E-Sports vs.

Real Sports
I. Intro
a. Grabber
b. some clever quips possibly
II. real sports
a. the history of sports
b. the games played
c. atheletes and who helps and watches
d. pop culture
e. prize pools and tournaments
III. E-sports
a. the history of esports and why its different
b. the games played (deciding huge point)
c. atheletes and who helps and watches, also why its different (younger kids, koreans)
d. pop culture
e. prize pools and tournaments
IIII. Conclusion
a. thesis restated
b. summing up why esports are real sports, why its an important argument
Thesis : Electronic sports are rising in popularity and should be considered real sports.
The dictionary definition of sport says an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an
individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Although the sports that we
know today only developed in their current form as recently as the 20th century, sports have been
around for centuries. Though there is no way of really knowing, it is said that wrestling and boxing
were among the first sports played. Many sports were developed very early. The ancient Chinese
played a version of soccer in the early B.C. era, Golf originates from Scotland in the 1500s, and Cricket
was mentioned for the first time in the 1600s. After this, more started popping up, like Lacrosse,
Baseball and Tennis. These games caught on, clearly, and all of them are still played today. Sports such
as these have had a large influence on the world. Events such as the World Cup, which is based around
futbol, and the Olympic Games, which is a variety of events that have representatives from countries all
over the world, are watched and talked about worldwide. On a smaller level than that there are various
country specific sports events, such as the Super Bowl, an American football event which has been
going on yearly for nearly half-a-century. Sports have a tremendous effect on pop culture, and on the
people who play them. Professional atheletes are among the highest-paid individuals in the country.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather tops the list at 105 million dollars every year, followed by futbol player
Cristiano Ronaldo and Basketball star Lebron James, both coming in with over 70 million dollars every
year.
On the complete other side of the spectrum sits esports. Electronic sports, also called esports, is a term
for organized video game tournaments, usually played by professionals. The definition of video game
is any of various interactive games played using a specialized electronic gaming device or a computer
or mobile device and a television or other display screen, along with a means to control graphic
images. Video games got their commercial start in the 70s, with a game called Computer Space, which
used a black-and-white television for a display and a very simple (as far as today's standards) computer
system as power. Since then, video games have seen a skyrocketing rise in popularity. With technology
getting more advanced every day and kids being born into a world of iPhones and Androids, the

business of making video games is one of the most profitable businesses in the industry today. In 2012,
over 20 billion dollars was spent on video games, and 54% of all Americans play video games. And
with every good game, there comes competition. The first recorded large scale video game competition
was in 1980, and over 10,000 people showed up to compete. Since then, competitive gaming has gone
from a hobby to a full on career. Last year, one of the biggest games played competitively, a computer
strategy game called League of Legends, held their world championships in a nearly sold out Staple
Center, and over 30 million people watched online, 8 million of which watched at the same time. This
is just one of the many games played competitively. In 2013, 71 million people watched competitive
gaming. The largest prize pool of 2013 was won at The International, a huge tournament held for the
computer strategy game Defense of the Ancients 2, also called DOTA 2. The prize pool in question went
to a team of 5 players, and was a hefty sum of 2.8 million dollars. These atheletes are making a pretty
good amount of money yearly, and they are showing that video games are not just for kids. These
games require insane amounts of skill and focus that are not seen in some other sports. Just because
they aren't throwing a ball doesn't mean it is not a real sport.