Poll: Should gamers be treated as pro athletes?

Page 13 of 20 FirstFirst ...
3
11
12
13
14
15
... LastLast
  1. #241
    Quote Originally Posted by Jhaalu View Post
    The question is whether gamers should be considered athletes, not whether they should be given "great glory".
    It's actually not. It's whether or not they should be treated as athletes, not called athletes.

    I don't see how this is so ambiguous to people. If I made a thread saying "should women be treated as men" there wouldn't be a bunch of posts saying "that's stupid why would you call them men? They are women."

  2. #242
    Legendary! Pony Soldier's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    In my safe space
    Posts
    6,930
    Quote Originally Posted by Seegtease View Post
    It's actually not. It's whether or not they should be treated as athletes, not called athletes.

    I don't see how this is so ambiguous to people. If I made a thread saying "should women be treated as men" there wouldn't be a bunch of posts saying "that's stupid why would you call them men? They are women."
    I see your point but either way whether it's treating them as an athlete or calling them an athlete, I think it's equally retarded to even have athlete and gamer in the same sentence. An athlete is someone who does physical exercises like sports, running, weightlifting, and every other activity that goes on in the Olympics, those are athletes and therefore of course they should be treated as athletes. What do these professional gamers do that is so physical? Pushing buttons with their thumbs? Yelling at each other? Playing video games or chess for that matter has nothing to do with athleticism. And before someone says I'm some huge sports jockey, no I'm not I'm hardly at all interested in sports and I play video games 99% of the time that I have free time.

    And while I'm at it I just want to say that e-sports is the most stupidest thing that was eve made into existence. To me, it's just an excuse to call playing video games competitively a sport. When I hear the word sports I automatically think physical activities such as football or baseball or hell even bowling or golf, not someone sitting in a chair playing a computer game.
    Last edited by Pony Soldier; 2013-12-28 at 02:55 PM.
    - "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black" - Jo Bodin, BLM supporter
    - "I got hairy legs that turn blonde in the sun. The kids used to come up and reach in the pool & rub my leg down so it was straight & watch the hair come back up again. So I learned about roaches, I learned about kids jumping on my lap, and I love kids jumping on my lap...” - Pedo Joe

  3. #243
    the main definition for athlete is "a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise." so by that definition, not at all. it is entirely possible though to be a professional gamer and a competitor, so i'd say you can be a professional gamer and a fierce competitor, but you're not a professional athlete.

  4. #244
    Haha what the fuck,you cant compare real sports to a fucking pc games.

  5. #245
    Deleted
    He shouldn't be called an athlete but as the thread asks should he be treated as one I think yes. Pro gamers do have to do a lot of training to stay on top of their games in the same way athletes do. They also spend time studying the competition. It does require skill, mental agility and dedication to become a pro gamer and this should be recognized.

    As for the guy in the linked article, I think he deserves his visa, the terminology of the visa just needs to be updated to include professional gamers and not just call them athletes.

  6. #246
    Quote Originally Posted by Geminiwolf View Post
    I see your point but either way whether it's treating them as an athlete or calling them an athlete, I think it's equally retarded to even have athlete and gamer in the same sentence. An athlete is someone who does physical exercises like sports, running, weightlifting, and every other activity that goes on in the Olympics, those are athletes and therefore of course they should be treated as athletes. What do these professional gamers do that is so physical? Pushing buttons with their thumbs? Yelling at each other? Playing video games or chess for that matter has nothing to do with athleticism. And before someone says I'm some huge sports jockey, no I'm not I'm hardly at all interested in sports and I play video games 99% of the time that I have free time.
    Being physical is absolutely irrelevant. Professional sports is an entertainment industry that just happens to be physical. Golf is the same way, and that's barely physical. Even if less popular, why shouldn't professional gaming be given the same treatment as professional sports? The end result is simply entertainment.

  7. #247
    Legendary! Pony Soldier's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    In my safe space
    Posts
    6,930
    Quote Originally Posted by Seegtease View Post
    Being physical is absolutely irrelevant. Professional sports is an entertainment industry that just happens to be physical. Golf is the same way, and that's barely physical. Even if less popular, why shouldn't professional gaming be given the same treatment as professional sports? The end result is simply entertainment.
    A dictionary says otherwise and if a dictionary is not enough to say that playing video games professionally is not enough to be classified as an "athletic sport" then I don't know what else to say. I have no question about them being treated as professionals but being treated as athletes? No. It's a hell of a lot more work to become a professional athlete in sports compared to being a professional gamer. You have to keep in shape which requires them to be eating the right way, exercising for hours on a daily basis which would include stuff like running and weightlifting and all kinds of other forms of exercises for at least most of the week, and practice drills. There's probably even more shit they have to do that I don't even know about. I couldn't see professional gamers doing any more than practicing the game that they are about to play for hours and hours with a case of Monster Energy drinks beside them. This is why they don't treat professional gamers as athletes like they do with REAL athletes or why they shouldn't. At least this is why I think so. There's no doubt though that their gaming skills are impressive but going as far as treating them as an athlete?

    Yes it's all entertainment but it's what they have to do to entertain you. As I said before athletes have all this work they have to do to stay in shape so that they can keep on playing and entertaining you. And while entertaining you they sometimes unfortunately injure themselves (often times a really bad injury) resulting in them having to go to their doctor which a lot of times their doctor will tell them to go through surgery. As for professional gaming all they have to do is be really good at a video game no matter what shape they are in so there's not a whole lot of work that was done to become the professionals that they are other than playing a certain game for hours and hours.

    This is why I dislike this generation of gamers because more and more they are trying to put video games in the spotlight with everyone else and trying to make playing video games a cool and hip thing because of stupid crap like this. The whole mentality of "just because we play video games doesn't mean we shouldn't be treated equally to that of a football player or a celebrity". Just stop. As gamers we shouldn't even care about shit like this. If you're a hardcore competitive gamer then enter in a public game tournament that has a cash prize or something. Video games used to just be something people did in their spare time or what kids would play. Now it has to be a sport and the gamers think they should be treated as athletes just because they play professionally.
    Last edited by Pony Soldier; 2013-12-28 at 09:25 PM.
    - "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black" - Jo Bodin, BLM supporter
    - "I got hairy legs that turn blonde in the sun. The kids used to come up and reach in the pool & rub my leg down so it was straight & watch the hair come back up again. So I learned about roaches, I learned about kids jumping on my lap, and I love kids jumping on my lap...” - Pedo Joe

  8. #248
    Pandaren Monk Demsi's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Nord-Norge
    Posts
    1,781
    Gamers are not athletes

  9. #249
    Quote Originally Posted by Geminiwolf View Post
    A dictionary says otherwise and if a dictionary is not enough to say that playing video games professionally is not enough to be classified as an "athletic sport" then I don't know what else to say. I have no question about them being treated as professionals but being treated as athletes? No. It's a hell of a lot more work to become a professional athlete in sports compared to being a professional gamer. You have to keep in shape which requires them to be eating the right way, exercising for hours on a daily basis which would include stuff like running and weightlifting and all kinds of other forms of exercises for at least most of the week, and practice drills. There's probably even more shit they have to do that I don't even know about. I couldn't see professional gamers doing any more than practicing the game that they are about to play for hours and hours with a case of Monster Energy drinks beside them. This is why they don't treat professional gamers as athletes like they do with REAL athletes or why they shouldn't. At least this is why I think so. There's no doubt though that their gaming skills are impressive but going as far as treating them as an athlete?
    Why is this hard to get? I'm not saying they should be classified as an athletic sport, I'm saying they should get the same treatment. And if you think professional gamers just show up with a case of energy drinks, you know absolutely nothing about the professional game industry.

    This is why I dislike this generation of gamers because more and more they are trying to put video games in the spotlight with everyone else and trying to make playing video games a cool and hip thing because of stupid crap like this. The whole mentality of "just because we play video games doesn't mean we shouldn't be treated equally to that of a football player or a celebrity". Just stop. As gamers we shouldn't even care about shit like this. If you're a hardcore competitive gamer then enter in a public game tournament that has a cash prize or something. Video games used to just be something people did in their spare time or what kids would play. Now it has to be a sport and the gamers think they should be treated as athletes just because they play professionally.
    You do realize that professional sports that we have today once didn't exist. As you said, they "used to just be something people did in their spare time." American football, for example, was only popular as far as college. After that, it was just a hobby. But they pushed for professional football, and now look how big it is. If it's okay to turn the hobby of football into professional entertainment, why is it not okay to turn the hobby of gaming into professional entertainment? Times change. They did then, and they will continue to do so, and your non-progressive thinking won't stop it.

  10. #250
    Pro is fine and well earned with thousands of hours of practice going in. athlete, just no.

  11. #251
    Quote Originally Posted by Jhaalu View Post
    The question is whether gamers should be considered athletes, not whether they should be given "great glory".
    No that is not the question, at all. No one is considering these gamers as athletes. Frankly, no one seems to be reading the thread title or OP either.

    Please read the thread and understand that this is a question as to whether a professional gamer should be treated as professional athletes or not. The big factors coming into mind are Visas, sponsors and salaries.

    Frankly people can complain all they want on the notion, but the gamers will get paid if they get enough of an audience. Plain and simple.

  12. #252
    Quote Originally Posted by Demsi View Post
    Gamers are not athletes
    athlete - a person trained to compete in sports (the more basic and universal definition i got from a quick google)

    if something is accepted as a sport of intellect, stamina, or dexterity, then those that train to compete in it, are by definition 'athletes'.

    and i think once substantial competitions and prize money enters play, its acceptable to call it a sport.

    and those that make their living solely off it, professional athletes.

  13. #253
    Herald of the Titans Chain Chungus's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2,523
    Sports are just games.

    Jocks=gamers.

    Gamer stereotype=nerd.

    Jocks=nerds.

    Universe implodes.

  14. #254
    Quote Originally Posted by Telomerase View Post
    Sports are just games.

    Jocks=gamers.

    Gamer stereotype=nerd.

    Jocks=nerds.

    Universe implodes.
    You know, this brings up an interesting point. With Jocks being regarded as dumb, why are they given more praise for what they do? Even though in ancient times it was the other way around, but victory in war and development as a nation/culture is now entirely the result of brains, not brawn. The Brains of the world are what make our lives easier, safer, cleaner, and find ways to make sure we actually continue to exist as a race. Brawn... smash things. It's obsoleted by technology (sorry guy, but you can't compete with heavy machinery, and guns require little strength to use).

    And yet as a society we still want to act like the greatest people are those with physical prowess, and treat the ones with higher mental capacities like losers. Somehow, somebody who competes in games of brawn is superior to someone who competes in games of brains.

    Who is using a more commendable, useful skill for today's society?

  15. #255
    Well, they're not athletes, but they're certainly competitors who put just as much time and effort into their career. Both high end competitors of sports and e-sports have to train many hours a week and are up against difficult competition. Both sports and e-sports are sources of entertainment.
    Raaaa!

  16. #256
    Quote Originally Posted by Snugglees View Post
    Well, they're not athletes, but they're certainly competitors who put just as much time and effort into their career. Both high end competitors of sports and e-sports have to train many hours a week and are up against difficult competition. Both sports and e-sports are sources of entertainment.
    And that's the question... is this enough to treat them on the same level as athletes, or does physical prowess trump all?

  17. #257
    Stood in the Fire Syfy's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Howling Fjord
    Posts
    424
    No and no.

  18. #258
    I can't even take guys like Justin Wong, Maximilian, and Marn (lol Marn*) seriously in video game tourneys (only one of those three I mentioned is competent in tourneys). What the hell qualifies someone spamming in CoD an athlete!?

    *What a fucking loser. Marn sucks. The day that fat, creepy sack of shit is seen as an athelte let alone a "pro gamer" is the day Hell freezes over. The guy's a god damn joke.

  19. #259
    No.

    Despite the potentially intense mental strategy required for some games, I certainly wouldn't want to see a world where we have Javelin & Starcraft both collecting Olympic Medals.

  20. #260
    Quote Originally Posted by VoodooGaming View Post
    No.

    Despite the potentially intense mental strategy required for some games, I certainly wouldn't want to see a world where we have Javelin & Starcraft both collecting Olympic Medals.
    I don't think anybody is asking for entry into the Olympics. Just the same kind of recognition someone who plays golf, or even to start - chess can get.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •