When I first heard the term “esports” in high school, I remember being very confused. Because esports are not really sports. Not in the traditional sense, in my opinion.
While there are a few parallels between esports and traditional sports, esports does not meet the criteria to be officially classified as an actual sport.
First, unlike traditional sports, esports does not get the player moving. In traditional sports like football, basketball, and cheerleading, an individual’s heartbeat is raised, and their skin begins to perspire as they move and exercise their muscles. Whether running, jumping, or even jogging, such sports make people active and move in some shape or form. To compare esports, however, an individual remains stationary for the duration of the activity. And while some may say that esports does get your heart racing, I would like to highlight how this is due to the stress of the game and not from the physical activity seen in traditional sports.
Second, esports does not incorporate hand-eye coordination. While a weird thing to bring up as a comparison, a huge part of sports is coordination. Once again, many, if not all, traditional sports utilize the skill of hand-eye coordination that encourages the player to practice how their brain uses visual input to guide their movements when engaged in physical activity. To echo the same sentiments previously stated, esports does not include this. And to combat what others may say, I would argue that there is not much hand-eye coordination to be had in moving a thumbstick.
While this article may lead you to think I do not like esports, please know that was not my intent. I rather like watching many of my favorite streamers play and engage in esports. I just don’t think we can call them … Well, sports.
