport or considered one :)

But again you can argue that there is some physical exertion in both Snooker and dart or any of the other the other that have been mentioned.

I am still waiting for what in "esports" that can be considered physical exertion.

as i said earlier i am not arguing for esports as i don't consider it a sport either. But it's a discussion worth having

Sure and if someone can prove that there is a physical aspect to esports then i am all for calling it a sport.

Then we just need to have it be in the Olympics and we all have a short at entering and competing :D

Well they put wrestling out of it, i wouln't be surprised. But e-sports have too many games for it to have just one game enter it. I think e-sports and regular sports should be seperate, but it should be acknowledged

Esports is recognized not for being a sport tho, but it being regarded in the community which is great.

But imo Esports should be known as a sport, its good that it has its own place.

True, but it should be recognised by the media. But we know that won't happen

They don't have to take us seriously were not a race of people or something. Some people will never take eSports seriously and not even entertain the idea. Just rip that band-aid off now. Chess IS considered a sport and i'd say a large group of people don't even remotely consider it one.

I think the whole conterversy of "Are eSports real sports?" should be to be taken to the backyard and shot.

It doesn't really matter what they are defined as. Who cares like honestly? as long as people enjoy them and participate in them who cares what the literal definition of it is.

I just feel like it's the most arbitrary discussion that has been going on lately.

YES!

Those RTS tournaments involve some serious finger and wrist movement. Also, they breath.

On a more serious note, I think the main issue is that being considered a sport comes with some sort of general image/status improvement. Being considered a sport somehow means something is more important, more serious, more justified. It means being more generally accepted and respected, it means being less frowned upon. As ridiculous as that might be in itself, I guess it's why people have these discussions.

Who considers chess a sport? because i have never heard anyone who matters describe is as such, heck not even the guys who actually play chess says its a sport.

Its a strategy board game nothing else.

Well it is officially recognized as a sport and many that play it very much do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess

"Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments, and congresses. Chess's international governing body is FIDE(Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the US Chess Federation and English Chess Federation) which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a member of the International Olympic Committee,^[80] but the game of chess has never been part of the Olympic Games; chess does have its ownOlympiad, held every two years as a team event."

http://www.fide.com/fide/fide-world-chess-federation.html

"Chess is an affiliate member, or fully recognized by, National Olympic Committees in 115 countries, and chess as a sport is recognized in 105 countries. These numbers are constantly being revised upwards."

Which just further stresses my point of even if esports were considered sport no one would care most people would still not even consider it a sport the same way you don't consider it chess a sport so, its useless to try to give a title.

Hmm, that is wikipedia but ok its insane that it's recognized as a sport, because it has absolute no physical exertion at all, i am surprised that so many countries as put it as sport.

But found this http://www.chess.com/article/view/is-chess-a-sport and that norweagen site is correct, Chess is not a sport.

Anyways thanks for the link and it surprised me because never heard or considered chess to be a sport.