No. Nor should competitive chess players.

No.

no.

No.

Nein.

Is golf a sport?

As a gamer...fark no.

No.

No.

Good, now ask me about golfers.

No

No

No.

And stupid question.

Short answer: No

Long answer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no.

No.

I suggest "assletes" as an alternative.

Anderson's Pooper: I suggest "assletes" as an alternative.

Couchletes?

Yes!

Wait is it opposite day? Oh ok then...

NO!

Why do poker players, and video game players, etc, need to be called "athletes"?

You are game players, just be "game players"... you can still get people to watch what you are doing if they really want to.

I think the only reason they want to be called "athletes" is because they feel like they need to be called that to get people to take it seriously as a "spectator" event. IMO, they don't.

No

There's such a thing as a "pro-gamer"?

-- those who earn six figures and play professionally --

Holy shiat.

And no.

"Athlete: A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts."

To the point, I would argue many gamers are characterized as the opposite of this definition.

If you wish to make a close comparison, you could argue that staying up for many hours on end without moving constitutes endurance.

nope.

No.

No sir.

Not in a million years.

FenixStorm1: If you wish to make a close comparison, you could argue that staying up for many hours on end without moving constitutes endurance.

There's also speed, coordination, and reaction time, with some starcraft players performing something like 300 actions per minute. That's impressive, but I still don't consider it to be "athletic".

incendi: FenixStorm1: If you wish to make a close comparison, you could argue that staying up for many hours on end without moving constitutes endurance.

There's also speed, coordination, and reaction time, with some starcraft players performing something like 300 actions per minute. That's impressive, but I still don't consider it to be "athletic".

I call it twitchy.

Wait... compared to a typical American or, you mean, like the real sense of the word "athlete"? Because compared to the millions of people who come home every day and plop down on the couch in front of the TV to watch a "Scripted Reality TV Competition #759" marathon for four and a half hours without so much as moving from one buttcheek to the other, pressing buttons and screaming racial and homophobic slurs into a headset at random, anonymous competitors all evening is pretty active.

/ On a semi-related note I desperately want to tip those fat people you see using the motorized carts in the supermarket over

Nope.

Same as chess, billiards, bowling, car racing, and golf. Skill, which these all need, isn't athleticism.

No. And everytime I would hear someone refer to CAL while playing counterstrike I wanted to punch them in their throat.

/any other questions?

StrangeQ: No. And everytime I would hear someone refer to CAL while playing counterstrike I wanted to punch them in their throat.

/any other questions?

What's the matter bro? Not good enough to make CAL-I? It's ok, I remember bein a scrub too :P

Vegan Meat Popsicle: / On a semi-related note I desperately want to tip those fat people you see using the motorized carts in the supermarket over

"Suburban cow-tipping"

It's like the difference between masturbating to a video of a woman and actually making love to a woman.

No

uber humper: It's like the difference between masturbating to a video of a woman and actually making love to a woman.

Pro-gaming is simple, and has no expectation of breakfast the next morning.

Whereas real athletes have to figure out how to make sure they never see the broad again.

LazarusLong42: Nope.

Same as chess, billiards, bowling, car racing, and golf. Skill, which these all need, isn't athleticism.

I say car racing is athletic. The physical strain to control cars at such high speeds for that long under those conditions (It's REALLY hot in those cars and then you have the racesuits) is pretty impressive. Plus factor in reaction times and whatnot... it demands a lot out of the racers.

Yes.

Wait a minute...

No.

I'm sensing a slight negative trending in public opinion on this question.

But that might just be me.

Strategeryz0r: uber humper: It's like the difference between masturbating to a video of a woman and actually making love to a woman.

Pro-gaming is simple, and has no expectation of breakfast the next morning.

Whereas real athletes have to figure out how to make sure they never see the broad again.

yea, but what do you do about the hand cramps?

uber humper: Strategeryz0r: uber humper: It's like the difference between masturbating to a video of a woman and actually making love to a woman.

Pro-gaming is simple, and has no expectation of breakfast the next morning.

Whereas real athletes have to figure out how to make sure they never see the broad again.

yea, but what do you do about the hand cramps?

If I want to sit and watch someone else play a video game I'll pop in a Michael Bay movie.

Strategeryz0r: uber humper: Strategeryz0r: uber humper: It's like the difference between masturbating to a video of a woman and actually making love to a woman.

Pro-gaming is simple, and has no expectation of breakfast the next morning.

Whereas real athletes have to figure out how to make sure they never see the broad again.

yea, but what do you do about the hand cramps?

[1.bp.blogspot.com image 320x243]

haha

No but if it was I demand to be considered an athelete from my over the top performance in fantasy football.

YES.

Wait, this is about computer games and not sports games?

Then HELL NO.

It depends, how much physical movement is required to qualify as a sport?

If starcraft wouldn't count, would DDR? How about things that require movements that aren't normally considered sports, like dancing, or suffleboard?

As a huge nerd who pays to watch the pro Starcraft leagues and former top player in the world at Warcraft 2...

NO

Red.... ...no wait! Blue!

Not only No, but HELL NO!

To be honest I don't see much difference in the physicality of the Olympic shooting sports to video games. Both are based almost entirely on manual dexterity, whereas at least some video games (Starcraft, for example) require simultaneous complex multitasking.

They're as much of an athlete as a guy who sits on a horse while it runs a course jumping over stuff.

So..... no.