Name:
Jon Corley

Position:
Writer

About The Author
Jon Corley is a long tenured Team 3D writer who currently heads 3D.NY's Website Staff

If winning 8 Gold Medals makes you the greatest athlete of all time, then sign me up! Alright, now that i've got that out of my system it is time to move onto the topic of this article. Gaming has come leaps and bounds since it was introduced to the world a little over a decade ago and its potential for growth is practically unlimited. Although we've heard rumors about a potential gaming competition at the Olympics in the past, I thought we should examine the pros and cons of a potential gaming tournament and the skepticism it would undoubtedly bring to the sport.

Firstly, there is the age-old argument that gaming isn't even a sport. This topic has been visited on numerous occasions by nearly ever E-Sports journalist and every detail has been beaten to death. For the sake of argument and time, I am going to bypass this argument and just declare professional gaming to be a sport. If Nascar is considered a sport, gaming sure as hell better be.

The Olympics are all about the spirit of competition and this is best exemplified by their creed, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."

Although I doubt that the North and South Korea dispute will be settled by a game of Starcraft or we'll see the next Tommie Smith & John Carlos raising their clenched hands holding a mouse, that doesn't make it gaming any less meaningful than any other sport. To be brutally honest, I think that the worst thing that could happen to gaming would be for it to be added to the Olympics, at least for now. Gaming is still very much in its infancy and it is far too early to be thinking about Olympic glory.

If gaming were to be added to the 2012 games, I think it would almost do irreparable damage to the sport as a whole and reverse everything that leagues such as the CGS have worked so hard for. Firstly there is the execution of an event. Who would be brought in to recommend which games were to be played and with what rule set. Unlike most conventional sports, gaming lacks a definitive structure and this is one of its biggest weaknesses. Gaming has a problem which is uniquely its own. Unlike every other sport, the "playing field" constantly changes. Tennis courts have evolved over the years but the measurements and dimensions remain the same. In gaming, nearly every year a new game is released and the same players try to adapt to the next "playing field." For gaming to be taken seriously it must make some hard decisions.

There must first be a governing body such as the G7 to select a game and a set of well-defined rules. This constant shuffling of games every couple of years would have to be eliminated in order to have fair competition. Athletes train for years in hopes of making their childhood dreams come true as they battle for a spot atop the podium. That would mean that a decision would have to be made at least four years in advance, which in technology terms equates to about a millennium. This is only one of countless issues that would have to be considered prior to adding gaming to the Olympic rotation.

Although professional gaming is a legitimate sport with resolved fans, it is just too early to even consider a leap of this magnitude. The Olympics carry a reputation of greatness and to win a gold medal is rewards for a lifetime of work. Beyond the logistical nightmare, it is just too much too soon for such a new sport. There are still countless obstacles that would ultimately need to be resolved and a divided community which would need to unite. However, as Sam Witwicky would say, No Sacrifice, No Victory! If this dream is to ever to be realized it will take someone with a steadfast resolution and some deep pockets.