Of course not! It's a computer game!

But the debate rages intensely on the sports site Deadspin. They have taken to posting stories about gaming tournaments, and now about every fourth or fifth Deadspin story is about some button-pushing contest, The stick-and-ball proponents are revolting in protest!

Computer game tournaments already have their own platform within the universe that also publishes Deadspin - it's called Kotaku. But for some reason, the editors of Deadspin think all us real sports followers want to read about some people who sit in chairs and press buttons. No, we don't!

"Oh, but gaming is on ESPN! And these guys do something you can't do!" BFD! ESPN used to show logging. They show the National Spelling Bee. Are those sports? Of course not! Heck, they show golf and bowling - two activities which actually include balls but are still not thought of as sports by a lot of people. No possible way is computer gaming a sport.

If pressing buttons and shooting fake zombies is a sport, then isn't pressing buttons and playing "Guitar Hero" a sport, too? If pressing buttons counts as "physical activity" and thus makes gaming a sport, then isn't playing that Barbie game where you have to dance on all the lighted spots also a sport?

Of course not! For more proof, ask anyone that's played an actual sport on a professional level if pressing buttons is a sport. They'll laugh you right out of the building. And those guys play more video games in their off time than almost anyone!

God bless all the computer gamers. You're doing something you enjoy, and you're surely doing it better than I ever could. Mad respect to you for that.

But you are NOT playing a sport!

imagine my surprise when i was seein one of these things on tv

with an announcer givin blow by blow commentary and strategy...

and it's the killin games at that...

I always thought a sport was where you get a sweat on. Maybe overweight dudes get a sweat on playing computer games. They sure do playing darts.

have had in depth convos with the rugrat on the subject.

he put up some very convincing arguements (for the affirmative) lol

[Edited 2/20/17 13:51pm]

EmmaMcG said:

esports, as I understand it, are different to typical sports such as football, baseball, etc. I don't even think the people who take part in esports consider it to be a "sport" per se, more like a competitive game. I don't understand why anyone would want to WATCH other people play competitive multiplayer games but a lot of people do it. It's big business.

For fun sometime, go to the kotaku.com page, find a thread on an esport tournament, and post that computer gaming isn't a sport. Talk about stirring up a hornet's nest!

It's not a sport, though.

prb said:

have had in depth convos with the rugrat on the subject.

he put up some very convincing arguements (for the affirmative) lol

[Edited 2/20/17 13:51pm]

I understand but at the end of the day, it's simply pushing buttons. IMO, the mental aspect of it doesn't make it any more a sport than chess, or even checkers. In fact, chess meets all the requirements that most computer-gaming-is-a-sport proponents like to advance, and yet no one would ever consider chess a sport.

no

RodeoSchro said:

prb said:

have had in depth convos with the rugrat on the subject.

he put up some very convincing arguements (for the affirmative) lol

[Edited 2/20/17 13:51pm]

I understand but at the end of the day, it's simply pushing buttons. IMO, the mental aspect of it doesn't make it any more a sport than chess, or even checkers. In fact, chess meets all the requirements that most computer-gaming-is-a-sport proponents like to advance, and yet no one would ever consider chess a sport.

some would class chess as a sport.
( not me lol)

RodeoSchro said:

Computer gaming/Video gaming is a sport if and only if it's THESE games:

Madden Football
Mortal Combat
Street Fighter

.......and any multiplayers shooting games such as Doom, Halo, etc.


Now if we're talking about the old school arcade games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and so forth, then no, it's not a sport.

It is a sport/competition.

Other times it is just for personal fun

luv4u said:

It is a sport/competition.

Other times it is just for personal fun

It's a competition, no doubt. But it's not a sport.

Here's what I have observed: No one that has ever played a real sport (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, hockey, even golf and bowling) has ever taken the position that computer gaming is a sport.

Ask anyone that's ever played college or professional anything if pressing buttons is a sport. After they quit laughing, they'll tell you that it isn't. And BTW, pro athletes play more video games than anyone.

RodeoSchro said:

luv4u said:

It is a sport/competition.

Other times it is just for personal fun

It's a competition, no doubt. But it's not a sport.

Here's what I have observed: No one that has ever played a real sport (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, hockey, even golf and bowling) has ever taken the position that computer gaming is a sport.

Ask anyone that's ever played college or professional anything if pressing buttons is a sport. After they quit laughing, they'll tell you that it isn't. And BTW, pro athletes play more video games than anyone.

aaaaaaaaaaaaah let em have it as a sport...

after thinkin on it a minit i see where it's the

only way some folks kids ever gonna make it

into an olympic event...

KingBAD said:

RodeoSchro said:

It's a competition, no doubt. But it's not a sport.

Here's what I have observed: No one that has ever played a real sport (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, hockey, even golf and bowling) has ever taken the position that computer gaming is a sport.

Ask anyone that's ever played college or professional anything if pressing buttons is a sport. After they quit laughing, they'll tell you that it isn't. And BTW, pro athletes play more video games than anyone.

aaaaaaaaaaaaah let em have it as a sport...

after thinkin on it a minit i see where it's the

only way some folks kids ever gonna make it

into an olympic event...

Haha. I guess if ballroom dancing is an Olympic sport, then....wait a minute. Ballroom dancing IS a sport! For proof, I offer the fact that Jim Thorpe, the greatest athlete in the world, was once the national ballroom dancing champion!

Jim Thorpe was incredible.

I don't class it as a sport ... sport to me has to require physical effort.

But then if darts, snooker, and the like are sports, isn't computer gaming similar but using different equipment ... a TV and joypad rather than a table and cue....?

[Edited 2/21/17 9:15am]

DaveT said:

Regardless of the format -- sports, first person shooter, etc. -- gaming is a skill, not a sport.

Playing with a toy is now considered a sport? To each their own.

================================

[Edited 2/22/17 18:08pm]

If fishing, chess and bowling are considered sports, then yes, why not ?

You need good reflexes, strategic skills, etc.

I´d say it´s a sport.

E-sport "athletes" earn quite some money and burn out before they reach their mid 20s.

KoolEaze said:

If fishing, chess and bowling are considered sports, then yes, why not ?

You need good reflexes, strategic skills, etc.

I´d say it´s a sport.

E-sport "athletes" earn quite some money and burn out before they reach their mid 20s.

Pressing buttons while sitting in a chair is not a sport. Fishing isn't a sport; neither is chess. Bowling IS a sport - it involves a physical activity and a ball. Same with golf.

I could see someone trying to justify playing Nintendo Wii as a sport. At least with Wii, you have to stand up and actually move your limbs. But Wii isn't a sport either.

Chess is sport.

http://londonchessconference.com/a-question-of-sport/

And e-sports is also a sport. Without mental fitness and very good reflexes you can't win. You should pay some respect to these dudes, it takes a lot to be as good as them. No one here in this forum could compete with them.

ludwig said:

Chess is sport.

http://londonchessconference.com/a-question-of-sport/

And e-sports is also a sport. Without mental fitness and very good reflexes you can't win. You should pay some respect to these dudes, it takes a lot to be as good as them. No one here in this forum could compete with them.

I totally respect their mad gaming skillz. I said so in the OP.

But these competitors are not playing a sport. And neither are people that play chess.

ludwig said:

Chess is sport.

http://londonchessconference.com/a-question-of-sport/

And e-sports is also a sport. Without mental fitness and very good reflexes you can't win. You should pay some respect to these dudes, it takes a lot to be as good as them. No one here in this forum could compete with them.

I don't think anyone is debating whether e-sport players have skill or not. I'm a big gamer myself so I know the effort you'd need to go to in order to become great at a game ... its no mean feat.

But I still don't think you could class it as a sport. Its not the sort of thing that will make it in to the Olympics.

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

I guess the key word here is atheletic: of or relating to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina.

So I guess if you want to interpret the definition of athelete differently to it's intended meaning then computer gaming is sport.

However, I would say that if you're going to do that then you also have to accept that the following are also sport: knitting, chess, drinking, masturbation.

I love gaming, I've spent part of my career writing games, but I do not believe it to be sport. Why is there any requirement for gaming to be classified as sport? We all know that it requires dexterity, skill and stamina, that it's competitive and fun, but so are a myriad of other activities that we do not consider sport. Moreover, nobody involved in the design of computer games considers them sport.

Also, just because an activity is or was once included in the Olympic Games does not automatically make it a sport (e.g. Ballroom Dancing - it's not sport, it's dancing, a completely separate physical activity) - it's called the Olympic Games, not the Olympic Sports.

[Edited 2/23/17 4:30am]

AsylumUtopia said:

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

I guess the key word here is atheletic: of or relating to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina.

So I guess if you want to interpret the definition of athelete differently to it's intended meaning then computer gaming is sport.

However, I would say that if you're going to do that then you also have to accept that the following are also sport: knitting, chess, drinking, masturbation.

I love gaming, I've spent part of my career writing games, but I do not believe it to be sport. Why is there any requirement for gaming to be classified as sport? We all know that it requires dexterity, skill and stamina, that it's competitive and fun, but so are a myriad of other activities that we do not consider sport. Moreover, nobody involved in the design of computer games considers them sport.

Also, just because an activity is or was once included in the Olympic Games does not automatically make it a sport (e.g. Ballroom Dancing - it's not sport, it's dancing, a completely separate physical activity) - it's called the Olympic Games, not the Olympic Sports.

[Edited 2/23/17 4:30am]

Sign me up ... I reckon I've got a good shot at Heavyweight Champion of the World

I challenge any and ALL of you to Mortal Kombat IX on PS3.

TEST YOUR MIGHT!

Hey Dave, what are your favorite games? And if you have any, what are the ones that you often go back to, and what are the ones that you used to like, but don´t play anymore?

My favorite will always be the GTA series, most of all the GTA IV trilogy but I also like San Andreas, GTA V and of course Vice City. I wish they´d make an updated version of the old ones...with better graphics.

One of the games I used to like and play a lot is the Half Life series but for some reason I can´t really get into it anymore because I start feeling dizzy after a few minutes, to the point of feeling really, really sick. I googled that phenomenon and it seems there are thousands of other , similar cases. But I´ll give it another try because it´s a great game.

DaveT said:

ludwig said:

Chess is sport.

http://londonchessconference.com/a-question-of-sport/

And e-sports is also a sport. Without mental fitness and very good reflexes you can't win. You should pay some respect to these dudes, it takes a lot to be as good as them. No one here in this forum could compete with them.

I don't think anyone is debating whether e-sport players have skill or not. I'm a big gamer myself so I know the effort you'd need to go to in order to become great at a game ... its no mean feat.

But I still don't think you could class it as a sport. Its not the sort of thing that will make it in to the Olympics.

Fair enough, but fishing? Why is fishing considered a sport? Because you need to be able to stand in the cold water, outdoors? Do you need stamina for fishing? I really don´t know.

And dancing is definitely a sport , isn´t it? You need skills, stamina, a fit body, and it is very competitive.

AsylumUtopia said:

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

I guess the key word here is atheletic: of or relating to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina.

So I guess if you want to interpret the definition of athelete differently to it's intended meaning then computer gaming is sport.

However, I would say that if you're going to do that then you also have to accept that the following are also sport: knitting, chess, drinking, masturbation.

I love gaming, I've spent part of my career writing games, but I do not believe it to be sport. Why is there any requirement for gaming to be classified as sport? We all know that it requires dexterity, skill and stamina, that it's competitive and fun, but so are a myriad of other activities that we do not consider sport. Moreover, nobody involved in the design of computer games considers them sport.

Also, just because an activity is or was once included in the Olympic Games does not automatically make it a sport (e.g. Ballroom Dancing - it's not sport, it's dancing, a completely separate physical activity) - it's called the Olympic Games, not the Olympic Sports.

[Edited 2/23/17 4:30am]

uPtoWnNY said: