Text B A com parison between esports and tradition...
Sports have been around since the dawn ofmankind and civilizations throughout the years have evolved sports into huge eventswith many spectators.Because of this，itmakes sense that the rise of technology and video games has also brought out a competitive scene：electronic sports，or esports for short.As long as esports have been around，people have questioned the validity of the name and whether these video game competitions are actually sports.Society generally sees avid video game players as being lazy and overweightadults or children with toomuch time on their hands.They associate esports athleteswith this same view and assume that just because esports aren't as physically exerting，they shouldn't be considered actual sports.Based on the formal definition，esports are considered sports and with the breakthroughs in technology，future developmentswill allow esports to be even more aligned with society's traditional view of sports.
Esports exist inmany formswithmultitudes of games being played and the possibility for several leagues for every game，each with varying rules.These games are entirely separate and usually have separate tournaments.The common factor between all of them is that athletes play video games against each other in a competitive form.Esports naturally began when video games started incorporating network capabilities and the ability to play against others both in person and around the world.Groups of people known as clans began teaming up to compete in games online.Since then，esports have been a quickly evolving conceptbecause of the relatively new presencewithin society alongwith the amount of people that are interested.Although the concept is relatively new，statistics show that revenue from esports reached over$600million in 2017 and is projected to grow to$1.6 billion by 2021.It's not just companies benefitting from the new craze though，prize pools in competitions around the world reached a new high in 2017 with over$120 million being available to esports athletes.Esports athletes that are also students have the opportunity to receive scholarships from several universities including University of California Irvine and University of Utah.These scholarships are similar to scholarships for basketball and football and can even include full payment of all scholastic fees.
Just as soccer，basketball，football，etc.teams have staff thathelp out the team，esports teams are no different.Bigger esports teams can have multiple coaches，analysts，and even scouts that are always looking for new athletes to recruit.This is necessary to have to be considered a professional team which includes participating in tournaments，sticking to practice schedules，and interacting with fans.As viewership of esports continues to rise，people look for teams to support and to be fans of.This is great news for the teams because they benefit both financially（from merchandise sales）as well as on a support level and especially at huge tournaments.It is not just athletes that see the huge potential in this field；companies such as Intel，Red Bull，and Mountain DeWare jumping at the chance to sponsor a team and be able to reap from the big financial investment.Even traditional sports leagues such as the NBA are putting together esports teams to play competitions in their respective virtual sports games.Kings Guard，the professional esports team for the Sacramento Kings（NBA team），have just started their first season and their facilities include a world-class training facility and state-of-the-art content studio（NBA.com）.All of these developments in the past several years show how the gap is closing between esports and traditional sports.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary，sports are defined as“a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other.”Although people see typical sports such as soccer，football and basketball as the benchmark for the definition of sports，activities that are not as physically demanding，such as car racing，archery，and even chess，are also considered sports.Because of themost popular sports being very physically demanding，society tends to automatically associate sports with being physically intense.Although the definition includes that the tasks being performed have to be physical activities，there is no set guideline to how much physicality is required before something is considered a sport.Also，it is evident that these physical activities require a degree of competitiveness to be considered a sport.Esports are physical activities because they usually includemoving fingers across a keyboard and moving amouse around.They also follow a specific set of rules，usually set by the programmers when designing the game and by the tournament coordinators when considering the rules required，and the events are competitive because of the opposing teams.
According to Wikipedia，the definition of sports is“all forms of competitive physical activity or games which，through casual or organized participation，aim to use，maintain or improve physical ability and skillswhile providing enjoyment to participants，and in some cases，entertainment for spectators.”This definition adds a part that says that the activities provide enjoyment to the participants and entertainment for spectators.With the thousands of esports athletes that compete in tournaments and themillions of people thatwatch those tournaments，it is easy to see how they provide enjoyment and entertainment.
People traditionally don't associate esportswith being a sport at all because they think that the esports athletes sitaround all day and just play games.They try tomake the point that there is not enough physicality involved in esports to be deemed an actual sport.Although itmay seem so at first glance，with athletes usually sitting and only using their hands，they have to train their hand movement speed and reaction times to be so precise that this leads to sufficient physical exertion to be considered a sport.Actions perminute，or APM for short，are a quantifiable statistic of how fast esports players have to react.Although notan importantquality for all games，APM can quickly tell you about a person's skill level in games such as Starcraft1 II and Super Smash Bros Melee.Esports athletes folloWintense practice regimens to improve their muscle memory and collaboration with their teammates.Greg Fiels，a former Starcraft II champion，said in an intervieWin 2013 that his team practiced for twelve hours a day，everyday，and only had one or two days off permonth.Teams also practice on keeping their focus levels high through hours of the same gameplay.The point that is beingmade is that esports athletes put in the same amount of time to practice，if notmore，compared to athletes of traditional sports.
Another big similarity between traditional sports and esports is how winning the championship provides a benefit to the team.In traditional sports，winning the championship usually includes a trophy，a very good reputation and a bonus on top of the player's salary.Similarly，in esports，winners typically receive a large portion of the prize pool alongwith a trophy and a good reputation.This prize pool is split among the players and coaches depending on the team rules but they receive this as a bonus on top of their usual salary.
One concept that is quickly becoming popular among esports teams ismaking team houses.The athletesmove into one house together to be able to closely work with each other daily to improve quicker than their competition.By using their house to double as a space for living as well as for training，teams efficiently savemoney and form stronger bonds between teammates.Fortnite，a game that has gotten very popular this year，has already seen several big teams assemble their rosters and even move into houses already（see team TSM）.On top of the time that the athletes spend practicing with each other，they are highly recommended to go to the gym.By doing so，they keep their brains sharp for the high mental intensity that goes on from extended hours of focused training and gameplay.
11-2 Esport Players
Themain goal formost of these esports teams is to qualify formajor tournaments and to win for the financial benefits and the reputation that comewith it.These tournaments themselves have turned into presentations similar to those of traditional sports.Live audiences watch the athletes compete while sitting not too far from them and many otherswatch from home on streaming websites such as Twitch.tv.These tournaments feature interviews，commentators and even food/drinks for the audience similar to traditional sporting events.When international tournaments take place in the USA，esports athletes are required to get US p-1 Visas，which are reserved for individuals who are recognized as international sports athletes.Because of how similar esports are to traditional sports and because they fit the general definition，Ibelieve that they should be classified as real sports.Germany has already begun the process of recognizing esports as an official sport and more countries are to follow.
As technology continues to improve，esports naturally evolve to stay with the latest tech trends.One of those trends is virtual reality and the ability to experience things that are not physically right in front of you.Companies are working hard to become the first to seamlessly integrate virtual reality with all five of our senses.One of the biggest new additions is the ability to walk around in real life and correlate thatwithmovement inside the virtualworld.They used omnidirectional treadmills and a strap that keeps the person in themiddle of it to simulate the person actuallymoving in VR.With the inclusion of this and other VR techniques that will increase the physicality and player movement，peoplemay begin to associate esportswith traditional sports.
11-3 The VR League
Esports have already seen the rise of more physical gameplay because of games such as Space Junkies and Echo Arena.These games are based on laser tag and disc golf，respectively，and requirement movement with legs and arms.According to Oculus'website，Echo Arena“combines the physicality of traditional sportswith the exhilaration of zero-g to create an entirely new，genredefining competition—fun for esports newcomers and hard-core fans alike”.Leagues for VR competition such as the VR League are being formed with huge cash prizes for thewinners.The VR League includes games such as Echo Arena，Unspoken，Sprint Vector，and more.
Gambling on esports results has quickly become a popular attraction to both fans of esports and of gambling.Since betting on traditional sports has beenmostly illegal，many people have resorted to betting on esports because of how easy it is to do it if one has access to the internet.Since ithas been legal in Nevada，many have placed bets on esports teams usingmoney，cryptocurrency，and even virtual items.Virtual items are especially a popular item to use in gambling because people don't associate them with such a high value as they dowithmoney even though these virtual items can beworth a lot.With the new supreme court decision allowing sports gambling on a federal level，esports are also now fully allowed to be gambled on.With esports falling under the blanketof the new rule changes regarding all sports，it shows that esports are starting to be respected as real sports.
In conclusion，esports should be classified as real sports and countries should identify them as such.With the definition of sports highly resembling what esports entail，it should be a no brainer that society views esports as sports and the players as athletes.The high similarity between the presentation formats and league structures allow the billions of traditional sports fans to seamlessly become fans of esports teams.Because of this，the acceptance of esports into society has been growing at an exponential rate with ever increasing fan interest and financial support from both fans and companies.Within the next ten years，Ibelieve esportswill rival traditional sports league such as the NHL in terms of viewership numbers and revenue.In the future，wemay even see esports in the Olympics or perhaps a separate Olympics just for esports.Either way，it's an exciting time to be a fan of video games and esports.
Notes：
StarCraft
StarCraft，released for Windows on March 31，1998，is the first video game in the StarCraft series.As a science fiction real-time strategy game，StarCraft is set in a distant sector of the MilkyWay galaxy.A Mac OSversion of the gamewas released by Blizzard Entertainment in March 1999.A Nintendo 64 port including StarCraft，Brood War，and a new secretmission“Resurrection IV”was released in the United States on June 13，2000.The game's story revolves around the appearance of two alien races in Terran space and each race's attempts to survive and adapt over the others.The player assumes three roles through the course of the three campaigns：a Confederate colonial governor who becomes a revolutionary commander，a Zerg cerebrate pushing forward the species'doctrine of assimilation，and a Protoss fleet executor tasked with defending the Protoss from the Zerg.
StarCraft Ⅱ：Wings of Liberty is the official sequel to StarCraft released for Windows and Mac OSX by Blizzard Entertainmenton July 27，2010.The gamewas announced at theWorldwide Invitational in Korea on May 19，2007 with a pre-rendered cinematic cut scene trailer and a gameplay demonstration of the Protoss.Further demonstrations regarding the game's new features have been showcased at subsequent BlizzCons and other games conventions.The game incorporates a new 3D graphics engine and adds new features such as the Havok physics engine.
StarCraft Ⅱ：Heart of the Swarm is an expansion pack to StarCraft Ⅱ：Wings of Liberty and was released on March 12，2013.It is part two of the StarCraft Ⅱtrilogy.The expansion includes additional units andmultiplayer changes from Wings of Liberty，aswell as a continuing campaign focusing on Kerrigan and the Zerg race.
11-4 StarCraft
Practice for the unit
1.Blank filling
1.According to NSGA，between 1996 and 2001 participation rates for snowboarding__________________________________and skateboarding participation rates_________________________________________________，these two historically alternative sports had the________growth rates of all sports surveyed.
2.What is emerging within alternative sport subcultures are struggles between corporate culture producerswho___________________________________________________________and the participants themselves，who_______________________________________________as they become commercialized.
3.Commercialization can be____________________for alternative sports and their adherents.
4.Alternative sports are overwhelmingly a______activity approximately______percent of skateboarders，______percent of surfers，and_____________percent of snowboarders are_________________________.
5.Many alternative sport participants continue to view participation in the commercial version of their activities as__________.
6.Although the concept is relatively new，statistics show that revenue from esports reached over and is projected to grow to__________________.
7.According to Wikipedia，the definition of sports is“_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”
8.Themain goal formost of these esports teams is to___________________________________________________________________________________________________.
9.As technology continues to improve，esports naturally evolve to stay with________________.One of those trends is______________and the ability to experience things that are not___________________________.
10.The Virtual items are especially a popular item to use in gambling because__________________________________________________________________even though________________________.
B.Short-answer questions
1.Please provide a list of at least10 alternative sports.
2.What are alternative sports'physical influence？
3.How the gap is closing between esports and traditional sports？
4.List at least three similarities and three differences between esports and traditional sports.
C.Critical thinking
1.Alternative sports lover may think commercialize harms the very core or“soul”of these sports.What is the core or soul of it？
2.Is esports can be seem as an actual sport in your eyes？Is it possible to see esport in the Olympics in the future？
3.Why gambling in sports can be seen as illegal inmost countrieswhile it becomes legal for the sake of esport？