Thursday, January 26, 2006

Suck my joystick


I've warned before about the infiltration of geek culture. From "Star Wars" to "Lord of the Rings," the Dungeons and Dragons set seems to be dictating the course of popular entertainment.

Now there's something called the Cyberathlete Professional League, dedicated to gamers. That group was once reduced to pubescent boys, but many haven't outgrown the habit. I sat next to a middle-aged guy on a recent flight whose eyes didn't leave his GameBoy screen, except for a quick trip to the bathroom. I was surprised he didn't take the console with him.

To be fair, I was always subpar at video games (passable at "Pitfall," but that's about it), so I'm a bit biased. I have no interest, thus no one else should. Seems reasonable enough.

But if gamers insist on re-living their youth, don't do so under false pretenses. You are not athletes (of course, neither are golfers. Or NASCAR drivers). Video football isn't the real thing. It's not a sport. It's a hobby. You are a hobbyist. You are a geek.

And that's fine. But, in the spirit of Oprah --- see post below --- let's not minimize the facts. No sports are played in your parents' basement, unless perhaps you're playing with yourself.

Or are chronic masturbators considered athletes? Hey, at least you build up a sweat doing that.

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