Reporter

Sporting events hum loudly with the cheers of thousands. The fans are cheering for their favorite players who do their best to win with only the thought of victory.
This holds true not only for traditional sports but also e-sports.
With a surge of popularity since the late 2000s, e-sports (also known as competitive gaming), has quickly become popular and secures a strong following in today’s gaming.
Games such as “League of Legends,” “Dota 2” and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” are among the games that made e-sports as well-known as it is today.
With e-sports becoming more popular, ESPN is taking interest by posting e-sports on their websites and occasional television broadcasting during large tournaments.
Just this year, these tournaments had more viewers than even the NBA Finals.
UC Irvine offers scholarships from gaming companies for its top competitive gamers who pay for a student’s tuition.
The scholarships are offered as top prizes in tournaments.
CSU Bakersfield should support e-sports by hosting events and obtain sponsorships from various gaming companies that can help students with tuition. This is the first public university to offer e-sports scholarship opportunities.
To show how serious e-sports has become, in 2013 “Dota 2” had a prize pool of over $3 million at their tournament The International, with 2016 reaching almost $21 million.
While competitive gaming is laughed at for not being a real sport, it is becoming a reality that gaming requires a certain skill to do well and encourages players to collaborate before, during and after the game.
E-sports has everything that traditional sports have, minus the risk of physical injury. Players are required to think critically, engage in jolly cooperation, build strategies, adapt and conquer their competitors, and learn to interact with their peers, much like traditional sports.
There are some students who are unable to participate in a physical sport because of a previous injury or the risk of permanent harm to their well-being.
According to College Football Assistance Fund, in football alone, almost 20,000 athletes per year acquire an injury that affects practice and games for at least ten days.
By offering an alternative, students will be able to still acquire scholarships, participate in what they love, collaborate with fellow students and become better motivated to improve.
E-sports should be supported by the colleges around the country.
It offers so much opportunity for students to learn about cooperation and how to function as a team.
It can be life-changing for students who excel, just like in traditional sports.
Hosting tournaments for their players would encourage more students to participate in competitive extracurricular activities.
This would also allow students to feel that their college supports their desires.