The most abominable thing this league is doing is calling it's participants "athletes." Look, if sitting in my basement playing a game of Halo is athletic, I wouldn't weigh 230 pounds. Yeah, I'm sure lugging a PC around isn't easy, but it's sure as hell not athletic competition. Pro wrestlers have fought for years to gain the status of athlete (and ask anyone who's ever done it..it's NOT easy) and now a kid who sits in a chair flicking a mouse button is considered an athlete? Something is seriously wrong with this world.

In all honesty, there are SOME things these guys have gotten right. The initial idea was in the right place and having the younger gamers have their parents sign a waiver stating they'll let them play ESRB "M" rated games is a nice touch. Yeah, it's probably there simply to protect them from any responsibility, but you have to give them credit for doing something to make parents take responsibility.

These guys have their heart in the right place, but their execution is seriously lacking. NBC has decided to carry these guys briefly during the Gravity Games in small segments, but this is probably as far as they'll ever get. I really hope no one signs on to participate and actually expect to become some huge superstar. Their dreams would be shattered pretty quickly. Unless they get some more money involved, there's no chance for this to succeed and it all starts with dedicated servers. Once this happens (if it ever does of course) I'll take another look. Until then, good luck.

Originally posted on Breaking Windows.