Originally Posted by TheBig3

You know the more I thought about the "definition" argument, the more I realized it didn't make any sense. Given that we say things like "old sport" and "Give it a sporting chance", the word doesn't seem to really come from actions as we'd define it today.

So then I asked my old friend entomology about it and he said:

[Middle English sporte, short for disporte, from Old French desport, pleasure, from desporter, to divert; see disport.]

Which loosely translated means eSports are the very definition of sport.

Originally Posted by MoonlitSunshine

It's probably worth noting that if one takes pure etymological meaning, one also has to take etymological context. The word sport initially found its meaning before there were computers, so the ability for high mental exertion without physical exertion was relatively limited - there was no need when the word was defined to include or exclude activities you don't even have to stand up for or more your hands more than a foot (or even your feet) for hours on end. Personally, I do not consider bar games like snooker or darts sports, but there is an argument for them being included, based on the dual-meaning of sport.

Sport, as a word, carries two connotations. The first is the physical exertion that has been mentioned so many times. Now, sport is an ever evolving word, and as I've already shown initial definitions can lose context in modern society, so it does not always work to simply apply the definition and have at. In this case, the simple fact that one has to argue that the definition technically doesn't exclude eSports as sports makes it abundantly clear that, for the average person, the old definition of sports doesn't really hold. How is this "lay-person definition" defined? Who knows! One thing seems to stand out though, and that is that playing sports is good for your general fitness and improves the wellbeing of your body. eSports on the other hand are almost entirely mental activities - yes, they do require some physical ability at high levels, but there is a reason why the greatest Startcraft players do not have well-toned bodies at peak fitness.

The second meaning of sport however, seems to relate to competitiveness. At a fundamental level, anything with rules that people initially play for fun is a Game. Once it becomes competitive, it starts changing into a "Sport". So using competitiveness as a marker, eSports, Darts and Snooker are all most certainly sports.

Where does this leave us? Possibly, some redefinitions are needed. It is true that eSports need a moniker that differentiate them from couch gaming for fun - there are untold levels of skill and dedication between them. "eSports" in itself carries derogatory tones, and such new word or adaptation would then for me include other "games" played at professional level, like Chess, Darts and Snooker.

At the same time, the meaning of the word Sport as something you can tell people to do that's fun but also increases their general physical wellbeing and health needs to be preserved - I would be entirely against the branding of eSports as Sports because of the excuses it would then bring to rise. With a new word to define the competitive aspect, the subset of competitive games which are considered physically (and probably more accurately, cardio-vascularly) exerting enough to be defined a Sport by the lay-person can remain defined so, thus preventing a perversion of an old word applied to new contexts.


As an aside, I can totally understand why one would want to remove the stigma of "eSports" from something which does require a lot of skill and training of (a veeeeeeery small amount of) muscles. IF it is being done to professionally justify their playing. NOT if it is being done in order to justify the replacement of other "Sports" in the regimen of well-being.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!

Originally Posted by MoonlitSunshine

Yes but, why do they need to be called sports. Noone that I have seen has tried to "delegitimise" them. They require great amounts of skill to play professionally, noone has denied that from what I have seen. Why are they a subcategory? A Sub category has to, by definition, contain ALL the aspects of the parent group. We've argued over and over that eSports don't require the same level of fitness as the set of "games" that most people will agree are "Sports". It would be more true to say that "Sports" under this same majority-definition, are a subcategory of Professionally-Played Games, which is why I am saying it would be better to give a term to define Professionally-played games, rather than applying yet another ambiguous and confusing definition to the already over-defined "Sport".

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!