¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Every hand is turned against you. Even the ground beneath your feet carries the seeds of your destruction."

Whenever I mention the professional Starcraft scene to people who are unfamiliar with it, I have to be careful with the words I choose. In particular, the word “sport” generally draws an objection from at least someone in the room. “Starcraft isn’t a ‘sport,’ ” they say. “A ‘sport’ is a physical competition between two players or teams. Starcraft is a video game, not a sport.” As such, the term “e-sport” is treated as a contradiction in terms. Now, there’s two possible claims in that assertion. One is just definitional: the term “sport” has historically been applied to games of physical prowess, and not to mental games (chess, for example, is not usually thought of as a “sport”), so it seems odd to include a game like Starcraft. The other point is that a “game” implies something that is only legitimate as a pastime; “sports” are a massive industry with a huge range of people involved, including full-time players, analysts, casters, journalists, and a wide range of people that enjoy the sport, not just to play, but to watch. A man who spends all his time on a sport is an athlete; a man who spends all his time on a game is a waste, a slob, a loser. Starcraft II is a video game, in the literal sense of the term. And I certainly enjoy playing it for all the reasons that a video game is fun. But Starcraft II does what no ordinary video game can do. I think I remember from Day[9] Daily #100 a part where Day[9] almost couldn’t go to a Starcraft (Brood War, but the point is the same) tournament because his principal wouldn’t let him skip school to play a video game, and Sean’s mother said something along the lines of, “This isn’t you going somewhere to play Mario Kart with your friends, this is Starcraft!” (Not an exact quote, I’m sure). So yes, Starcraft is a video game, but it is also a great deal more. First, Starcraft is a community. When you see Naniwa barely lose to Leenock’s roach all-in, there’s a community of nerds out there celebrating or mourning (depending on which player you prefer) with you. If you go to a viewing party or barcraft, there’s a few right there in the room with you. If you go to MLG, there’s a hell of a lot more there than you knew existed. Throughout the country, or for that matter, the world, there are people that you can connect to and have something in common. Starcraft is a storybook. In every tournament, from Dreamhack to MLG to GSL, it’s not just a series of games between a bunch of players; there’s a narrative. There’s IdrA battling against his age-old rival MC – or, perhaps more accurately, IdrA battling against his age-old rival, himself. There’s Thorzain coming out of nowhere, and destroying brilliant players in TSL3 for a dramatic finals against Naniwa. There’s Thorzain and his TvP beasting his way through Dreamhack Valencia, facing DRG’s intimidating ZvT and narrowly losing. Okay, I confess, I love Thorzain. Finally, Starcraft is a stunning example of human accomplishment. Perhaps the deepest, most essential purpose of sports is to marvel at what humans can do when they set their mind to it. In that same vein, my favorite aspect of watching Starcraft II is to see the absolutely amazing skill levels that players can achieve–levels I never would have thought possible. When I watch a Nestea interview after his GSL finals with MarineKingPrime and he explained that the strategy MKP chose–a two-bunker rush–was something he had practiced against several hundred times. Those same shivers come back when MKP has a proxy 2-gate inside his base, and he holds down based solely on the strength of his marine micro. So maybe “sport” is defined solely as games that involve physical exercise, which Starcraft does not. Okay, fine. But do people watch football for the community that has built up around their team? Do they watch because of the narrative of a team pushing through and overcoming against all odds? Do they watch to see humans accomplish what they never would have thought possible? Or do they watch because some guys are getting physical exercise, and exercise is important? I wrote this out here, because I hardly want to go on this rant to the people around the table at Thanksgiving. And when the subject comes up in that context, I don’t push the point, because there’s no point getting defensive about the things I love. But in the spirit of the holiday, I’m grateful for the influence of Starcraft in my life, not just as a video game, but as a sport (or whatever you want to call it), and I thought maybe the people here on Team Liquid might share that gratitude, too. TL;DR: Starcraft may or may not meet the technical definition of “sport,” but it has all the characteristics that make a sport good, and I’m grateful for it.