With the country, and most of the world, currently adhering to social distancing guidelines, if not completely locked down, the daily picture or meme of the grown adult (let’s be honest, usually a “just out of bed,” slightly overweight, white male) playing video games, has become a staple on social media platforms across the world. But the reality is that meme, like ALL stereotypes, hardly tells the full story of where E-Sports currently resides in the fabric of society. If the 80’s were the “Arcade Golden Age,” then 2020 would have to be the “Age of E-Sport’s.”
In 2020, unlike in previous generations, EVERYONE from Professional Athletes to Bankers to school children are moonlighting as Fortnite or Call of Duty experts, trying to maximize their actions-per-minute (insert shameless FingerWeights® Plug here), and rapidly climb the rankings of their respective communities. Couple this with the fact that E-Sport’s are literally the only Sport that can be played from the comfort of the player’s home, (as well as in front of hundreds of adoring fans) and we may witnessing this birth of a new Kings Reign…that is, if the other sports can’t figure it out.
Yes, recently Hockey put together a tournament style of play that only an MIT graduate can crack the code to. Believed to somehow include draft picks and the head coaches first born son (sarcasm), in a type of lottery, “Round Robin” tournament, that will eventually see a team anointed Kings of Westeros. Basketball is doing a little bit better…seemingly joining the likes of Mickey and Minnie at Disney Castle, taking over a couple of hotels, with a playoff tournament sure to be filled with excitement from the current King, while simultaneously helping to ensure that Mickey and Minnie don’t wind up in foreclosure. A good deal for all, which leaves us with Baseball.
Did Baseball learn anything from 1994? America only has the patience to be scorned once by something she loves, coupled with a lack of access to America’s youth, and youth across the world, and this could very well be the end of the road for Baseball as it’s currently structured. It’s time to make the DH a part of both leagues, and regardless of whether or not there’s a work stoppage, they’ll have to figure out a way to shorten regular season games. But, the damage of not coming back when E-Sports never left, and the rest of the leagues are starting to figure out a way to finish their respective seasons, could end up being a fatal blow to America’s Pastime.
Let’s hope that’s not the case, and that all of the sports that should have either been wrapping up in the next few weeks, slowly working towards the halfway point of their season, or just getting their respective seasons underway, figure out the healthiest way possible for all parties involved, to return. Because if they don’t, E-Sports will eventually be sitting at the mountaintop (along with the NFL of course), and won’t be short on Power, Staying Power and Star Power.
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