ESports is a sizeable chunk of the article?
It doesn't help that there is a partially overlapping mindset that believes that video games are for kids, something to grow out of. Since the vast majority of competitive gamers at the extreme top end are young adults, that theory is incorrect, but those who happen to be in the center of that Venn diagram would probably also deny that successful Twitch streamers have a "real job", etc.
Personally, the technical-ish definition that makes the most sense to me is "if it's a competition and people are gathering to watch it without participating, then it's a sport".
True. I left out "athleticism" but should have included it. I just took that as a given.
That said, I don't think the idea of debate being a sport is entirely ridiculous. The Olympics had poetry as an event for 40 years or so...
Many sports require full-body coordination. I would also consider, say, a skilled ballet dancer much more obviously impressive and intriguing than being the best video gamer in the world. The only reason one might not consider it a sport is that it's not as competition-oriented (and I may be completely wrong in that; I can't feign deep knowledge of ballet).
I don't think it's disparaging to not consider video games a sport, either, it just seems like a category error. Much of the skill is simply not visible to people not intimately familiar with the game, the mechanics, and what might be difficult about it. I would put it in the same category as, say, live coding, or watching an expert artisan at work. I also can't fathom, say, the skill it takes to operate a crane as a world-class expert, or ice carving, or fixing a mechanical watch, or blowing glass.
Frankly, I also don't consider most streaming to be a "real" job. But that's probably related to the fact that I don't respect most content that emerges. But you could say the same thing about podcasting, or being an opinion columnist, or a pundit/talking head. This doesn't mean it doesn't take skill or effort; I just think it's not producing much of value.
The magic of Guitar Hero is that it does bring a semblance of that performance feeling to non-musicians. If what I feel while playing GH is even 1/1000th of what a real musician feels when they perform their music, then holy shit. It gives me a much greater appreciation for what musicians actually feel when they're performing.
In the second table, LoL esports is explicitly highlighted as a success by mindshare, but not profitability. And below that:
> LoL Esports: loses hundreds of millions of dollars annually, exists solely as a marketing mechanism to get people to play the actual game
There are leagues around some games (like the ones mentioned in the article). There are also events with "league" in the name that are not really leagues (like ESL Pro League). In any case, none of them are financially successful in the US.