As many of you might know, League of Legends is an multi-player online battle arena (MOBA for short) game. Released on October of 2009, League of Legends has over 67 million users. A usual game of League of Legends lasts for about 40 minutes and consists of two teams, each with five players. Before the game starts, each of the ten players choose one of the 123 champions to use for the game. I have been playing for about two years now, and I can attest that it is an enjoyable game to play in moderation. However, did you know that certain colleges are offering League of Legends athletic varsity scholarships to good players?
Honestly, I do not know how to feel about this. I like the game, but I am not a professional and I do not plan on ever becoming one. To me, LOL, as it is often called, is a fun little game to play with my friends when they are around. I will not try to gain anything from playing League of Legends besides a few laughs and a fun time. I believe that the game should be played for fun, not for rewards like money, scholarships, and trophies. Otherwise, the game becomes less about having fun, and more about players trying to be the best. Don't get me wrong, I am not against the idea of financially helping out students who are good at something. I'm just not too sure that we should be rewarding people for playing an online video game non-stop.
Let's look at some of the positives here. Giving out scholarships to League of Legends players help give chances to students who are not so active when it comes to athletics. Not everyone can be an athlete. Some people are just more athletic than others. Handing out scholarships to students who are good at a video game helps to balance things out, in a way. Its not like these students are getting free money. League is fun and all, but it can become a very challenging game when up against good players. Being a professional League player requires a lot of skill and knowledge. You need to know what all 123 champions are able to do. You need to have good reflexes and a lot of experience. So, these scholarships are a way of rewarding students who have worked so hard to make it to the big leagues. At the end of it all, is it really worth going professional?
The main problem I see in handing out athletic varsity scholarships to good League players, is that League isn't actually a sport. It only requires moving your hands and eyes frantically. It does not involve the rest of the body. Now, I know people may bring up the fact that Chess is a sport even though it requires a few hand movements. That is a completely different debate. League requires you to sit at a desk in front of a computer for hours, clicking on your screen with your mouse and pressing keys on your keyboard. I hate to admit it, but it is unhealthy to play for long periods of time. It strains the eyes and back. Sports are supposed to be healthy for you. At least Chess makes your brain sharper and has barely any downsides health-wise. Having scholarships available to good League players will make other players try to get better and play non-stop. This is not promoting a healthy lifestyle. It is easy to leave a soccer field after playing for a few hours, but it is very difficult to stop playing League when you are on a winning streak.
Overall, I do not know how I feel about this. I do love playing the game with my friends, and I am not against some good League players getting to pay less for college because of their skills. If I got a scholarship for my pasta making skills, I would not be opposed to that at all (all you have to do is add a lot of mozzarella cheese!). However, the video game should not be called a sport and should not be taken too seriously. Sadly, a lot of people do take the game seriously. League can turn some of the nicest people into toxic monsters, constantly raging at ever bad move he/she or his/her teammates make. Handing out scholarships may make the rage even worse, as people's college careers are on the line. At the end of it all, it really depends on the kind of people getting these scholarships and how they use this privilege.
What are your thought on this?
If the colleges are handing out athletic varsity scholarships for League, does that mean that there are organized teams for each college like there would be for other sports? Division I, II, and III League schools that play each other every year? Practice schedules and weekly matches against other schools?
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, I can see why they would want to hand out the scholarships. Otherwise it doesn't really make much sense. I'm not sure why they would want to specifically attract good League players to their school otherwise.
Assuming that it's organized, I don't really like the idea. To become one of the best at League you need to spend hours upon hours grinding games to learn every little nuance about every champion, their interactivity with other champions, item builds, team composition, etc. As you mentioned there's not much more going on than sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen using your mouse and keyboard. With traditional sports, the hours of practice that are put not only involve the studying of the strategy of their sport, but also include activities that benefit the athlete's physical fitness and health.
If you want to be the best of the best at any sport you need to put in the hours of work outside of practice as well. League is no different - it would encourage a sedentary lifestyle in the students that they recruit. They'd leave practice and go play League in their dorms. I don't think encouraging that kind of lifestyle is something a school should strive for no matter how many students it attracts.