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Harry Paz

Professor Shipe

ENG 112

3 March 2021

Sorry Nerds Video Games Are Not a Sport

Matthew Walther, the author of 'Sorry Nerds: Video Games Are Not a Sport,' is confident

about his stance on the subject. Using pathos, ethos, and logos, he attempts to persuade the group

of teenagers who play video games that playing video games is not a sport.

Walther employs logos in this article by referencing figures and saying, "As I write this,

hundreds of millions of dollars are being made streaming video games on the internet by people

with little to no other marketable abilities." By doing so, he expresses his frustration with the

amount of money made by these streamers with limited skills relative to the amount of money

made by people with real marketing skills while they are doing an excessive amount of work

rather than only playing a game.

Walther incorporates pathos and ethos to cater to the feelings of his readers as well as his

textual trustworthiness. Walther's trustworthiness is supported by his job. He serves as a national

reporter for 'The Week', a well-known print and web news, opinion, and commentary

publication. Since he is a qualified professional, the details about his job title will convince the

reader to agree with his perspective. Walther also does a great job at using pathos in this article

by contributing to readers' feelings by using satire. One way he uses satire is by saying, “Sitting

on a couch interacting with your television set is not a sport, otherwise watching CNN with your

grandfather would be one”. He uses this remark to make a witty analogy that also gives the
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reader an image. Since many viewers can relate to watching television with a grandparent or

family friend, having this image pulls the reader in ever further. Using an image to his point

often helps him to think about it further.