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Opinion: Twitter reaction to 'Heroes of the Dorm' shows wide eSports acceptance is still far off

A rabid crowd and an excited fanbase were ecstatic to find Heroes of the Storm fill the ESPN2 airwaves last night. Unfortunately, some of the reaction from the other side shows that eSports are still a long way from being accepted as the norm.

Ozzie Mejia

April 27, 2015 3:00 PM

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Yesterday was a big day for Blizzard and for Heroes of the Storm. Not only did the Heroes of the Dorm college tournament finish in grand style, but it did so in front of a nationwide audience on ESPN2. For many that have played video games throughout their lives, it was fascinating to see their hobby evolve into a very real competition. There were stakes, preparation, drama, and personalities, along with an arena filled with rabid spectators. It encapsulated all that's great about sports.

Of course, there were definitely those that grumbled on Twitter. Some people gnashed their teeth over the idea of "ERMAHGERD! VERDJAGAMES!" on a sports channel. That's to be expected. When I saw the compilation of tweets, I didn't bat an eye.

Now when the passive-aggressive insults and sarcasm started coming from the actual ESPN anchors, that's what grabbed my attention.

On another note, what is on espn2?!? How am I just finding out about this???

— Robert Flores (@RoFloESPN) April 27, 2015

I used to announce my Bases Loaded games. Sad to think if I were born 20 years later I could have been a video game announcer.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 27, 2015

He's not wrong RT @JJudge23 They owe us live pro wrestling on ESPN now”

— Robert Flores (@RoFloESPN) April 27, 2015

Hey @ESPN_FirstTake I've got your first topic for tomorrow: #HeroesOfTheDorm #StormTheDorm

— Robert Flores (@RoFloESPN) April 27, 2015

I took the bait. Just turned on ESPN 2. As someone whose face appears daily on the channel, I don't have answers. #LeeroyJenkins #chicken

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015

Was my water laced with something? What's happening. pic.twitter.com/ULlsUVdg78

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015

The trouble thing about these tweets is that it ultimately reinforces what many gamers knew all along. There are those that will never accept video games as any kind of competition. Worse, there are some that will always look at the gamer, point their finger, and shout "Nerd!" It doesn't matter that gaming has become a multi-billion dollar industry, has grown exponentially as an artform, or grown to encapsulate the greatest aspects of competition. To people like the aforementioned anchors, it's nerd stuff. It's the subject of derision. It's a second-class hobby. It was so aggravating to see this attitude that it made me wonder why ESPN even bothered in the first place. I look forward to the encore when it comes time for the Dota 2 International, where teams can win more money than most pro athletes are making right now.

I'm someone that's been following the eSports scene for a while. I've watched as Blizzard and Valve have made overtures to national television networks to get their game a decent slot. However, this kind of reaction reinforces that maybe video games should stick to channels that will appreciate them. I've made the case in the past that mainstream acceptance shouldn't be the overall goal or the end-all, be-all of competitive gaming. After all, Twitch has built an empire largely by focusing on competitive gaming. Competitions that focus on Hearthstone, Pokemon, League of Legends, or Evo for fighting games know where their strengths lie.

"I don't need video games to be anything but video games," David Philip Graham (a.k.a. Ultradavid) first told me back in July. "I'm suspicious of people who want them to be sports. I view that mostly as a marketing gimmick intended to convince disappointed fathers that sons aren't wasting their time playing competitive video games, they're spending their time playing professional sports. That is, it's something for the older generation, and only for the current generation to the extent that they've internalized their parents' disdain for video games. Screw that! Video games don't have to be sports to be legitimate; video games AS video games can be legitimate on their own."

I couldn't have put it any better. There's no shortage of competitive gaming coverage out there. A dedicated new media world, like Twitch or MLG, is where the gaming audience can find them. It's where these games can truly be appreciated, without any "holier than thou" crowds to mock them. Continually reaching out to ESPN is a fine idea and I did get some pride out of seeing games on the small screen. It also reminded me that the gaming audience is an easy target for some of those people, someone they can all point and laugh at.

It's also more baffling to me that some of the ESPN anchors would go so far as to bash what's on the company airwaves. Are these cheap jokes worth mocking your own network? Clearly, somebody at the top of the ESPN food chain is seeing the eSports path as one worth pursuing, so why undermine that? Is it worth a few laughs from the so-called "jock" crowd? Is it worth riling up the people that ESPN is trying to reach out to? There's something to the old saying of "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," especially when it comes to the people writing your paychecks. (This is without even mentioning Colin Cowherd's completely asinine take on the subject.)

At least not everyone was completely sardonic about the whole thing, with ESPN college basketball analyst Bill Walton offering the rare example of someone getting into the spirit.

Heroes of the Dorm - I have never been so proud. Go Pac12, no truck stops here. Just reporting the facts

— Bill Walton (@BillWalton) April 27, 2015

But yes, ESPN anchors. Let's mock the gamers and question why they're taking up precious airtime. After all, you have more important things to talk about.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?