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Derek Drew

Professor Campbell

UWRT

7 November 2019

Computer or Cleats: Who Are my Athletes?

INRODUCTION

Imagine walking into an odditorium, hundreds of people chattering calmly amongst

themselves, waiting anxiously for some man to come out to the stage. After a few minutes, he

comes out from behind the stage and stands in front of the crowd. It gets quiet until the man

exclaims, “Esports is on the rise! The next generation of athletes are here!” He then goes on to

explain that Esports is a fairly new sport where players compete in videogames in front of a

crowd of people. It sounds like most sports in presentation, but someone nearby begins to think

out loud: “How are these players athletes when they just sit and play a videogame?” What if I

were to tell you Esports player are not and should not be called athletes.

DEFINE ATHLETE

To begin the reasoning to why Esports players are not athletes, why not look into the

dictionary definition of the word athlete along with its origins. The Merriam-Webster dictionary

defines athlete as, “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring

physical strength, agility, or stamina.” The definition brings on the demand for physical needs, as

in strength, agility, and stamina. These aspects are not present in Esports competitions. In an

Esports match, players sit down for a period of time in front of a monitor of some sort, and they
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play their game in the same spot, getting up only to vent frustration or celebrate. But, looking

into other traditional sports, physical strengthen, agility, and stamina are necessary for success.

As the definition is not enough proof that the word athlete cannot define an Esports

player, the Online Etymology Dictionary presents the origin of the word. In Latin, athlete comes

from the word athleta which means “a wrestler, athlete, combatant in public games." Again, the

idea of physical prowess is present in this definition. It is this reoccurring factor that can be

found in those who have possessed the title of athlete, such as soccer players, football players,

and basketball players. On the other hand, Esports players tend to fail to demonstrate these

attributes while participating in their sport.

The Online Etymology Dictionary also shows that athlete has another root that is Greek.

They used the word athletes, meaning "prizefighter, contestant in the games.” Taken out of

context, this definition could classify Esports players as athletes, but if you consider the time

period, the word game would not be the same as it is today. The International Olympics

Committee’s website states, “Full of blood, passion, and extraordinary feats of athletic endeavor,

the Olympic Games were the sporting, social and cultural highlight of the Ancient Greek

calendar…” This description is how they see the Olympic Games at the times of the Greeks,

showing how they viewed the word game. Relating this description to Esports, there has not been

a time where a player shows “extraordinary feats of athletic endeavor” at matches or tournaments

while other athletes have.

The point that the origin and definition are here to make is that Esports players do not fit

the definition. As it is a sport and players do work hard, they do not show physical attributes

when they play. This is not the fault of the game; it is just the truth of the matter. The games they
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play require small amounts of physical talent, which does not compare to what traditional

athletes go through.

THE TRAINING ROUTINE

Building on the definition of athlete, looking into a soccer players’ training routine

compared to an Esports players’ training routine can put the difference of physical work into

perspective. This will not only show the difference in physical training, but it will also show how

a lack of physicality causes Esports players to fall short from the title of athlete.

To provide insight for training for traditional sports, I decided to look at soccer players.

There was a study done with a professional soccer team in Singapore where trained physicians in

sport science Marcus Lee and Swarup Mukherjee measured the running intensity the team

underwent for two seasons. In this, they measured running work outs at practices during the

preseason, the beginning of the season, the end of the season, and the post season. The results

showed a trend: intense workouts at the beginning of the season and, a “Variation in TL (training

load) across the in-season phases (early, mid, late) also suggests that changes in TL could be

expected during the competitive periods of the season.” (Lee, 339). This research may appear

moot, but it actually shows the purpose of physical training. In sports that are known to hold

athletes, the training that each player undergoes is in order to increase performance. In the case

of the soccer team, the cardio workouts prepared them for the season during preseason and

prepared them for a challenging opponent for the rest of the season.

For the opposing side, Esports players workout as well. At this point, people usually say

that because these players workout, they are being physical in their sport. And, since they are

being physical, they should be called athletes, right? Well, while this training is physical, it is
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done for a different reason rather than improving gaming performance. In the Wall Street

Journal article, “‘My Arms Were Really Skinny.’ Professional Videogamers Are Working Out,”

Timothy W. Martin writes:

“To stay in the game, Dario Wünsch has adopted a dedicated routine to avoid injuries. He

starts each morning with yoga poses, torso twists, finger stretches and planks. He gulps

down ginger smoothies to ward off joint inflammations.” (Martin).

This quote shows that Esports player actually workout as well as develop better eating habits to

avoid injury and stay healthy. The workouts that these players undergo is similar to those who go

to the gym and have a personal trainer help them, as professional gaming teams have their own

trainers.

Comparing these two, the difference is shown the use for training. Esports uses its

physical training to stay in shape and avoid injuries. In this case, it is not so much training as

exercise. Looking at traditional sports, soccer in this case, the physical training done was to

improve performance. This fact shows that the training these players do adds to the physicality of

the sport. Relating back to the definition of an athlete, the exercise that Esports players undergo

does not improve performance for “physical strength, agility, nor stamina.” (Merriam-Webster).

This being said, Esports players fall short from being included in the definition of an athlete still.

DOES THAT MAKE YOU AN ATHLETE?

While Esports players may not be included in the definition of the word athlete nor have

the same physical training that traditional sports do, some may believe that Esports players

should still be called athletes. Why? According to AP News, Milan Cerny who works for a

technology company said, “Gamers and traditional athletes have a lot in common… including
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that both are “really, really good at what they’re doing.” (“The Debate over Esports: Gamers or

Athletes?”).

Cerny may appear to have a point. Esports has leagues for various games such as

Overwatch, Rocket League, and League of Legends. Each league has teams, who have their own

jerseys, coaches, and trainers. Esports teams even have arenas that they play in, like Nerd Street

Gamers who play in the Wells Fargo Center along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia

Flyers. (Hayward) From the appearance standpoint, it would seem like Esports players are

athletes. Also, the popular game of Fortnite was shown on ESPN.

But, does the appearance and being skilled make an individual an athlete?

If that were the case, multiple professions would be able to call their people athletes.

Doctors have to be “really, really good” at what they do. If not, then that could create problems.

Some may argue that doctors do not have a fan base and do not work for entertainment. In that

case, what about singers or performers. They have to be skilled in their art, they may not have

their own arena, but the travel from arena to arena, like going to away games. And they have a

fan base and are in entertainment. They can also be in competitions for money as well, like

Esports players. And for streaming, poker and spelling bees are broadcasted on ESPN. So, why

can they be called athletes? It may be because their profession is not classified as a sport, but this

shows that just because Esports players similarities with other athletes, it does not mean that they

are athletes as well.

GAME OVER

With all this being said, it is not in my intentions to ridicule any Esports players and their

skill. They do put in hours to train and to make it professional is a great feat as it is. I believe that
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athlete is not the correct title for Esports players. For this I have a solution: give Esports players

a new title. It would be like how we call poker players gamblers, or how we call people in

academic decathlons mathletes. So, the classic professional gamer can be what they are called, or

a new name can be created. It can be something like techlete, which combines technology and

athlete like how Esports combined sports and technology. In doing this, Esports players can be

classified as something unique with being misplaced as they are when being called athletes.
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Annotated Bibliography

“Athlete.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/athlete. 21 Sep. 2019.

“Athlete (n.).” Index,

www.etymonline.com/word/athlete. 21 Sep. 2019.

“The Debate over Esports: Gamers or Athletes?” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 24 Aug. 2018,

https://apnews.com/6ecce0ecc3df4b26a167f8d690f1938d. 1 Nov. 2019.

Hayward, Andrew, et al. “Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center Adds Localhost Esports Arena.”

The Esports Observer, The Esports Observer, 27 Sept. 2019,

https://esportsobserver.com/philly-localhost-esports-arena/. 17 Oct 2019.

Lee, Marcus, and Swarup Mukherjee. “Relationship of Training Load with High-Intensity

Running in Professional Soccer Players.” International Journal of Sports Medicine., vol.

40, no. 5, Thieme Medical Publisher Inc, May 2019, pp. 336–43, doi:10.1055/a-0855-

3843. 17 Oct. 2019.

Martin, Timothy W. “'My Arms Were Really Skinny.' Professional Videogamers Are Working

Out.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 11 Oct. 2018,

www.wsj.com/articles/drop-the-pizza-pick-up-the-weights-videogamers-get-in-shape-

1539276694. 17 Oct. 2019.

“Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games.” International Olympic Committee, 20 Dec. 2018,

https://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games. 21 Sep. 2019.