Esports: Not Quite Captivating Bozeman

Esports have enraptured audiences nationwide as the growing popularity of video games weaves people throughout generations together. However, here in Bozeman the movement is slow to start. It is not from lack of trying.

Esports is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and it just so happens that the college age is a pretty captivated demographic. Many colleges have begun adopting esports as a part of their athletic repertoire, but MSU is not quite there yet.

Independent organizations have brought video games into a competitive environment on campus but these are often small local area networks (LAN) or Minecraft related events. 

LAN is a template that esports can take where multiple computers are set up in an area for players to use and compete against each other. Smaller localized gatherings, such as tournaments running out of one console, are much more frequent throughout campus and this is where a lot of interest is being cultivated. Tournaments can be organized based on location, such as a dorm, or target a specific game. While they are a great way to build a community, local tournaments function very differently than esport sanctioned events.

Several challenges arise when attempting to track down what is causing esports to falter in Bozeman. The University of Montana has successfully created an esports team, so this is not specifically a Montana issue. There is also an MSU-based esports team that is just not officially recognized within the university athletic system. Big Sky Sun Esports (BSSE) is a club at MSU that is filling in a lot of these requirements and they do a great job. On April 1, I was able to tune into one of their League of Legends matches which was streaming live on Twitch, a streaming service for live gamers. The match was against the University of Montana, and BSSE happened to win, 2-0. The entire game had live commentary and it was lovely to see what the students of the club had created.

A question remains, why is there not an official esports team at MSU? This is a sport that is much more future-proof than football or basketball. Maybe there is a notion that this is a niche culture, but people love to play video games and even more people enjoy watching them.

Esports are also accessible to an extremely wide demographic of people. Accessibility in sports is not often discussed because such a small percentage of people ever really have a chance at being athletically great. I do not care to watch a bunch of football players because there is no relatability there. I do not watch a football game and then get the feeling that I should go do that. However, I will watch a League of Legends game and think about maybe playing a match or two.

This is not about replacing something that is old. Finally, colleges have begun adopting a sport that some people are able to relate to more than baseball. A student led club already has a surprising amount of groundwork in place.

So for now, I’ll be tuning in to Big Sky Sun Esports or @msu_esportsclub on Instagram. One day MSU will realize that the appeal of rocket powered car soccer is just as good as football.