Are e-sports and competitive video gaming actually full of so called "cool macho" guys and not really full of nerds?

Feb 24, 2021
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Are hardcore gamers of competitive video games and e-sports such as FPS, competitive RTS, and MOBA really just what people call as "cool manly" guys and not really the stereotypical nerds and geeks?

Is it really true that majority of the stereotypical nerds or geeks are often unskilled and bad at competitive video games and e-sports like RTS, MOBA, and competitive FPS? There seems to be a prevalent stereotype that nerds and geeks are ONLY into and are ONLY good at Nintendo, Simulation, Horror games, Hack n Slash, Castlevania, RPG, MMORPG, Fire Emblem, Prototype, Goat Simulator, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, God of War, etc.

Plus, I also noticed that toxicity, racism, trashtalking, sexism, and bullying to be so prevalent in competitive gaming communities and e-sports communities especially in MOBA communities while the stereotypical nerd territories such as RPG, Hack n Slash, Horror, etc. are often very respectful, friendly, open minded, and knows a lot of diverse cultures.

I kinda have a strong feeling that the people who are into competitive video gaming and e-sports such as RTS, MOBA, and competitive FPS are actually highschool jocks, wannabe gangstas, bullies, and hypermasculine assholes.

Is this really true? What do you think?
 

MaddMann

A nerd that found his place
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Yes and no. The first problem being the definition of "nerd" here. If you are looking for stereotypes, you will always find them. Now as far as what you see with professional gamers, is that they are generally fit. This is because an active body, does generally mean for an active mind. Being physically fit will increase your attention span, reflexes, confidence, and ability to control adrenaline. This is not to say that you have to be fit to be good at these things. The next part to look at is society in general. Video games are A LOT more accessible than any physical sport. Not just due to covid, but in many of the cases for these game, they are free. Where as sports can be very expensive and you have to put in real work to stand out.

Next is the toxicity factor. This is what has turned me off for most multiplayer games out there. This is something I really think needs to be addressed by educators these days. When playing with your friends locally, or playing any in person sports, there is always an amount of trash talking. Normally, this is good fun (or at least it should be) and welcome for people you actually know. This is not always the case for folks who are not very good at drawing the line, or fail to notice they are not as funny as they think. Part of why we all love video games is because we can become passionate about it. This means our anger might get away from us when things go wrong. Problem being is this is where trash talk can be used strategically. Angry people make mistakes. Also, there are an unfortunate amount of people out there who gain pleasure in hearing others angry, as they know there are no repercussions for them. Younger folks are especially guilty of this.

Now for the "stereotypical nerds or geeks are often unskilled and bad at competitive video games" its because many of us are either anti-social, socially awkward, or in most cases, not competitive. We just want to hop on and have a good time. While many folks then ask why a non competitive person would hop on a competitive game? Its because its what our friends are playing and for some reason because the game has a professional brackets, far too many treat every game as though winning is the only reason they are playing.

Obviously these are all opinions, but its something I have put a deal of thought into. I had to once I started having more physical issues. I have had multiple back and knee injuries due to my time in the Army, and I suffer from PTSD on a regular basis. For me this mean if my adrenaline starts pumping, I start shaking uncontrollably. I used to LOVE playing online games. I have extremely fond memories of Halo 2 going online back in the OG Xbox days. I used to play battlefield games on a competitive level. With that in mind, what I can tell you is that once you get to the actual professional stage, you don't actually find all that many toxic players. If you watch well paid streamers, you will generally see that they don't generally tend to be as mean to their fellow players.

So I went off on kind of a rant here, and I don't have time right now to proof read. Hopefully this isn't too uncoherent.

TLDR; Toxic culture proliferates in environments that have little oversight and nearly no consequences. Professional gamers tend to be professional people. Gathered, determined, and practiced in their field.
 
Feb 24, 2021
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Now as far as what you see with professional gamers, is that they are generally fit. This is because an active body, does generally mean for an active mind. Being physically fit will increase your attention span, reflexes, confidence, and ability to control adrenaline.

Now for the "stereotypical nerds or geeks are often unskilled and bad at competitive video games" its because many of us are either anti-social, socially awkward, or in most cases, not competitive. We just want to hop on and have a good time.

So are your professional competitive e-sports gamers your typical highschool jocks, wannabe gangstas, bullies, and hypermasculine assholes?
 
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Just as an FYI, if you narrowed down what you're looking for, exactly, we could probably answer with one line. In reality, what @MaddMann 's mentioned is practically...reality. Most of the toxicity you speak of, OP, are due to people who are either unhappy with what they've got or don't like to see other's be happy and in turn just throw their anger(or jealousy) at others.

You might want to also take into account that some people have taken their lives due to the toxicity out there. Keyboard warriors tend to fuel that culture of toxicity and said warriors can be practically anyone, not nerds. To also answer your question made here, there is no definite age group or demography or region to tell you exactly where the toxicity comes from or why it comes about or who kicks off a chain reaction since you'll find people like that in every walks of life, not just gaming. I also don't want to drag people who are less fortunate than us(read financially, education wise or even upbringing wise) into this thread since we have a responsibility towards society to lift it up as a good Samaritan.

In my other opinion (IMOO), I think competitive gamers are lured in with the prospect of making it big with fame and money and with the advent of how media has made it possible for any kind of publicity to be good publicity, toxicity and the drama that ensues drive more eyes on said individual undergoing scrutiny/attention.

Lastly, define your understanding of a professional gamer. I know of some folks who are professional but if you step back, you'll see they're just a person with advertisements pegged onto their arms, chest and back.
 
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Lastly, define your understanding of a professional gamer. I know of some folks who are professional but if you step back, you'll see they're just a person with advertisements pegged onto their arms, chest and back.

They're just a person with advertisements pegged onto their arms, chest and back? What do you mean by this?
 
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I doubt those are the kind of people who can muster the work ethic to become professional esports gamers. At most they might become a somewhat (in)famous streamer.

I don't know man but take a look at all these links below. They seem to prove that e-sports ethletes or competitive video gamers are toxic immature annoying dumbasses or just bad people in general. Keep in mind that many of these toxic news appeared even when I didn't type and include words related to toxicity in my searching such as "toxic", "trashtalking", "bullying", "racism", etc.

I just typed "league of legends streamer talk" in my google search engine.


View: https://youtu.be/XWekbT2fi74


View: https://youtu.be/4Kv1YZ7qO9M


View: https://youtu.be/0RvXMZNjC18


View: https://youtu.be/jYj5xt7LpwQ


Seriously, this is a lot for the fact that I didn't even type and include words related to toxicity in my searching such as "toxic", "trashtalking", "bullying", "racism", etc.
 
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Streamers aren't necessarily professional e-sports players though. Even if they participate in e-sports, their main occupation is streaming, meaning they are content creators and make their money by standing out from other content creators. One of the ways to stand out and get attention is to generate controversy and every once in a while a streamer goes too far and gets banned.

Even among streamers, I think this is a fairly small minority, even if it's a loud one, and it's probably an even smaller percentage of professional e-sport players, though that is just a hunch.
 
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This topic come up because of the fact that PCG just wrote an article about widespread racism and sexism amongst its top raiding groups? haha

Personally feel that most esports players are toxic, self centered, manipulative people but its probably the fact that ones that act professional arent highlighted nearly enough as the dbags. They arent making any 'drama' and thats what people want to see rather than a bunch of law abiding players.

But the way professional esports players act goes in line with any type of sport or activity that involves a competitive aspect. The better you are, the more money/attention/clout...whatever one gets from being more recognized amongst their peers. They probably start off nerdy, but as fame comes into it, they turn from a seemingly friendly, non-jaded player into the stereotypical ones.
 

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