| The pull of professional athleticism is strong for | | | | continuously over the past few years. Now |
| many people. A lot of young men and women | | | | playing teams compete in a myriad of different |
| dream of making it to the professional league. | | | | video game leagues categorized according to the |
| This has been the truth for basketball, football, | | | | type of games being played. |
| baseball, track & field and a whole lot of | | | | Experience and Levels |
| other sports. With the advent of extreme sports | | | | Considering the facets of a video game, one can |
| such as aggressive inline skating and | | | | easily see why it is a viable option of competitive |
| skateboarding more and more young adults have | | | | sport. The equipment used is easy to set up and |
| joined the ranks of professional athletes; this | | | | easily standardized. Rules cannot be broken as |
| trend has given rise to many great sporting | | | | players are limited by what is only allowed by a |
| legends, young and old alike. | | | | certain game. The game itself keeps track of |
| Now, a new breed of professional athletes is | | | | scores, performance and some games even have |
| rising, and though they do not the share the | | | | built in replay options. This is why video games |
| same physical athletic prowess of Tony Hawk or | | | | are quite marketable as a competitive sport. Of |
| Bo Jackson, they are professional athletes none | | | | course, one of its greatest features is that almost |
| the less. Complete with paid sponsorship, televised | | | | anyone who loves to play video games can have |
| tournaments and their own fans, these new | | | | a shot at becoming pro. |
| virtual athletes are dazzling the world with their | | | | Perhaps that last feature is what makes the |
| incredible hand eye coordination and skill in playing | | | | world of professional video gaming very alluring. |
| video games. | | | | While professional and top-tier video game |
| Plug and Play | | | | athletes possess skill and aptitude that hard to |
| These are not some obscure sports that we are | | | | match, they are not restricted by age, gender or |
| looking at here, but major league sports with its | | | | other matters. The best player for a real time |
| footing in a million dollar world wide industry. The | | | | strategy game may be a fully grown adult male |
| world of competitive video games is not to be | | | | and may equally just be a young female teen |
| looked down upon or scoffed at. While this | | | | skipping school. |
| activity may not be a physically strenuous as | | | | Game Over? |
| playing a whole quarter of full court basketball, the | | | | No other sport has possessed nor displayed the |
| amount of skill, focus and determination needed | | | | same kind of adaptability as video games. Video |
| to win is no less than any other existing sport. | | | | games alone are the only sport that evolves in |
| Just as the inclusion of dancing into sports has | | | | direct relation to advancements in technology. |
| been ridiculed by some, the concept of | | | | They also possess the largest player base in |
| considering video games as sport has had its fair | | | | terms of age, gender, education, ethnicity and |
| share of critics and hecklers alike. Like dancing, no | | | | geographic traits. In the end, no other sport will |
| amount of negative feedback has stopped it. If | | | | probably out last it either. |
| anything, video game competitions have grown | | | | |