Esports: Next Generation of Athlete Culture

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Throughout the course of history, individuals have enjoyed playing sports. Whether it would be throwing a football, sprinting around the track, or kicking a soccer ball; sports have been a popular activity worldwide. The determination and expertise needed to play sports at the highest level has made it a challenging yet enjoyable activity. However in the recent years, sports have slowly drifted off from it’s traditional roots of physical prowess and into competitions of mental proficiencies. With the exponential growth of technology worldwide, it is not uncommon for the average household to have a computer, PS4, Xbox One, or even a Nintendo 3DS. In fact, the introduction of new technological entertainment has served as a gateway for the new generation of athlete culture; video games. As a result of the growth of video games, Esports (short for ‘Electronic Sports’) is slowly being integrated into athlete culture worldwide through its spectacular foundations, overwhelming popularity, vast prize pools, and recognition by official authorities. The birth of Esports can contribute most of its discovery to its original roots from the 19th century era (Bellis). To understand the next generation of athlete culture, Esports, it is necessary for individuals to understand the beginnings of the newly bred activity. During the 19th century era video games were often overlooked due to its funky nature, however, the introduction of new technology that allowed individuals to manipulate and control objects was appealing to some (Bellis). One of the very first video games to have been developed was a simple graphical computer application used to resemble virtual Tic-Tac-Toe (Bellis). Although the game was simple in nature and basic in control, ... ... middle of paper ... ... whole, official organizations have recognized the potential of making Esports a legitimate sport. Works Cited Bellis, Mary. “Computer and Video Game History”. about.com. n.d.Web. 18 Feb 2014. google.com Dave, Paresh. “Online game League of Legends star gets U.S. visa as pro athlete”. latimes.com. 7 August 2013. Web. 18 Feb 2014. google.com Fever, Alan. “Grooming The Champions of The Keyboard”. New York Times. 28 Sept 2013. Web. 18 Feb 2014. google.com Marquet-Rousse, Jeniffer. “Online gaming: An integral part of South Korean Culture”. inaglobal.fr. 6 June 2013. Web. 2 March 2014. google.com Taylor, T. L. Raising the Stakes: E-sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2012. Kindle AZW file. Young, Timothy (2012, Mar 27). “Esports, the Future of Competition” [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp-oABtCRG8

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