When Esports Are As Big As the Super Bowl

  Esports, huh? Esports. E-freaking-sports. This is a controversial issue, right here. It’s a matter of perspective.  

For those who aren’t down with the kids and this whole gaming thing, it makes zero kinds of goddamn sense at all. They imagine fatass neckbeards with their Mountain Dew and Cheetos, thinking themselves ‘athletes,’ and they mock. They mock like the mocking mocksters of mock that they are.

Then there are those who have more knowledge of esports, who follow it and are as invested in it as diehard baseball or basketball fans. There are even pro ball players in this group, who we can expect to know their shit in terms of both meaning of the word ‘sport.’ I’m talking to you, Gordon Hayward.

Then there are those with their own agendas, supporting the rise of esports because it’s in their best interests. Xbox bossman Phil Spencer was as the Halo World Championship recently, and spoke about just how popular he thinks (hopes) the whole thing will become.

"I think about us back on the original Xbox, plugging wires together. My esport was, 'Could I beat the guys in my dorm room?' Now, people are making a living playing Halo. It's great to see how the community comes together to support eSports. It's real. It's fantastic,’ he said. "You look at the number of people who play games, you look at the different platforms people are playing on, you look at the money that's pouring in, the broadcasts… I think there's no cap to what esports can become. [...] esports is going to be as big as regular sports."

So there it is. I’m not sure how big a place it’ll ever find itself on ESPN, but there's no doubt that the whole thing’s becoming bigger and bigger all the time.