When I was a kid, I attended San Diego Padres games on a semi-regular basis with my dad. Going to Jack Murphy Stadium was a magical experience. The lights, the food (I mean, come on, those garlic fries?!), the sounds (that sound the bat makes when it hits the ball just right), the crowds going wild when Tony Gwynn hit his 3000th hit (I was there – it was amazing), the camaraderie of the fans. Anyway, you get the point.

Having said all this, now is as good a time as any for me to make a confession.

I am not a sports fan. Sure, I’ll sadly (cause they never seem to win) root for the Padres since they are my hometown team and I’ll even root for the Dodgers because they are the team of the city I live in. BUT do I really care? Nope. I’ll go, take in the experience and then probably leave around the 6th inning cause I got my fill and want to get out before the zombie horde of fans head for the stadium exits.

I start with a parallel to baseball because I had the same experience with Overwatch League. It was magical much for many of the same reasons. The massive screens. All the pretty lights. The fans going crazy when PROFIT from London Spitfire went on a crazy fucking kill streak or when SINATRAA from San Francisco Shock used D.Va’s Self Destruct Ult. and took out the entire opposing team in one foul swoop. I was in awe of the whole package that is Overwatch League. I’m a little kid at heart so sometimes all it takes is a lot of shiny stuff to look at.

2018-04-07 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

But, am I huge fan of Overwatch? No. Not in the least. Don’t hate me. I tried but couldn’t get into the game. Do I care if London Spitfire swept San Francisco Shock four rounds to none? Not really. Was I a little bored? After a while, yes. But for me, it wasn’t about that. As a gamer, it was a great experience and I’m not trying to say I don’t appreciate the skill it takes for a team to work together to build the right melange of offense, defense, tank, and support and then to destroy the other team mercilessly in a competitive match. No pun intended by the way because they definitely used Mercy several times.

After getting deeper into the writing of this article, I found that my parallel with my experience with baseball is kind of perfect because nowadays the audience for eSports is the same as it is for baseball in my age group. Check out this cool article from Power Up Gaming with some fun facts about eSports. Also, isn’t it incredible that eSports are now under serious consideration for being involved in future Olympic events as a demonstration sport?! That is cray – like – fifty shades of cray! As a gamer for most of my life, I am amazed with where eSports is headed. You can read for yourself an in-depth information on the growth of eSports in this article from Business Insider.

When it comes to my expectations of attending Overwatch League, I can safely say that the spectacle of it all was far bigger than I thought it was going to be. I can see why people are enamored with competitive gaming. After all, I’m watching someone do something at a far greater level of skill than I could ever hope to reach. You should see me play Overwatch…I’m so bad. Well, enough from me – let’s get some brief thoughts from the rest of the crew…

2018-04-27 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Ali

I’ve always been fascinated by eSports. Sadly, none of the games I played before Overwatch had a big presence in the competitive gaming sphere. Overwatch came into my life a couple years ago, and quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Overwatch League seemed like the perfect mesh of eSports and a competitive game that I actually cared about. Going in, I was pumped, fully expecting myself to go in there, holler, cheer, applaud, and curse the opposing team.

As soon as I sat down, the realization struck that I knew nothing about League besides a few team names. I never tried watching it through the game, but didn’t really know what to cheer for. Being a bit out of date with the meta due to work, life, and other games doesn’t help either. The comparisons are obviously drawn between eSports and “real” sports like baseball. I’ve been to lots of those events, but Overwatch League just didn’t stack up to that experience, and it honestly doesn’t seem like it’s meant to. The shout-casters were great, and the fast-paced nature of the game kept me alert, but it honestly felt more like I was auditing a lecture. The streams I watch on twitch are more for the streamer’s entertainment value additions, but Overwatch league almost felt too serious.

I didn’t enjoy my time there that much, but I’m not entirely sure if it was because of not knowing the teams, or not being to follow the game very clearly. I wouldn’t mind going again at some point down the line, but I’d have to be more well-versed in the game and the teams playing. Also, maybe once they upgrade their seating. If I’m expected to sit there for hours upon hours, I need way more leg room than what their stadium has to offer.

Caitlyn

During college I was the president of a video game club that organized eSports viewing parties and 200+ person LANs which held their own eSports-esque tournaments with prizes. After moving to California, I attended a League of Legends event at Riot Stadium. The thrill and buzz of the crowd always makes for a good time, but my attention only lasts so long.

Overwatch League hit a lot of great marks for me. The arena had a lot of attention to detail, an excited crowd, skilled players, lively shout-casters, but I did wish I was playing rather than watching. There were moments where I was on the literal edge of my seat being so pulled into the match and sheer skill of the players. While it was great to be swept up in the moment, that experience was few and far between rather than a constant magical experience. It’s fun to learn neat tips and tricks from watching those who are much higher skill than I am, but at the end of the day I’d rather be playing.

Corey

While an avid player of Overwatch (and video games as a whole) I figured Overwatch League might be the thing to me. What I was ignoring about myself is that I’m not someone who enjoys watching “Let’s Play” videos as I’d rather be making them AND I’m not someone who enjoys watching sports as I’d rather be playing them. 

So as I was ushered to my seat by a nice woman who smacked those inflatable clap sticks together with every step, I was filled with a false sense of optimism…until the first match started. 

I began to fidget in my seat never able to get myself comfortable. Constantly checking my phone made it feel like time came to a standstill as the brief matches felt somehow never-ending. That’s when I realized a single thought in the back of my head was the reason I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin. That reason being, “I wish I was playing Overwatch right now”. The following analogy accurately sums up my experience: Watching Overwatch League, to me, felt like I was a kid watching another kid eat ice cream. 

To be fair… they’re WAY better at eating ice cream than I’ll ever be.

Tom

eSports have always been an enigma. Playing sports like soccer (futbol proper), basketball, and volleyball in High School, none of which I was great at, I never found too much interest watching other people play the sport. There’s something about the disconnect between wide shots of the field being played takes away the intimacy of an individual caring who wins. Comparatively to a sports movie where we get invested in the characters because we see the coach, the player, the loved ones, all in close-ups and there’s the reward for watching. Learning that Overwatch league existed blew my mind.

Playing Overwatch when it was at the height of its popularity after its initial launch, I knew this was going to become the next gaming sensation. In reality, the Burbank Studios was pretty underwhelming compared to the energy inside. Compared to a Baseball Stadium where crowds gather, it was quiet, and you wouldn’t know an event was happening unless you noticed the security line. Once you’ve made it past the store with team merchandise and paraphernalia, you were there. The cross-breed between hockey rink seats, a TV live recording studio, and internet gaming cafe was the Overwatch League Arena. Watching a highlight online will give you an idea of the energy and play-by-play the Shoutcasters give. The real excitement is seeing the players on mic on their individual face cams adjusting plans and coordinating dives. However, with all the excitement at the end of the day, unless you spend many hours watching competitive play, after a good match you’ll just want to go home and play for yourself.

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