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  1. #1

    WoW and Raiding comparison to an actual sporting event.

    So yeah, I live in the Caribbean. The West Indies to be exact. And our national sport, other than football (soccer to you Americans) is cricket. And while watching it tonight I came to realise that cricket is very much like WoW in terms of it's fan/playerbase.

    Cricket for those who don't know originated from England and caught on to countries with strong ties. Originally cricket was a game played over a period of days, called Test Matches. Basically it involved both sides batting and bowling twice (called innings) over a period of five days or two full innings, whichever came first. This is reminscent of Vanilla - early TBC when raiding guilds raided anywhere between 4 days to every day.

    Eventually however it was decided that Test Matches were too long and to add a bit more variety to the game a series was introduced called the One Day series. This was played over three or five days with each side limited to 50 overs (six pitches per over) or until the entire side was bowled out, whichever came first. Basically it was whoever won the requisite number of days. This is basically late TBC - Wrath where guilds began cutting down on time spent.

    And now apparently sitting through 100 overs (if it got that far, which is rare) is too much for people so they've introduced TWENTY over matches. And this of course to me is LFR.
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  2. #2
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    In school our physics teacher got hit in the crotch with a cricket ball and had to go to hospital because he was in extreme pain. I don't think those injuries occur in WoW.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Treseme View Post
    In school our physics teacher got hit in the crotch with a cricket ball and had to go to hospital because he was in extreme pain. I don't think those injuries occur in WoW.
    I don't know about that.. I tripped running up the stairs because our mid-raid break was over. 2 inch scar on my left shin.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremypwnz View Post
    I don't know about that.. I tripped running up the stairs because our mid-raid break was over. 2 inch scar on my left shin.
    Well, we're sliding away from the OPs topic/point but I expect that serious gaming has its share of injuries. Repetative motion injuries are a problem, back issues, and all the problems your body has with sitting down for ridiculously long periods of time. The nice thing about the athletic activities is they actually make you healthier; our activity is at it's absolute best, just a wash and at it's worse dangerously unhealthy.

    Cricket metaphors leave a lot of us confused, OP, though I have actually heard your complaints before as I read the UK's Guardian. If you are into cricket, you should be most concerned about the sport surviving, however they manage to do it. And frankly, that's probably true of WoW considering how complicated they are making raids and how many casuals are just saying, "screw it, i'll just do LFR."

  5. #5
    The Lightbringer Zethras's Avatar
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    I wouldn't call raiding so much of a sport. There's no way for people to watch it live.

    Now, Starcraft 2, for example, is a completely different animal, you can watch that like a sport, it has shout casters/commentators like sports, and people make a ton of money doing it. :P
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  6. #6
    you don't need to get hurt for something to be competitive....

  7. #7
    Sports offer health benefits. So no

  8. #8
    Eh, I've long thought teamsports were a good comparison for raiding, as you have the different tiers and expectations at those tiers.

    At the lowest level, you have the pugs, where people are happy if you have your own baseball bat..

    At the next level, you have casual groups with your buddies where you plan to show up together and play, but noone plans to actually gain anything from it, its just for fun...

    Then you have the competitive highschool (and then college) sports, that its a given that you schedule your life around them, and PRACTICE when you aren't playing to improve your skills. You're expected to have all your gear and a general idea of the strategies of the game as well as your teammates.

    And then there's pro. Its your job. You get paid to do this, and while people may think you live and breath it 24/7, you actually do have a life outside of 'work'. Mind you, there's precious few at this level of performance in WoW now, and its a bit of a stretch to compare 'sponsored' raiders to Pro athletes... but there are many comparisons there to be drawn... people KNOW the teams, they KNOW the players on those teams... you got a problem with your teammate ? tough. you having a bad day ? tough. you're expected to be here and at your best performance.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rumblecrush View Post
    Sports offer health benefits. So no
    Dunno how you define sport. I broke 1 leg, 3 arms, 2 noses, collarbone etc playing soccer, handball and floorball. So not really that healthy, know several people that got 'damaged' for life.

    Though, Chess and Pool aswell as similar things are also considered to be sports, and they dont really offer health benefits.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Vegas82 View Post
    Lol, there are any number of people who livestream their raids on twitch. In quite a few guilds you're supposed to be watching one of those feeds if you're sitting during progression.
    streaming a raid is not the same thing as a competitive, 32 player, 3 day tournament in a large expo center with thousands of fans yelling and cheering and prize money in the thousands of dollars on the line.
    If there's one thing World of Warcraft players hate more than people who don't play, it's people that do play but not as much as them.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by grisset View Post
    streaming a raid is not the same thing as a competitive, 32 player, 3 day tournament in a large expo center with thousands of fans yelling and cheering and prize money in the thousands of dollars on the line.
    That wasn't the original comparison, the guy just said "you can't watch it live".

  12. #12
    sport [spawrt, spohrt] noun
    1. 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.
    2. a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
    3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
    4. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
    5. mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

    The only one that WoW can be called would be the third definition. Which has nothing to do with the first two, because you're considering sports to mean a profession, and therefore your comparison has a lot of holes in it.

    I'm pretty tired of people trying to pretend like video gaming is somehow anything like a real sport. It isn't, please stop kidding yourself. I spend more time than I care to admit watching DotA 2 and Starcraft 2 tournaments and streams, but it isn't a sport, and "esport" is just a stupid name people came up with. Professional gaming is a fine name, competitive gaming is a fine name, but comparing it to a sport is dumb. They're nothing alike in any way. You don't need any physical fitness to play video games, you just sit in a chair and stare at a screen. You could say "Well sports are intense and require skill, and so does Starcraft" well yes, but being a doctor is intense and requires skill and I wouldn't exactly call operating on people a sport.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by CptAwesome View Post
    That wasn't the original comparison, the guy just said "you can't watch it live".
    Derp. Thanks :P

    Being able to watch it live is not something I consider to be an important part of the analogy.
    If there's one thing World of Warcraft players hate more than people who don't play, it's people that do play but not as much as them.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Rucati View Post
    You could say "Well sports are intense and require skill, and so does Starcraft" well yes, but being a doctor is intense and requires skill and I wouldn't exactly call operating on people a sport.
    Time it and have two (or more) people do exactly the same operation at the same time and you probably could.

    Also - I do think eSports are sports and to offer a facetious counterpoint to what you said. I'm pretty tired of people trying to pretend like video gaming are somehow not like a real sport. They are, please stop kidding yourselves.

    Additionally - darts is considered to be, whether you like it or not a sport, I think any argument based on participant fitness or staying still and what not are rendered kind of moot by that simple fact.

  15. #15
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Rucati View Post
    sport [spawrt, spohrt] noun
    1. 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.
    2. a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
    3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
    4. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
    5. mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

    The only one that WoW can be called would be the third definition. Which has nothing to do with the first two, because you're considering sports to mean a profession, and therefore your comparison has a lot of holes in it.

    I'm pretty tired of people trying to pretend like video gaming is somehow anything like a real sport. It isn't, please stop kidding yourself. I spend more time than I care to admit watching DotA 2 and Starcraft 2 tournaments and streams, but it isn't a sport, and "esport" is just a stupid name people came up with. Professional gaming is a fine name, competitive gaming is a fine name, but comparing it to a sport is dumb. They're nothing alike in any way. You don't need any physical fitness to play video games, you just sit in a chair and stare at a screen. You could say "Well sports are intense and require skill, and so does Starcraft" well yes, but being a doctor is intense and requires skill and I wouldn't exactly call operating on people a sport.
    Now we are getting into a fun discussion, since a lot of recognised sports doesnt really require physical fitness. By your definition,

    Any racing like Nascar, F1 etc is not a sport, all you do is sit in a chair an turn a wheel. Same goes for other motorsports.
    Same goes for sports that require more precision and mind than physical strength, as I mentioned earlier, pool and chess. Further extension into curling, bob, darts etc.
    I think not calling esports for sports is way to narrowminded, way to conservative. It is very hard to deny that esports are in fact, sports.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Rumblecrush View Post
    Sports offer health benefits. So no
    I don't think of gaming as a sport, but health benefits are definitely available in games whether sports are better overall or not. Stimulating your brain as you get older; mental awareness. blah blah.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unoriginal View Post
    what if SEARING WOLVES? The possibilities?!!?

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Treseme View Post
    In school our physics teacher got hit in the crotch with a cricket ball and had to go to hospital because he was in extreme pain. I don't think those injuries occur in WoW.
    My carpal tunnel says hello!

  18. #18
    Free Food!?!?! Tziva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Treseme View Post
    I don't think those injuries occur in WoW.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremypwnz View Post
    I don't know about that.. I tripped running up the stairs because our mid-raid break was over. 2 inch scar on my left shin.
    We were running heroic Slave Pens, I was trying to get dinner quickly on the stove during a break and in my reckless haste I cut my finger quite badly and had to go to the ER for stitches. I still have nerve damage

    SEE. WOW IS DANGEROUS YO.

    [this is now a "how have you ridiculously and shamefully injured yourself whilst playing video games" thread.]


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  19. #19
    WoW related injuries for me all involve relying on Hot Pockets during progression.

  20. #20
    The Lightbringer Darkfriend's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rumblecrush View Post
    Sports offer health benefits. So no
    That's a stupid way to define a sport, that it 'must offer health benefits". That's like saying that something is only considered edible if it has calories.

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