There was a lot of hype the weekend of July 18 to the 21 for the closing of the largest event known to Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), The International 4 (TI4). The prize pool nearly hit 11 million dollars and the event was featured on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

This is one of the larger strides eSports has taken in its growth to becoming something bigger and better. The idea of ESPN working with any eSports events is phenomenal, but it didn’t seem to appeal to everyone.

If you check out my last article, I talked about the opportunity for millions of people to see eSports on live television. TI4 being on TV was a pretty big deal — as soon as it was announced, word got out and it a hot topic of discussion in the eSports community, even to those who don’t play DotA 2. It creates the validity and legitimacy that eSports has been seeking in North America for years now, which made it a really big step in the right direction for the scene as a whole. However, there were people who were not excited.

There were a lot of people who were very angry to see the DotA 2 preview show on ESPN2. Taken from kotaku.com, here are some of the angry tweets regarding the event.

These responses are part of why I write these articles in the first place. It’s difficult for people to try new things that they are not used to, especially when it’s almost exactly the opposite of what people are used to seeing.

Most people would agree athletes are considered physically fit with a certain body build or type, someone who is muscular and participates in activities that are physically demanding, aka traditional sports.

I googled the word “athlete,” and (as of this moment that I’m writing this article) it’ll tell you an athlete is “a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.” Sports are defined as “activities involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”

Sports and athletes have gone hand in hand for hundreds of years, and it’s hard to deviate from what people are used to. It’s the “appeal to tradition” fallacy which appears time after time again. We’re taught to be open minded and to be accepting of others. We’re taught to agree to disagree if there is a conflict in beliefs and we’re taught that trying new things is almost never a bad thing. But, when it comes down to it, it is much easier said than done.

I don’t think that the Google definition of what it means to be an athlete is incorrect, per se. I think that if anything, it’s incomplete.

There’s a category of sports that some people understand as “mind sports:” skill-based games that have a greater emphasis on the mental aspects than the physical ones. ESports falls under this category quite comfortably, similar to chess and even poker. Some of these games still face debate today as to whether or not they’re considered sports by the general public. There are people who will say that they don’t consider certain games sports because there is a lack of an “athletic” emphasis on that activity.

Let’s go back 2013, when the United States began issuing athletic visas to pro gamers. On May 29, 2013, Danny “Shiphtur” Le got his P-1A visa issued and approved. Riot Games worked with Le and the US Government to get his visa approved as well as to open the doors for future pro gamers to come to the US and play not just League of Legends, but any eSports in general. Riot Games proved to the US that the professional leagues (the League of Legends Championship Series, or LCS) met all the rules of a major sports league with at least six teams and combined revenues of over ten million dollars.

And yes, this is all for one video game.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, P-1A visas apply to those who come to the U.S. to “perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete, individually or as part of a group or team, at an internationally recognized level of performance.” The P-1A visa is for “internationally recognized athletes.” Le is recognized all over the world as a top player competing in the North American LCS, as well as many other popular players like Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, Shin “Seraph” Wooyeong and Alberto “Crumbz” Rengifo.

According to the LA Times, Le described the game as “amazing complex,” seeing as “it helps to be mechanically sound individually, but the great teams are also good at strategy.” League of Legends may not be as physically strenuous as most sports, but there is definitely a great emphasis on the mental components over the physical, and there are definitely qualities about both activities that parallel each other.

Big games like League of Legends can be played for fun with friends or at a competitive level locally. Those who choose to get competitive take the time to learn the ins and outs of the game, practice rigorously and hope to find a team (sometimes with the help of sponsors) seeking the opportunity to make it big. These players take the game to the next level, from being the best among their friends to being the best in the world. Spectators and fans root for their favorite players and teams, hoping that they’ll see their favorite face or faces on the world stage.

As a good friend of mine said, there’s no reason to get upset or angry at people who don’t accept eSports for what it is, but for people to say that eSports is any less difficult or strenuous than traditional sports is unfair. And, as I’ve said before, eSports is growing regardless, as long as there are people (like myself) who enjoy watching LCS, TI4 or maybe just a regular streamer playing their favorite video games.

There are even big sponsors like Coke Zero who have helped Riot Games opened doors for players to go pro. There are amateur scenes known as the League of Legends Challenger Series (NACS for North America, EUCS for Europe – not to be confused with LCS). Teams join their region’s challenger series and play against other teams for a chance to earn a spot in the LCS. The number of opportunities for players to go pro continues to grow as universities pick up eSports as well.

They say that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make a friend. Why hate eSports when anyone can learn to love and appreciate them the same way sports are loved and appreciated today?