Have a Fantastic

Just wanted to thank everyone who read the blog this year. I had a goal for how many people would read the blog and that got surpassed quick, so thanks it means a lot. Want to wish everyone a fantastic Holiday Season & Happy New Year, enjoy it. Be safe

Lastly:

Senior Paper "Is Competitive Gaming A Sport"

What up ladies and gentlemen. November was kinda the shit, true story. Let's get to this paper first off, It's long as hell like Peter North/Cleveland's No Championship long. I'm gonna give you the shorten version and just put the Intro/Pro-Side/Con-Side and tell you i went with saying it is a sport in my eyes. The con-side starts to get a little sloppy because well I'm a teenager and I have testosterone and being on the computer isn't helping that at all. Hope you guys enjoy, I better see some hate on this:

  Children born in America love being entertained by video games, and it all started in 1972 with the creation of Pong. From having a simplistic two-dimensional video game being played for bragging rights and pride, video games then evolved into millions of people flocking to local arcades to play “Galaga” and “Frogger” to beat their own cities high score. Now with the progression of technology consoles like the “Xbox 360” and computers now provide these video games to be played worldwide online with services offered by Sony and Xbox, with over 50 million subscribers on each platform. Along with more complex games which made players now use informal scientific reasoning along and superior hand-eye coordination among other abilities. The “reward” of being the best at a video game has changed from your name being attached to a high score inside arcade machines to your name being attached to a six or seven figure contract from leagues such as “Major League Gaming” and coverage from major television networks such as “ESPN” and “USA Network”, but is it a sport?

     By definition a sport is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature”, according to dictionary reference. Video games do not require the physical ability of sports like soccer or cricket. For people who do not believe competitive gaming is a sport that is good enough reason for why it is not a sport. They see it as a friendly game that competitors are taking extremely seriously. For people who do believe competitive gaming is a sport, the practice regimen and skill are reasons for why it is a sport. They believe they have the credibility of professional basketball player

Pro side

  Competitive gaming is one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Due to the likes of media juggernauts such as ESPN and Fox Sports, many people feel for something to be a “legitimate” sport it needs to be presented and covered as such. In South Korea, popular real-time strategy (RTS) game Starcraft 2 is the countries most televised/watched sport in the country according to video game journalist Brian Ashcraft (Kotaku,2010).

Run under the league name “Starleague”, the 2009 championship finals had over 120,000 fans inside an arena alongside millions watching on the network “ONGAMENET”. In America competitive gaming is still growing and is being lead by Major League Gaming (MLG). Started in 2002, it has grown and outlasted main competitor Championship Gaming Series (CGS, funded by DirecTV and News Corporation). In 2008, MLG and ESPN signed a contract to make ESPN the primary outlet for MLG news, and

providing extensive coverage of pro-circuit competitions. “Pro gaming offers sports fans everything they love about sports - great teams, break-out personalities and stars, and exciting competition,” says Matthew Bromberg, former general manager at AOL Games and Moviefone (Morrison, 2009). These competitions run by MLG have previously been on USA Network, G4TV/Tech TV and MTV. The pro circuit travels throughout North America, spectators have to pay $20 to see there favorite teams and players. On average 15,000-20,000 fans come to see the 3 day event. For fans that are not at the events location they can tune into the league’s website (www.MLGPro.com) or www.ESPN3.com. In 2008, more 750,000 thousand viewers tuned into MLG Dallas, “beating primetime audience reach of major cable networks sporting events for the 12-34 male demographic” says MLG (Miller,2008). Alongside enjoying the events, fans can purchase league and team specific merchandise through major retailers. MLG struck a licensing deal with Lids to sell MLG branded headwear and MLG Pro Team hats alongside NFL, NBA, and MLB headwear. Co-founder Michael Sespo said "Having our brand out there with the other major (stick-and-ball) leagues is a major step for us, and also a sign that the world at large is embracing what MLG means among a very substantial youth market” (Fisher,2010). Among Lids, Hot Topic, JC Penney, and GetSUMGear.com are selling merchandise nationwide right next to other major sporting leagues. Every prominent league has stars that are embedded with there league. In 2006 MLG signed four-man Halo team, Final Boss, to a $1 million contract. That contract did not include tournament earnings, (National Championship prize pool is $100,000) lessons to amateurs, and sponsorships. These sponsorships include Stride gum, Frito-Lay North America, BiC Consumer Products USA, Nestle Hot Pockets, Old Spice, Ballpark Franks, Tinactin, Astro Gaming, EA Sports, Jack Links, Sony Playstation, Castrol, and AT&T. "In less than 2 years, MLG has grown from a grass roots phenomenon into a major cross-platform media property spanning live events, TV and online, our sold-out live Pro-Circuit, our national TV programming, and millions of online fans have created the critical mass and credibility to help partners like Dr Pepper connect with young consumers in an authentic way,” says Michael Sespo, chairman and co-founder of MLG (Frederick, 2008). Tom Taylor who is known as “TSquared” is seen by many as the “poster boy” of the league. He’s been featured MTV’s True Life, the Tonight Show, ESPN, Entrepreneur Magazine, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and named Stuff Magazine’s Most Influential person under 30. In 2009, Dr. Pepper featured Tsquared on 175 million bottles of their product. The deal between him, MLG and Dr Pepper was “the first time we’ve featured an athlete on our product” says Dr Pepper in a press release (meunier, 2009). Pro teams have coaches who stand behind the four man team during tournament games, keeping the team morale high and excited, and make sure strategy are in place. Andy Dudynsky (professional coach of Triggers Down, known as JTBravo) said “When I’m coaching, I’m basically calling the shots; I can see what they can’t. When I watch their screens I can basically see the entire map in my mind and know what they need to do, where they need to be."(Stiriling, 2010). These coaches have game-plans that are up to par with Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini’s game-plan. In between tournaments these teams scout rivals by watching their “tournament gameplay” to see what opponents are doing to compete with them and how to counteract them. During the season, “the team practices up to 15 hours a day, Taylor said. Like NFL football teams on Monday morning, they watch film of rival teams in action and devise strategies.” says TSquared (Cubbison, 2010). A game of Halo can last between 5 and 30 minutes (best of five or eleven wins the series), and the players are screaming at each other while moving their thumbs and index fingers. Inside the “Main Stage” with bleachers of fans, stage lights, projectors show casing each players screen, TV cameramen, and an ESPN Broadcast booth/press box. Coverage of these games include bracket shows, such as the NCAA basketball tournament version, and MLG game commentators breaking down games after they’ve finished, as you’ve seen on just about every sports broadcast ever aired. To “recruit” and find new players MLG partnered with Doritos to create the “Doritos MLG skills combine” to evaluate amateur players. Those elements of endurance, training and concentration, Taylor insists, make competitive gaming a sport, not a hobby.

Con side

      Once again, the definition of sports is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature”, according to Dictionary reference. Physical prowess would then mean it must have “Physical Exertion” which is the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit. In gaming’s highest level of competition you are moving, thumbs, index fingers, and mouth by communicating. Competing under those constraints do not fit the definition of sport. University of Essex’s Dr Dominic Micklewright said “The main distinction which precludes gaming from being a sport is the lack of physical exertion” (Good, 2010). While companies like CGS have faded away and closed down, a prominent sport should not have leagues shutting down. Economic journalist Ryan Goldberg said in an article that “Major companies have pulled sponsorships and several tournaments have folded” (NY Times, 2010).  The CGS had a five year plan, but it shut down after two years. The whole idea of competitive gaming can be seen a “fad” when leagues supported by major corporations can only last two years. Video games just like every form of entertainment have different genre’s that include first person shooters, fighting, racing, real-time strategy, and ironically sports games. The National Football League does not have different forms of their game; it is always played under the same playing field, rules, and regulations. MLG for instance has 6 games played at pro-circuit competitions that include Halo: Reach, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Starcraft 2, Tekken 6, and Super Smash Brawl. All different variations of video games, that ranges from a first person shooter to real-time strategy game (Each game is played on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, and Computer). Along with these new games coming out seemingly every week, change on what game is the “most competitive” can happen every year if not months. A sport needs a stable common set of rules, a governing body, and game that they are playing. Though adjusts can be made to popular “stick-in-ball leagues” like instant replay and adding time to a shot clock, a complete new video game is a drastic change. A new video game would have completely different mechanics, button layouts, strategies, and could be a complete different genre. This is too unstable for viewing audiences and competitors. Video games are a form of entertainment. It is called a video game; developers of these games intended these games to be played for fun as form of escape from problems. Anything could be turned a serious competitive thing such as a competition on who could finish a senior paper the fastest. Even though you are competing in something, it in no way shape or form makes it a sport. Lastly, Middle Schools, High Schools, and Colleges have no form of competitive gaming in school sports.