​The Overwatch League recently announced Season 2 will experiment with road games, where three different teams will host matches in their home-cities to help connect teams with their fan bases. In order to better stimulate team spirit, Blizzard Entertainment should implement map decorations featuring team banners and colors for future home games to help celebrate individual teams and the cities they represent.

Don't miss your opportunity to be part of #TheFirstHomeGame.



Grab your pre-sale tickets to Ultimate Weekend Dallas at https://t.co/DDJqB2ZOCQ! #ULTDallas pic.twitter.com/kGtV7MVY34 — Dallas Fuel (@DallasFuel) December 19, 2018

​​With the announcement of the Season 2 schedule, the Overwatch League revealed its first-ever home games. The Dallas Fuel will host the first of three Homestand Weekends, followed by the Atlanta Reign and the Los Angeles Valiant. Commissioner Nate Nanzer explained the purpose behind home games is to serve as a way to help teams connect with their home cities and fan bases.





"The No. 1 thing we’re working on at the league office is getting our teams into their home markets -- is getting to what the vision for the Overwatch League is: which is full home and away,” Nanzer said.





During traditional sporting events, fields and arenas represent the team hosting the game. Home stadiums are fully decked out in banners brightly designed with the team’s colors, and venues feature the team’s logo in the middle of the field, court, or rink. These decorated venues help encourage fans of the home team to get loud and proud, connecting viewers over their shared love for their team. Players and fans alike feel a sense of security surrounded by familiar decorations on their home turf.





Fans who attend Overwatch League games in-person will share a similar experience with traditional sports fans. They can sit next to face-painted fans, hold signs, and take in the stadium decorations with their own eyes, but fans watching the game from home miss out on the experience. However, every viewer will get to enjoy the in-game footage and decorations, meaning even those watching from home can feel the same sense of pride when they see the map garnished with their team’s banners and logos.

This winter wonderland update is one of the many reasons why I love overwatch. I’m running through maps with holiday decorations and Christmas trees 😍🎄 — Erik P. (@RealErikP) December 13, 2017

​​The Overwatch developers already decorate the maps for seasonal events to help players get into the holiday spirit. Each year, players highly anticipate the maps and the minor details of the decorations. These map designs are always a hit across the community as fans celebrate the holiday season, playing their favorite game against a backdrop of brightly lit Christmas lights and snowy battlefields.





Team maps could follow a similar redesign pattern as holiday maps; the map would, of course, retain all of its original designs, but would feature the banners and logos of the home team. Maps could replace in-game posters with those featuring player names or team's historical moments. The designs wouldn't have to go the full extent as holiday maps, but would at least exhibit enough support to celebrate teams and cities.





The upcoming season will only feature a few home games to help test out the experience, but the game’s developer could implement map designs to commemorate this next step in the Overwatch League. Decorated maps would help home games better generate a sense of community and pride for teams and their respective fan bases in a way that celebrates Overwatch and its maps.





Cover photo courtesy of Robert Paul/Blizzard Entertainment