On Sports: E-Gaming Would Diminish Olympic Games

by Malec Fahmy ’20

 The summer Olympics are arguably the best sporting events of all time. Every four years, the best athletes in the world represent their respective countries as they fight for gold. In the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,  karate, baseball, and skateboarding will be added to the competition. In addition, as a result of current technological advancements, talks have sprung about an addition to E-Gaming to the Summer Games.

 This addition to the games ultimately would diminish the long history of the Olympics, and move away from the traditional sport style. When you think of the Summer Olympics, you usually think about Michael Phelps in swimming, Usain Bolt in track, or Simone Biles in gymnastics. One thing that sticks with viewers is the high level of competitiveness and the pure talent and physical abilities of such participants.  

 With gaming, you lose the ability see the physical ability that the Olympics are known for. Instead of watching basketball in the Olympics, you are watching people play a video game version of the athletes that are participating in the Olympics. Although it is impressive to watch, it does not have the caliber of skill and recognition that the games gave, or even sports that are also being considered, like softball and sport-climbing. The Olympics games would change drastically as a result as a move to E-Gaming.