College Offers Athletic Scholarships To Gamers 102
New submitter MdotCpDeltaT writes: Robert Morris University will be the first school in the country to offer athletic scholarships to students who play the video game League of Legends. It's a move that seems to stretch the definition of sports and athletes. Associate athletic director Kurt Melcher said, "It's a team sport. There's strategy involved. You have to know your role in the game. Obviously it's not cardiovascular in any way, but it's mental. There are elements that go into it that are just like any other sport."The article says, "Though the gaming scholarships are primarily designed to attract what the school calls an 'underserved male' population, they are open to all, and Melcher said some women have inquired about the program. Even if the awards end up going mostly to males, he added, it should not upset the school's scholarship gender balance, which already has strong participation in women's sports."
First mistake: LoL not SCII (Score:0, Funny)
I just want to point out that Starcraft II is a game built upon the fundamental rules of military history and strategy; its solutions and outcomes rather closely model thousands of years of human land battles. MarineKing really can teach viewers about the military concepts of mass, maneuver, observation, surprise, initiative, the choice of raiding or persisting in the enemy's territory, and so on.
League of Legends and its infinite DOTA clones are spell-casting twitch games, with a physically limited grade-school level of strategy and combat being merely a series of counter-spells. These games have little to no relation to the real world and do not generate useful information for spectators.
I just wanted all of you to know that there is an actual reason why Starcraft is the superior game and spectator sport. This is what permits myself and others to say with authority, "LoL sucks."