Get Yer Game On

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for – professional video gaming on TV. All the fun of sitting on your couch watching somebody else play a game you’ve likely got in the cabinet below your set.

The programming is set to follow the pro circuit (there is one) of Major League Gaming and its hard core players. "This is the sign that pro gaming has finally arrived to the mass market," said Matthew Bromberg, MLG's president and chief operating officer. "It's like poker was two years ago, or NASCAR 15 years ago."

Ah, probably just like poker, another activity that once you aren’t playing yourself is tedious to watch. I like gaming and can easily spend hours playing, especially with a few friends over. But just watching when there are more people than controllers quickly becomes a real yawner.

But not to worry, it is apparently far more exciting than I think. "It is an extreme sport," said pro-player Tom “Tsquared” Taylor. "It's about quick reflexes and also outsmarting people."

A sport? Oh, come on. I’m all for trying to pass off activities in my rather sedentary lifestyle as exercise, but calling video gaming not just a sport, but an extreme sport? That’s even beyond my bravado. I’m not saying people don’t enjoy the games or that they aren’t hard, but anything that can be done successfully while high in your living room, doesn’t seem like a sport.

I’d never have thought I’d say it, but maybe there really are too many TV channels.