The esports team at Hall has been going since 2020, but 2022 was the first time that the esports team would be recognized as an actual sport by the CIAC, and since then, the esports team has gained many new members, and picked up some trophies. However, with all this positivity, comes a lot of negativity, many students at Hall refuse to recognize esports as a sport, and players feel the negativity being pushed towards themselves.

Since esports became recognized as a sport by the CIAC, people have started to talk about it more, but a lot of said talk are students making fun of the team and debating whether or not it’s an actual sport. The many opposing discussions around esports in the actual media has fueled the fire over the position of esports in the grand scheme of high school athletics, with many different sources giving very different opinions. “And by bringing esports onto our school campus, joining up with our friends, and competing for school pride, we can use games to teach us sportsmanship, discipline, teamwork, and leadership,” said Mason Mullenioux, the Co-founder & CEO, High School Esports League.

However, with one side of the argument, there is always another. “While video games can be very competitive, and professional gamers can make millions of dollars at competitions, video games shouldn’t be considered sports,” said Alexandra Coates, a Ph. D. candidate from the University of Guelph. “Sports are inherently physical, and even sports with lower amounts of physical exertion, such as golf and archery, can still be classified as ‘physical activity.’” As you can see, the two arguments bring very good points for why esports is or isn’t a sport, thus fueling the fire of the discussion even more.
Because of the discussion over this esports dilemma, many of the negative comments and teasing can be felt by the esports players themselves. “Many people don’t take it seriously enough, most people, you know like, I feel are more closer to scoffing at it, like they say, ‘it’s just a game bro, I could do this in my own time, does that make me an esports player,’ but esports is not just games to us,” said Hamza Haji-ahmed, the captain of the varsity Super Smash Brothers team. The players can definitely feel the negativity towards them, but there’s no better way to get a sense of this negativity than by seeing it first hand. While interviewing the esports coach to get information for this article, one of the students in the class started arguing about why esports isn’t a sport, this student began the argument not 5 minutes after my interview and didn’t even hear the interview.

Although a lot of this negativity has been sent towards the players and the team itself, it can definitely be felt by more than just them. When asked about the negative connotation towards the esports team here at Hall, Super Smash Brothers coach Sebastian Fortuna had this to say on the matter. “Well um, to say that there isn’t one would definitely be negligent of me, but I do see that there are instances where a lot of people have a connotation where like, oh it’s for nerds or you know like the people that aren’t socially excepted, but to that I say, there’s been plenty of times in history where, kinda, that kinda connotation has proven people wrong time and time again, so I just think that if something makes someone happy, you should let them do it.” This isn’t about whether or not esports is an actual sport or not, this is about giving kids a chance to find a community they can be a part of here at Hall, and a way for them to wear the Titans logo.

The Varsity esports team after a successful playoff win, leading them to the semi-finals. (Chase M)

The esports team has a decent size, and there are a lot of kids that play many different games. As of right now, the games available are: Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, Rocket League, League of Legends, Madden 2022, and Hearthstone, with many efforts to try and add even more games to the roster. The team meets on Mondays with matches varying between games. Since 2022, the team has been on a roll, they’ve picked up a state championship win in Super Smash Bros Ultimate in spring 2022, and are approaching a two time title shot very soon. The Rocket League and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe teams have also done very well for themselves, making it quite far into their playoffs. However, there are many other teams within esports, but some of the games available don’t have enough people on them to make a team. As for what you can do, if any of those games interest you, then theres a chance for you to shine, a chance for you to wear the Titan logo with pride, you just have to take it.