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Varsity esports teams are becoming increasingly common on college campuses as more schools tap into the rising popularity of competitive gaming.
Experts say 50 U.S. colleges have formed varsity gaming teams that offer at least partial scholarships over the past three years, and many have hired coaches and analysts like other sports teams.
Michael Brooks is executive director of the National Association of Collegiate eSports. He says it has grown "dramatically" and caught organizers off guard.
The success of professional esports has spurred many smaller schools to start varsity teams as a way to boost enrollment numbers.
Among those with new teams is the College of St. Joseph, a school of 260 students in Vermont. The school's athletic director says "nearly every kid on campus wants to be a part of this."
"Dear Admissions Committee, I should get a full sports scholarship because I'm, like, really good at Pong and stuff."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 17 2017, @12:43AM (8 children)
I can only imagine what the cheerleaders would look like - chubby, unkempt, smelling of 3 day-old bacon, and wearing dumpy jeans and mouthing off about diversity and social justice.
Jesus Christ. As a former high school athlete this just sickens me and makes me wish the collapse would come swiftly already. And its boring as fuck to watch games as a spectator sport compared to watching actual sports. I could totally understand gaming design schools but this is full-retard for anywhere else.
(Score: 2) by arcz on Sunday September 17 2017, @01:53AM (5 children)
Yeah have you ever seen a game like Team Fortress 2 played competitively? It's far more complex and thus interesting to many than a game like football.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:17AM (3 children)
Yes, I have. No, it's not. Twitching a mouse around is no more impressive than being able to wipe your own ass compared to pushing a ton of steel up to 200MPH, inches away from other guys doing the same, for hours on end.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:38AM
Found the new salt mine boys. We're gonna be rich!
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Monday September 18 2017, @02:36AM (1 child)
Can't tell if this is a euphemism or not. If so, it sounds like you might be going at it a bit too fast.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Monday September 18 2017, @02:49AM
I'm pretty sure the buzzard was referring to auto racing, whose competitors direct a machine with a mass in excess of 1000 kg at speeds close to 320 km/h.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tibman on Sunday September 17 2017, @04:04AM
Agreed. As a kid i played seven seasons of soccer. Tons of fun. Incredibly boring to watch. Competitive video games are exciting, imo. But it really helps if you've played the game to understand what is happening and what the value of each play is. Probably the same with sports.
Where sports really bother me is all the meta game garbage. Intentional fouling. Timeouts. Ref bias. Half the team never actually plays and just sits on a bench. Overly-dramatic falls when an opponent accidentally bumps into them. So much of professional sports is just garbage.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Immerman on Sunday September 17 2017, @03:53AM (1 child)
As a former high school student, I have long been appalled that some students get special treatment, augmented social status, educational opportunities and (with great luck) very lucrative career opportunities for playing a game. A horribly self-damaging game at that.
Honestly I don't see any reason why video game "athletes" should incur any more scorn than normal athletes. There's nothing wrong with spending time playing a silly game so long as you're enjoying yourself, but why the $#@! should anyone else care?
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 17 2017, @04:49AM
Hahah, I've spotted the salty fuck.
Perhaps you should bring your grievances to the high council.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:11AM (1 child)
“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
― Ernest Hemingway
(Score: 3, Funny) by lx on Sunday September 17 2017, @04:55AM
Good old Ernest was a blowhard wasn't he? Insecure sad rummy desperate to prove his manhood. No wonder he blew his brains out in the end. Still, he knew his way around a typewriter. That's something.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:20AM (1 child)
What is the varsity treatment? Cars, cash, blow and hookers or?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fishybell on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:32AM
One get out of jail free card.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 17 2017, @05:05PM
Can I have the colleg pussi please?
What do you mean LoL isn't a real sport?
I can do amazing things with my fingers!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Mykl on Monday September 18 2017, @02:46AM
I've always found the existence and elevated importance of College Sport to be anathema to the purpose of a College or University - that is, to engage the mind. The fact that someone can make their way into college simply by virtue of being able to 'stop that guy getting past me' or 'kicking a ball between two sticks a couple of times an hour' is ridiculous. The amount of College funding that is diverted away from education toward sport is even worse.
I have the same problem with competitive gamers. Why should someone gain entry to higher learning just because they've got great twitch reflexes? That's not what College and University is about. I'm perfectly fine with the existence of competitive gaming in general (same as competitive sports), but I don't think Colleges need to be involved in this at all.