Esports featured on The Simpsons for the first time
The Simpsons is pretty much THE most famous animated TV show ever. In the unlikely instance of aliens invading our planet à la Rick & Morty and demanding for us to show them what we’ve got in terms of animated TV series’, The Simpsons would easily be the #1 pick, though a strong case can be made for Rick & Morty, but that’s not my point! The Simpsons, with 30 seasons under its belt, is a seasoned veteran and the obvious choice.
In 30 seasons, they’ve pretty much utilized every pop culture reference that was, is, and will be relevant. They even have a knack for predicting the future. Its quite scary when you think about it. You basically know that you’ve made it big if The Simpsons include you in an episode. Just ask David Beckham, who had to wait 8 years before being featured in an episode. Even he couldn’t hide his excitement.
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Ok ok ok OK, i’m getting to the point of my article.
One of the latest episodes of the show, titled ‘E my sports’ revolves around the gaming industry and actually features League of Legends, though the name was hilariously changed to Conflict Of Enemies. It was gold. While it may not seem like much on the surface, it’s what this episode signifies that really comes through. Esports, despite being on course to become a multi billion dollar industry in 2019, has for the longest time struggled with its identity.
Even the term ‘Esports’ was contentious to some. The naysayers have been saying it’s not a sport for years. Their argument is that even the loosest imaginable definition of a sport involves not only skill and competition but also physical exertion and at least the possibility of injury. I would suggest they keep up with the times.
Gamers invest their time and energy by the truckload to become as good as they are. People talk about how with ‘real’ sports, the players and fans have a passion for the game. The exact same thing is exists in the world of Esports as well, and with big sporting companies like Adidas investing heavily in the industry, there should be no doubt. The winds have changed, people have been making big money off gaming for years now.
That The Simpsons recognizes this just cements the fact that Esports is here to stay. They even consulted with Riot Games for the episode, with the show’s producer saying that it was he who initiated first contact.
“I remember reading that something like eighty million people viewed the 2017 Season League of Legends World Championship, which is more than the NBA finals,” he said. “It all felt ripe for Simpsonification.”
Rob LaZebnik, Co Executive Producer, The Simpsons
Honestly, this quote should be enough to shut the naysayers up. At this point they’re starting to look like flat earth theorists. It doesn’t really matter what they think anyway to be honest. Esports athletes are out there still making their millions.
