We need to treat MLG as a Professional Sport!

[usernameranq]

I was reading alot of immature comments on videos and forums about MLG. Say oh you suck D**k at somebody just bescaue there better then you at the game. Why are young immature gamers hating on MLG. We need to stop the immature and start showing more and treat it as a professional sport. That's what the majority of people think's gaming is a joke and don't take it serious as real gamers. An what's to make a living in gaming. An make it big as the NBA and having bigger prize money like 3 mil for each team and get bigger and bigger. If not we are not going to grow and taking serious. STOP Let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HEA7]

the reason ppl hate on other ppl's gameplay is for two reasons. one is because since it is over the internet, people are not held accountable for what they say. 2nd is that they (the commenters) cant do half the stuff that the person in the video is doing. its like compensating... However, i cannot count HOW many times ive heard my brother and my dad say stuff like "oh my god Lebron sucks d**k" Its not just video games man. Its life in general

[usernameranq]

true true

[Benjak]

I treat MLG as a sport not just only as a player but as a true fan. I watch MLG and respect pros and anybody that is trying to make it in MLG. Any game takes time to get professional. I am on Sunday-Thursday 6-11 every night and saturday I am on from 7pm-3am practicing and running games. There isn't one pro that hasn't sacraficed time to practice. It's something they have to do. Also I agree with you by saying that there shouldnt be any hate on us gamers trying to go pro. Give us respect and stop trolling.

Ever hear of the 10,000 hour rule?

What Is the 10000 Hour Rule?
The 10000 Hour Rule is just that. This is the idea that it takes approximately 10000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill.

For instance, it would take 10 years of practicing 3 hours a day to become a master in your subject. It would take approximately 5 years of full-time employment to become proficient in your field. Simply work out how many hours you have already achieved and calculate how far you need to go. You should be aiming for 10000 hours.

Not saying pros put in 10,000 hours to get there but pretty darn close!

Reference: http://www.squidoo.com/10000-hour-rule

[bradsears]

Good post Benji. The 10k hour rule is real. It is used as a basis to prove there are no genetic based prodigies. The difference between anybody and a top performer is just the length and quality of practice.

This is not to say that anybody with 60,000 games will be as good as insert fav pro here but with the right support they could be.

[Eclipse]

The only problem with your logic ben is this. You could do something for 10000 hours, wrong, and not be proficient at it.

[darkon124]

IMO MLG will never be considered a true sport for one and only reason. The pros are the ones we look up too and they are the ones that represent us. Now just look at how they act and how they treat each others... u know what i mean.

[HEA7]

The only problem with your logic ben is this. You could do something for 10000 hours, wrong, and not be proficient at it.
This... you could become the worlds best at doing it the wrong way tho...

[Inexist]

My Benjak is totally right.

[WobblyJackMcFruit]

It's unfortunate that MLG chose to use "pro" to classify the top tier of players because it to me devalues what being "pro" is all about.

Literally speaking, "pro" simply means you get paid for doing something. It doesn't necessarily imply skill or talent, just that you make money doing it. This is important because a lot of the most successful sports professionals are people you've never heard of, the less well-known members of a team or the guys in the shadows. These people realise that there's little chance of them making it to superstar status so they've decided to play the long game, do a solid job to the best of their abilities, play nice, keep the sponsors happy and collect a regular paycheck. In short, they're reliable and bankable. In a commercial world that's more important than being some super-talented prima donna that all the fans love but is a complete arsehole who punches opponents, pukes in the sponsors' pot plants, doesn't turn up to publicity events and quickly becomes a financial liability.

So using the word "pro" is actually a problem for MLG but there's another difficulty: It's core fanbase is predominantly young and male and as such tends to be obsessed with the flashiest players but also has a very short attention span, hence the bandwagoning effect that you see all the time on the MLG forums and to a lesser extent, on TLN. This is not likely to change in the forseeable future.

[Cheeky]

Problem with society as a whole at the moment is that they can't come face to face with calling gaming a sport and therefore they think it's a complete waste of time. Even if you are at the top level most people will look at it as a bunch of kids playing video games, wasting their lives away. Society still characterizes Competitive gamers with the class of social gamers, which is a horrendously false accusation. They think all gamers are "geeks, fags, fat-ass momma's boys, low-lifes, zit-infested, nerds." Some people may fit these stereotypes, but I for one only fit the nerd one :P haha.

Problem is with MLG most of the AM kids think they are so good that they are the ones who cause all of the fuss. When I used to play matchmaking in Halo 3, If I got a sick triple kill or something of the sort that would give us an advantage no one would say, "Good Shit Cheeky keep it up," unless I was playing with my friends. The kids in playlist have such high ego's because they think they are all PRO material, but to tell you the truth most kids who play this game will never get to the pro level and the #1 reason is because of their attitude and maturity level.

Once the AM kids and some PRO's curb what they say and start acting more professional, which is what I try to do with everyone I play or encounter on XBL. Once we break the stereotype and start acting like mature respectable individuals, then MLG And E-Sports as a whole will gain more respect and be accepted as a "Professional field."

[Benjak]

The only problem with your logic ben is this. You could do something for 10000 hours, wrong, and not be proficient at it.

But, If your doing something like gaming or baseball or anything like that, you will be eventually doing it right because along the way, sombody would eventually point it out.


This... you could become the worlds best at doing it the wrong way tho...

nahhh

[Jewjitsu]

that 10000 hours thing might be true most of the time, but there definitely are prodigies and such. like that 12 year old who does the einstein physics and math. Most of the long-standing pros did not have that much practice when they first went pro, but i'm sure they're close to that point now. but on topic, i definitely think MLG should be more respected as a sport than just of bunch of "nerds" playing video games and wasting their lives, which unfortunately most adults see it as. It would be better though if pros had salaries like professional athletes, more events, and more pro teams, and TV broadcasts but MLG probably isn't big enough for that yet.

[D Moralize]

I've heard that your genetics are responsible for like 30% of who you are and to me that sounds accurate, If you practice something you will be better than anyone who dosent, but even if 2 people have the exact same practice one will be better because of their genetics, even simple things like retaining knowledge, not getting mad, accepting criticism, teamwork, are all effected by your genetics.

I disagree with calling gaming a sport though, Sports are games, and video games are games but that dosent mean video games are sports. That dosen't mean I think they are less important than sports though, baseball is hitting a ball with a stick, I think gaming will eventually become as popular as sports because as our generation grows up we are taking games with us, and I think spectating has huge room to grow just like alot of adults played sports in school but now are just spectators, I think gaming will follow suite.

[chris_cr33p]

yeah what everyone else said!

[Antidote]

There are many gaming events around the world that are held and have more prestige then an MLG event. However, I'm personally a fan of MLG because of how it's going about getting involved in the E-Sports world. It will take a lot of time, frustration, money, and hard work from them but it has potential to grow into one of the greatest E-Sport leagues in the world. The problem is that they are growing so fast now that a lot of people are hopping on board, they are making it very accessible as well to people wanting to compete and making everything easy to learn. This brings about problems with immature people and lots of flame wars over who is correct.

They are bringing millions of people together into a community, one that is growing faster then any other gaming community I've ever seen in America. When you're shoving people together into a community and adding by the hundreds everyday, there is going to be some arguing and disagreements. Doesn't mean anything lesser of the league. Just simply means it's growing at a fast rate.

[Str8EdgeViper]

You know, I think we just proved something right here. So far I have not seen any immature posts in these 2 pages. I'm going to say that I do agree with these comments about the maturity or lack there of, but in retrospect this has happened in every sport as it grew. I think the same is true for MLG, eventually the community will grow and become more appreciative of gaming. It just has not happened yet.

[DeeLuv]

The only problem with your logic ben is this. You could do something for 10000 hours, wrong, and not be proficient at it.
This. But dedication + doing the right things = greatness

[RagingChickens]

The only reason that MLG isn't treated as a "sport" is because the lack of physical activity. We all know damn well about all of the hard practice teams put in and how hard it is to dtay on top, but in the end, ignorant people will see people playing video games and say "That isn't a sport!". They will do the same with bowling, billiards, and the list goes on. It will be very hard to get ignorant, thick skulled idiots to understand that physical activity is not the only requirement of a sport.

[DeeLuv]

To me, it depends on your definition of "sport". I've argued that golf isn't a "sport". I spend countless hours on the basketball court, and train like an athlete. Believe me, when you put in all the hours in the weight room, running drills, putting up hundreds of jump shots, and busting your ass until you feel like you're gonna collapse - you view the definition of "sport" a little more harshly. LOL.

I will say this. Halo is just as much of a sport as golf. It sure as hell is more of a sport than poker. And those 2 "sports" get plenty of play on ESPN. Halo (or any other competitive video game) takes a level of dedication and work that, if "real" athletes or the general public truly got a chance to appreciate, rank right up there with ANY game. I see all the hours on the stream that T2 is online playing Halo, and he's not even near the top of the best players in the game really. He's GREAT, don't get me wrong - but you'll never see him at the top of the slayer rankings from tourney to tourney (maybe he'll see this and go HAM in Columbus, I don't know - he's sure putting the work in). But that just goes to show you how much skill this game takes, and how much dedication it takes to be great, and the great ones who have earned sponserships (and those who SHOULD have them) deserve everything they get. In fact, I think they deserve more. Sites like this are helping bring the game into serious, mature sport (ok, I'll say it lol) that the OP (and me) hopes it to get to.

[Harrison.Greenhalgh]

You know, I think we just proved something right here. So far I have not seen any immature posts in these 2 pages. I'm going to say that I do agree with these comments about the maturity or lack there of, but in retrospect this has happened in every sport as it grew. I think the same is true for MLG, eventually the community will grow and become more appreciative of gaming. It just has not happened yet.

you are correct in a way. This comunity has never had Alot of flame wars prety much every one here gets along. but if you go to the MLG site there are mad trolls and flame wars.