By Matt Thibault

Last week Tyler Blevins, better known by his Twitch name, Ninja, was the first competitive video game player to be featured on the cover of ESPN Magazine. This was groundbreaking for the world of competitive video games and e-sports as a whole. With this momentous accomplishment, he’s among the most famous people in the world at this point.

Through the streaming service called Twitch, Ninja broadcasts himself playing Fortnite and other Battle Royale games, fighting to be the last man standing in games with around 100 people. To say he does well is an understatement; he is among the best players in the world, and makes well over six figures through a combination of subscriptions, donations, and sponsorships.

If he were what I would call a “traditional” athlete, he would be celebrated amongst the likes of not Lebron James, but Bill Russell or Len Dawson. Ninja is a pioneer in his field.

He’s transcended the small, niche pocket of the internet that video games have occupied for almost two decades and achieved mainstream fame. He is the trailblazer, the pioneer. He will be the person that we remember as one of the first, greatest streamers and gamers.

This, as I am sure you can imagine, sets up some ignorant and ridiculous reactions from the omnipresent Angry People of the Internet, who always add their two cents to the conversation even when no one asks them to.

Two types of comments really stuck with me. One type was that video games should not be placed in the mainstream, such as on ESPN. Another was that video games are sad and that people who watch people play video games are also sad.

I’m pretty into video games. Whenever I have the time, I’m playing on the Xbox, I’m looking at new games, I’m reading about streamers and developers and the video game industry itself. Besides my nerdiness, I’m also a double major, a member of a varsity sports team, politically active, an editor and a WORD Studio tutor.

I promise that people who play video games are not sad people. It is a stereotypical misrepresentation of the population as a whole. This stereotype is perpetuated by an older generation that does not fully understand the massive industry behind video games and the entertainment that they bring. The final championship series for “League of Legends,” one of the most popular competitive video games in the world, frequently pulls viewer traffic similar to the NBA Finals.

These games belong in the mainstream, and with the revenue and viewership that they generate, it would be foolish to think otherwise.

Ninja’s success brings the success of competitive video game playing into the spotlight, something that a lot of people have seen coming for a long time. Now, it’s not just a niche corner of the internet that prepares for the next Ninja stream. It’s people of all sorts of different interests and backgrounds. His viewers number in the thousands, and depending on the types of streams and events that he plays at, these numbers can add up immensely.

He is not alone: streamers from all over the world have the camera rolling at different time zones. At any given time, there are over thousands of streamers, from those with a friend watching to those like Ninja, who also number in the thousands. A quick browse of their website will show exactly what they have to offer for their viewership.

It’s imperative that we take advantage of the shifting focus. We are young, and technology is moving forward quickly, making competitive gaming much more possible than before.

This is just the beginning: besides “League of Legends,” there’s pro leagues for “Rainbow 6: Siege,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “SMITE,” and of course “The Overwatch League,” which contains city based teams such as the New York Excelsior, the London Spitfire and the Boston Uprising.

So, if you are not already giving e-sports a shot, watch the next Ninja stream. They are mainstream for a reason. Even if you do not play video games, you might find that you enjoy the spectacle. You might find him entertaining. Who knows: you might even want to start playing yourself.