I watched my kids gathered on the edge of the couch watching Mr. Fresh Asian score kill after kill on his way to what would be a loss. They cheered him on and I was reminded of watching Jordan in the 90’s, of the way my birth dad would pour himself a half glass of orange juice and backfill the rest with Vodka, sipping down the concoction as he told me about how good Jordan actually was, and how the people around him were there to fill a role. I just watched Jordan.
I was enamored by the individual performance. I wanted to be him so desperately that it hurt just thinking about the way he changed minds and lives. I didn’t want to play basketball. I saw myself as the Jordan of the football field, in spite of not even lacing up cleats until years later when I was in college and all the athletes were as talented as I was, as fast as I was, and much more polished. I don’t think Mr. Fresh is Jordan. I’ve watched the kid play and he is quite good–amazing even. Still the parallels to how his actions spur kids to action are haunting. Kids want to be like Fresh or like Ninja or any number of these youtube sensations. The internet has opened doors to possibility and part of that possibility is the birth of a new kind of sport.
eSports is a real thing. Right now NASCAR has fully embraced the sport out of need. While drivers cannot drive in RL, they can drive virtually and the Tv can cast the races and the fans can watch and the advertisers can pay everyone’s bills. eSports have been real for some time but the pause of physical sports have opened the door to individuals being able to view eSports as a legitimate alternative.
The show ended and the kids wandered off to their rooms to play the same fortnite they watched and hopefully encounter one of these Youtube heroes on the field of play. This is the new way, thanks in part to Covid-19, but in a very real way it was always inevitable. The eSports revolution is here and we are tuning in by the millions.