Competitive video gaming as a sport?

You're completely delusional if you think competitive gamers are generally faster than football players. That is just insanity I know fat guys that would destroy me at video games. Me being more athletic than them gives me no edge.TM_Darkside

I don't get how that puts strain on your body. Well, I see how it could put strain your arms and fingers, putting competitive gaming in the league of court recorders. How does it strain anything else?

Palantas

[QUOTE="dog_dirt"]

yeah, lets give the fatties another reason not to get off there ass. "but but but!!!! im in training !!!". sports should make you sweat.

markop2003

Played competitively, it is a sport. It requires focus and concentration, just as much as any other sport does. Granted, it's not a physical sport, but not all sports need to be physical as say, archery. Oh, wait... JustPlainLucas

These people can most assuredly run circles around football players.Vandalvideo

Define football players. Are we talking 7th grade B-team football, or are we talking D-1 college and NFL level? Hell, even quality high school athletes can blaze.

Fine me some world-class gamers that can out-run someone like Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, etc. That's crazy talk.

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]Most competitive gamers are former athletes, extremely skinny, and probably able to run circles around other atheletes. TM_Darkside

You're completely delusional if you think competitive gamers are generally faster than football players. That is just insanity.

I know fat guys that would destroy me at video games. Me being more athletic than them gives me no edge.

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]These people can most assuredly run circles around football players.TM_Darkside

Define football players. Are we talking 7th grade B-team football, or are we talking D-1 college and NFL level? Hell, even quality high school athletes can blaze.

Fine me some world-class gamers that can out-run someone like Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, etc. That's crazy talk.

You would be amazed if some of these gamers got out of their chair and you met them on the track.Vandalvideo

I'll just have to take your word for it I guess. I don't believe it for a second, though. They might be surprisingly fast for gamers, but not faster than world-class, current athletes.

[QUOTE="dog_dirt"]

yeah, lets give the fatties another reason not to get off there ass. "but but but!!!! im in training !!!". sports should make you sweat.

markop2003

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]You would be amazed if some of these gamers got out of their chair and you met them on the track.TM_Darkside

I'll just have to take your word for it I guess. I don't believe it for a second, though. They might be surprisingly fast for gamers, but not faster than world-class, current athletes.

You just described a competative activity. By that definition playing Hungy Hungry Hippos is a sport.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="TM_Darkside"]

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]You would be amazed if some of these gamers got out of their chair and you met them on the track.Vandalvideo

I'll just have to take your word for it I guess. I don't believe it for a second, though. They might be surprisingly fast for gamers, but not faster than world-class, current athletes.

You're throwing out these numbers, but I don't have any proof that a lot of great gamers can do that.

You're throwing out these numbers, but I don't have any proof that a lot of great gamers can do that.TM_Darkside

I should be asking you for proof that they can't run that fast.Vandalvideo

The speed argument started when you said most competitive gamers could run circles around football players. :lol:

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

You just described a competative activity. By that definition playing Hungy Hungry Hippos is a sport.

JustPlainLucas

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]I should be asking you for proof that they can't run that fast.TM_Darkside

The speed argument started when you said most competitive gamers could run circles around football players. :lol:

Just because someone is thin doesn't mean they're athletic.

Same goes for somebody who is ripped.

Keep in mind, professional gamers are professional gamers second; soccer, lacrosse, or track and field people first.Vandalvideo

So, they're not really athletic because of their gaming, or for their gaming; they just happen to be athletic people who also play videogames.

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]Keep in mind, professional gamers are professional gamers second; soccer, lacrosse, or track and field people first.Palantas

So, they're not really athletic because of their gaming, or for their gaming; they just happen to be athletic people who also play videogames.

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]Keep in mind, professional gamers are professional gamers second; soccer, lacrosse, or track and field people first.Palantas

So, they're not really athletic because of their gaming, or for their gaming; they just happen to be athletic people who also play videogames.

I have a tough time believing all professional gamers are legit athletes anyway. I know that famous gamer Billy Mitchell isn't gonna be blazing anybody on a track.

I have a tough time believing all professional gamers are legit athletes anyway.TM_Darkside

I know that famous gamer Billy Mitchell isn't gonna be blazing anybody on a track.

[QUOTE="Vandalvideo"]Keep in mind, professional gamers are professional gamers second; soccer, lacrosse, or track and field people first.Palantas

So, they're not really athletic because of their gaming, or for their gaming; they just happen to be athletic people who also play videogames.

i agree. how much of the athletecism is required for the gaming?comp_atkins

[QUOTE="TM_Darkside"]I have a tough time believing all professional gamers are legit athletes anyway.Vandalvideo

I know that famous gamer Billy Mitchell isn't gonna be blazing anybody on a track.

My belief is that professional gamers have never been considered athletes in the least, and real professional athletes(football, basketball, etc) are fine-tuned machines that compete in something that requires very elite athleticism.

I don't need to see Billy Mitchell or any of those skinny guys posted run to know that they would get burned by an NFL cornerback.

It is because of their history as sports players that they are so good at video games and are able to handle the stress of playing against someone equally as fit and equally as good as they are. Vandalvideo

I still don't get why you need good cardio to play videogames. What part of playing games taxes a person athletically? What "stresses" are there in playing a game, besides rapid and precise fingers movements?

Or if I were you, I'd say:

Prove that professional gamers' history in sports is what makes them so good at videogames. Go on, prove it.

My belief is that professional gamers have never been considered athletes in the least, and real professional athletes(football, basketball, etc) are fine-tuned machines that compete in something that requires very elite athleticism.TM_Darkside

I don't need to see Billy Mitchell or any of those skinny guys posted run to know that they would get burned by an NFL cornerback.

I still don't get why you need good cardio to play videogames. What part of playing games taxes a person athletically? What "stresses" are there in playing a game, besides rapid and precise fingers movement?Palantas

Or if I were you, I'd say:Prove that professional gamers' history in sports is what makes them so good at videogames. Go on, prove it.

[QUOTE="TM_Darkside"]I have a tough time believing all professional gamers are legit athletes anyway.Vandalvideo

I know that famous gamer Billy Mitchell isn't gonna be blazing anybody on a track.

The vast majority of these gamers have been former athletes; well-trained athletes at that. Many of theme are world class in their respective sports. (Like Carmac) The people who are really good at sports have tended to be the greatest gamers. Is that proof positive? No, but the correlation definitely does support the stance that athleticism plays an integral role.

Vandalvideo

Prove that this correlation exists. I need hard evidence.

Prove that this correlation exists. I need hard evidence.Palantas

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sport

More than half of those describe video games as a sport. A sport is any activity in which there is a winning side and a losing side. So yes, competetive game, while not a physical sport, is still a sport.

There are a number of stresses involved. They are not the type of stresses which tax your muscles, but the kind which require great cardio. You can still perform the essential functions of gaming without the kind of heavy conditioning, but you become sluggish without the kind of endurance these people have. Imagine having to type at 120wpm for two hours while keeping track of thousands of other variables. Such activities do wear on one's cardio. I highly recommend going to one of these professional gaming scenes and trying out for yourself.

Vandalvideo

What stresses? Write them down. Apparently they're roughly analogous to typing, but I still have no concept of what they are.

I find the notion that you can have stresses which do not tax muscles, yet require great cardio to be dubious. However, I'm not a health professional, so I won't dispute that one, at least not until I can get an informed opinion. Speaking of that, though...

They are not the type of stresses which tax your muscles...

Vandalvideo

Imagine having to type at 120wpm for two hours...

Vandalvideo

Typing taxes some muscles. Does it tax your muscles or not?

It depends... Alot of things are labeled as "sports", nowadays which I disagree with

To me sports is being physical active with your body, but society as a whole claim sports include thigns such as, Golf, and driving (driving is a bit og a gray area to me, I can see a dirtbike or such, would requite alot of usage of the body, but in a car, it is purely endurance, heck having too good a physique could be a bad thing, only thing I think requires alot of physical (not mental) ability would be pit crews.

So my definition of sports is not true by the majority, I would not consider E-Sports, a sport at all either, its a competition, and I like it for what it is, but putting it up besides something like Hocky, basketball, soccer or tennis would be wrong in my head.

Cant see why people are so eager to place a "sport" sticker on any kind of competition, when they do not need the sports sticker anyways, not havingit does not make it less appealing.

[QUOTE="I"]

Prove that this correlation exists. I need hard evidence.

Vandalvideo

Hard evidence has already been provided in this thread. Numerous professional gamers, many of them being the top in their respective fields, have been expanded upon in terms of the sports backgrounds they had and the relative skill they now possess. Carmac, Fatality, and numerous others have already been illustrated and discussed. By the sample provided, there is a clear correlation between the amount of sports background a person has and the relative skill at which they perform.

"Numerous others"? How many have actually been listed by name in this thread? How many have been listed by anyone but you? A couple case studies from your own experience is not hard evidence.

Hard evidence would be something like: Identify the members of winning and top-placing teams in major competitions across various gaming genres. Determine which of them have competed in athletic competitions and which ones have not, and document this. (We'd have to determine what "sports background" means; you seem to like track and soccer, so go with that.) Then we'll be able to at least determine if the correlation exists.

Competition? Yes. Sport? No, not so much.

What stresses? Write them down. Apparently they're roughly analogous to typing, but I still have no concept of what they are. I find the notion that you can have stresses which do not tax muscles, yet require great cardio to be dubious. However, I'm not a health professional, so I won't dispute that one, at least not until I can get an informed opinion. Speaking of that, though...Palantas

Typing taxes some muscles. Does it tax your muscles or not?

"Numerous others"? How many have actually been listed by name in this thread? How many have been listed by anyone but you? A couple case studies from your own experience is not hard evidence.Palantas

Hard evidence would be something like: Identify the members of winning and top-placing teams in major competitions across various gaming genres. Determine which of them have competed in athletic competitions and which ones have not, and document this. (We'd have to determine what "sports background" means; you seem to like track and soccer, so go with that.) Then we'll be able to at least determine if the correlation exists

[QUOTE="dog_dirt"] games are not a sport... is chess a sport, or solitaire, or snap, or monopoly, or poker. is poker a sport. no of course not. its a GAME. a sport requires effort.Vandalvideo

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

[QUOTE="xWoW_Rougex"]

I'm gonna go with number 3. I mean, what is a sport really? What "classifies" a sport? Why is basketball and racing a sport but not starcraft?

xWoW_Rougex

Playing starcraft in front of a keyboard and mouse doesn't seem very different from driving a car?

[QUOTE="Palantas"]"Numerous others"? How many have actually been listed by name in this thread? How many have been listed by anyone but you? A couple case studies from your own experience is not hard evidence.Vandalvideo

Hard evidence would be something like: Identify the members of winning and top-placing teams in major competitions across various gaming genres. Determine which of them have competed in athletic competitions and which ones have not, and document this. (We'd have to determine what "sports background" means; you seem to like track and soccer, so go with that.) Then we'll be able to at least determine if the correlation exists

no. have youdoobie1975

so would you class tournament poker players as sportsmen

There have been at least ten mentioned and discussed.

Vandalvideo

List them, please.

And yes, a couple case studies is most assuredly hard evidence. Maybe not as hard as statistical studies, but those aren't done in gaming, and I already admitted that.

Vandalvideo

Verify the information you presented, then it's hard evidence. You could be making stuff up.

Your epistemic standard is wrong. Hard evidence is merely any evidence which can be substantiated which goes towards proving a hypothesis. You're asking for a much more stringent standard than is required to establish mere correlation. Remember, I admitted that there is not absolute proof. There rarely is absolute proof in anything we do. The epistemic standard I established was "mere probability", and the preponderance of evidence I presented thus far goes towards establishing that possibilities. Preponderance of evidence is sufficient in this instance.

Vandalvideo

Your word doesn't substantiate anything. Show me something that verifies the examples you've presented. Also, if you're not willing to widen your data beyond these few examples, why shouldn't I assume you're cherry picking your examples?

This is probably another reason why professional gamers eat diets extremely, extremely high in anti-oxidants.Vandalvideo

Like what? What does your diet consist of?

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]A sport involves being atheltically active. :|

Playing starcraft in front of a keyboard and mouse doesn't seem very different from driving a car?