Is esports a sport? Uh well, there hasn’t really been a definitive answer to that one, though I would say it actually is. There is a reason that the likes of Germany and South Korea are pushing for gaming to be an Olympic Sport.
However, with the mainstream media just figuring out that ‘hey, video games are actually huge’; we get to listen to ‘experts’ on the subject, such as those on the Today Show in Australia.
Now, while no one should really care about what anyone on the Today Show has to say, there was plenty of hilarious backlash on Twitter, which made us have a chuckle.
Should video games be an Olympic sport? Professional video gaming or "E-Sports" is already a $1.5 billion industry but it's predicted to grow by 50% in two years. What are your thoughts? #9Today pic.twitter.com/078r9I8DcM
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) March 3, 2018
While one of them did defend esports and gaming in general, the others were a bit more derogatory about it, with one saying: “It’s not a sport, a sport gets your heart-rate up.
IOC ANNOUNCE INTENTION TO FURTHER BACK ESPORTS
“All you do in gaming is twiddle your thumbs.”
Ouch! Clearly, she has never been left in a 1 vs 4 on Fortnite without much material or ammo left. Stuff like that makes your heart jump out of your chest!
As you can imagine, the reaction to these ‘experts’ on Twitter was just fantastic, especially the replies to those defending the ‘esports is not a sport’ argument.
Best reaction on Twitter to is Is esports a sport:
Guess what we shouldn’t care about…
The Today Show or the Olympics.
Esports will keep growing and all of this stuff is white noise. Let’s just keep building something amazing and let the cards fall where they may. https://t.co/w19uDI1Zan
— Bryce Blum (@esportslaw) March 4, 2018
no. the Olympics is about real skill real strength real sportsman should stand up now and take a stand against this they have more then enough comps going on around the world so stay out of actual sports
— googols88 (@GOOGOLS888) March 3, 2018
“real skill real strength” >Curling
— Mackenzie Lund (@SYF_MKR) March 4, 2018
Well there was a test done on a professional League of legends player showing he has double the reaction time to most athletes.
Video games are pretty much all about hand eye coordination.
— REVENGE NERD Fish (@Maxzzie) March 4, 2018
Hey Today Show, this is a great opportunity to bring on an expert who could show or tell you all why esports is the real deal.
The tone of this piece was very negatively dominated and isn’t a great end point.
— Rusty (@RustyLoL) March 4, 2018
this redhead chick is delusional if she can’t grasp the fact that esports is indeed a sport, in fact esports player use sports visa when they travel. the same visa a “SPORTS PROFESSIONAL” would use.
— Sam Neale (@KataVACE) March 4, 2018
Shows League clips, talks about controllers.
— AARON CREATE (@OpTicCREATE) March 4, 2018